Well, the big news around here is that I quit Netflix.
(That feels like a pretty dumb opener considering the continuing assault on women’s reproductive rights, but I drafted this newsletter a few days ago. Then I took a break and wondered if I should highlight movies that are explicitly about women’s sexual freedom but I decided not to because, honestly, I am tired of stating the obvious: that women should have the right to obtain the medical care they need, including abortion. But if for some reason you are in the mood to watch a movie about what it’s like to obtain an illegal abortion—soon to be a reality in many American states—I recommend 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Also, Dirty Dancing.)
Okay, back to Netflix. I’d been thinking about quitting for a while because their original content has been so lackluster. Then they canceled two of my favorite shows: The Babysitter’s Club and On The Verge. When they raised the price, it felt like the last straw. I’m not alone in leaving the platform. Netflix lost a record number of subscribers last month and their stock price plunged. I’ll probably rejoin the fall if they have a good slate of new movies, but over the next few months, I’m more likely to be watching on other platforms.
My one regret in giving up Netflix is that I won’t be able to unwind with New Girl anymore, but as you’ll see below, I found a new Jake Johnson show to love. Most of my selections this month are older movies, because I’ve been working on my book (it’s finally finished!) and haven’t had a chance to catch up on new releases. Later this month, I hope to have some fresher picks for you. In the meantime, you can head on over to The Common for my reviews of The Pink Cloud and Petite Maman.
A Star-Studded Character Study
Certain Women (2016)
Written & Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Based on stories by Maile Meloy
Streaming on Kanopy
I wrote about this movie for The Millions back in February 2017 after seeing it in the theater. I identified it as part of a trend that put female characters in the center of the story, and I thought it was a pretty innocuous point to make, but there was a brawl in the comments section about the politics of representation. It got nasty enough that my editor had to moderate, and I found the whole thing kind of baffling, because it wasn’t an especially biting piece of criticism. In retrospect it feels like backlash to the Women’s March and even #metoo starting to bubble up, though the Weinstein allegations did not surface until October of that year. That’s a long way of saying that Certain Women is the movie that got me thinking about representation in cinema and led me to start exploring the work of female filmmakers and writers in a more deliberate way. It’s my favorite of Kelly Reichardt’s movies, because of its literary structure, spiky characters, and starry cast. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Peak Cher, Peak Winona
Mermaids (1990)
Directed by Richard Benjamin
Written by June Roberts and based on the novel by Patty Dann
Streaming on Amazon Prime
Is Mermaids a Winona Ryder movie or a Cher movie? Both women are at the peak of their star essence: Cher the glamorous mother you never had, and Winona so beautiful and angsty it hurts to look at her. Set in New England in the early 1960s, Mermaids centers on sixteen-year-old Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) and her mother, Mrs. Flax, (Cher). Charlotte also has a younger sister, Kate (Christina Ricci), who has a different father from her—not that either girl knows who her father is. All they know is their young, charismatic mother, who refuses to adhere to the rules of being a grown-up. Mrs. Flax moves every time she gets bored or dumped and she never cooks dinner, only appetizers! Charlotte complains that her mother evades responsibility by moving frequently, but her real trick is the way she’s always performing adulthood, and especially motherhood. I love the scene where Charlotte borrows her mother’s dress because it’s like you get a glimpse of a young Mrs. Flax. Charlotte dressed as “Mrs. Flax” evinces all the vulnerability that her mother has learned to hide. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
A Rom-Com Masquerading as a TV Show
Starstruck, Season 1 (2021)
Created by Rose Matafeo
Streaming on HBO
It could be that everyone already knows about Starstruck and I’m late to the party, but I’d never heard about it until I happened to see Rose Matafeo, the show’s star and creator, on Seth Meyers. I was so charmed by her that I decided to give her show a try. I loved the first episode, and planned to watch the rest over the course of a week, but the next night, I realized that Starstruck is just six episodes and that each episode is only 22 minutes long. So…it’s basically a two-hour movie. I watched the rest of it in one night and let me tell you, it feels like a movie—a wonderful, throwback rom-com, in the vein of When Harry Met Sally or Four Weddings and a Funeral. It’s pure delight and I’m not sure why it’s a TV show, or what even is a TV show these days, but that’s a topic for another newsletter. In the meantime, please enjoy Rose Matefeo’s feature debut, disguised as a TV show. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
A Sweet Remake That Your Kids Will Love
The Parent Trap (1998)
Directed by Nancy Meyers
Written by David Swift, Nancy Meyers, and Charles Shyer
Streaming on Disney+
I chose this movie for my kids one Friday night, fully expecting that I would duck out after ten minutes. I figured that I’d seen the original enough times as a kid, how good could a remake be? Never underestimate Nancy Meyers! This movie is much better than the original, with sweeter characterizations and a slightly more logical plot. (Though, let’s face it, the whole movie operates from kid logic, not parent logic, that’s why kids love it so much.) A very young Lindsay Lohan plays the twins, with Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid as the squabbling parents. This being a Nancy Meyers movie, it also stars a beautiful London apartment and a Napa Valley estate. My kids are already asking to watch it again and that’s fine by me. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
[—TV CORNER—]
Minx (2022)
Created by Ellen Rapoport
Streaming on HBO
Okay, this show had me at Jake Johnson, who stars as Doug Lanetti, a 1970s-era porn-mag publisher. He’s a sleaze with a heart of gold, the kind of guy who is open-minded enough to hire an uptight feminist writer, Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond), to create an erotic magazine for women. His idea is that she can use the platform to promote her political ideas, and he can use her political ideas to bring in a whole new audience. Both Joyce and Doug are struggling to find their place in an industry that doesn’t appreciate their point of view, and they don’t always see how much they have in common as they struggle to make a magazine that is true to their vision. Some of their tussling seems contrived, and there are times when the show stumbles in its plotting, but for the most part, this is a smart, warm-hearted show with a great supporting cast and an stellar slate of up-and-coming female directors including Carrie Brownstein, Stella Meghie, and Rachel Lee Goldenberg. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER