Hello, I’m sorry I missed you last month. (Look for an extra post next month to make up for it.) Life was just too hectic with our big move to Maine, a family vacation and for me, a looming deadline. (I had to return edits on my second novel.) So I haven’t been watching a lot of movies. Though of course, I made time for Barbie…
Like the rest of the country, I went on quite the journey with Barbie. First, there was the lead up: the leaked photos, the marketing blitz, the pre-release profiles. When the movie finally arrived, my children had already been listening to the “Official Barbie Playlist” on Spotify for two weeks. We were READY for this movie. We saw it on opening weekend with a big crowd. I was flanked on both sides by teenagers, one big group of boys and girls that gave off a decidedly cool kids vibe, and then on the other side of us, two besties who had brought fleece blankets to ward off the air-conditioned chill of the theater. My son (10) and daughter (5) sat on either side of me and both were extremely excited.
On the whole, Barbie is delightfully weird. You keep thinking, how did Greta Gerwig get away with this? Visually, it’s quite stunning and the performances, especially Margot Robbie’s, are wonderful. I loved the way Robbie held herself like a doll and had the blank affect of a doll, but slowly came to have more interiority over the course of the film. I don’t know how she pulled that off. I felt like she was the emotional center of the story, and Ken was the comic relief. I’ve heard many were brought to tears by the ending, but for me, it was a dry-eyed experience. When it was over, I was even a bit deflated, mostly because my children were clamoring for me to buy things they’d seen on screen. A part of me was like. . . uh, did I just get tricked into watching a really long ad for Mattel. . . and Chevy?
But, in the wake of Barbie, I’ve loved watching it smash box office records. I had forgotten how much fun it is when everyone sees the same movie. Not only has Barbie sparked interesting discussions about its feminist themes (this one really made me see the movie in a new light), it seems like it’s also started a conversation about the kinds of movies people are hungering to see. I pray to the cinema gods that the takeaway message for film execs is that audiences want movies that take risks and are visually interesting, not that we need more stories inspired by toys.
Aside from Barbie–which I know you don’t need me to tell you about–here are some other movies directed by women that I’ve recently watched and enjoyed.
Cozy Family Movie
Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret (2023)
Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig
Written by Kelly Fremon Craig and Judy Blume
1 hour 46 minutes; VOD $5.99
This is the sweetest movie, a faithful adaptation of Blume’s classic novel that brings an added complexity to its characters, especially Margaret's mother. The story follows 12-year-old Margaret as she moves from New York City to suburban New Jersey in the late 1970s. It’s a huge change for Margaret, one that comes when she’s already going through puberty. Margaret is also navigating bigger questions of identity and belonging as she tries to figure out what it means to be raised with “no religion”— the uneasy compromise of her Christian mother and Jewish father. Since our family just moved to a new place as my own son is on the cusp of puberty, this movie had a lot of personal resonance for me. I don’t usually feel like movies need to be expanded into a television series, but I would welcome more episodes from Margaret’s life. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Prickly Grown-up Movie
You Hurt My Feelings (2023)
Written & Directed by Nicole Holofcener
1 hour 33 minutes; VOD $19.99
This is another movie that hit close to home for me. It’s about a novelist, Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who discovers that her husband doesn’t actually like the book she’s been working on for years. Did I turn to my husband while watching this and ask if he really likes my book, deep down? Oh yes, I did. (He claims he does.) On the surface You Hurt My Feelings is about the little lies we tell to keep the peace in relationships, but on a deeper level I think it’s about disappointment and frustration in middle age, and where to put that feeling. And it’s about the vanity of the privileged, a consistent theme in all of Holofcener’s films. It’s funny in that wincing, Holofcener way. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a treasure, as always. (Have you listened to her podcast?) IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Nerve-racking Sports Documentary
The Deepest Breath (2023)
Written and Directed by Laura McGann
1 hour 48 minutes; streaming on Netflix
I’m fascinated by extreme athletes, so I was curious about this new Netflix documentary about freediving. Free divers swim down into the depths of the ocean without scuba equipment, instead relying on one deep breath to keep them going. Apparently, when you get low enough the pressure is so great that it’s like falling in slow motion. The silence and darkness is like no other place on earth. Which sounds terrifying. But also, kind of thrilling? Director Laura McGann does a good job of introducing viewers to the sport and its stars as she follows a young Italian diver who pushes herself to the limit of her abilities. It’s a solid sports documentary in the vein of Free Solo. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
JAWS in the Real World
After the Bite (2023)
Directed by Ivy Meeropol
Written by Seth Bomse and Ivy Meeropol
1 hour 28 minutes; Streaming on HBO
I love to swim in the ocean but for the past decade or so, increased shark populations on East Coast beaches have made me nervous about swimming beyond the breakers. For a while I even had an app on my phone to alert me to local shark sightings. So of course, I was interested in Ivy Meeropol’s new HBO documentary about the aftermath of a fatal shark attack in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The attack, which took place in 2018, was a shock to Cape Cod, and prompted some members of the community to suggest that the seal and shark populations needed to be “managed”—but how? And what about the marine biologists who see the increased shark population as a sign that the ecosystem is bouncing back? But also: how has commercial fishing affected shark populations? What about global warming? And where do the lifeguards, who are stuck in the middle of these debates, fit in? Meeropol lets everyone have her say in this documentary that is also a portrait of Cape Cod. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Reading the premise of You Hurt My Feelings immediately gave me a solid pang of anxiety, haha!
My kids loved both Barbie and Margaret, but my daughter (who is 7, turning 8 in November) was especially taken with the latter. We saw it in the theare, and then she watched it 3 times in the 48 hours we had it rented! It's really helping her process so many big feelings!
I liked the new Holofcener, but the stupid jingly piano soundtrack really bugged me and my husband. Did you notice it?