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CODA

9/10

CODA is the feel good, tearjerker dramedy you’ve been waiting for all year. Apple bought this film for twenty five million dollars out of Sundance, and now I can see why. It follows many beats of the coming-of-age structure, but that doesn’t matter when every element of storytelling is firing on all cylinders. The writing is crisp and witty, the visuals feel underdressed and real, and there’s not a weak performance in the main cast. You can tell director Siân Heder did a wonderful job to take care of the deaf actors, interpreters, and ASL instructors on set, as Ruby (Emilia Jones) and the rest of the Rossi clan feel like any other family as they laugh and bicker in sign language over the dinner table.

The story itself is pretty balanced. CODA follows the daughter of deaf parents, Ruby Rossi, as she begins to cultivate her ability to sing. However, as she discovers herself through this talent with the help of her music teacher, Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez), she begins to question her role in her family, as well as envision what a future could be like on her own at music school. One could make the argument that in the third act, there is a situation with the family business that is not quite resolved, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the main themes of the movie is being weighed down by family, feeling a responsibility to fill your role, and when Ruby begins to drift away from that role, we only see a glimpse of what life could be like for this family without her. This is intentional, as Ruby is the focus of the film, but one can’t help wondering what will happen to this family without her if she leaves.

Marlee Matlin (perhaps the most prominent deaf actress in Hollywood) and Daniel Durant are great as Ruby’s deaf mom and brother, Jackie and Leo, but it’s really Troy Kotsur as the father, Frank, that shines. At times hilarious, at other times heartbreaking, Frank can bring tears to your eyes without ever uttering a word. Kotsur’s signage and mannerisms show the humor, anger, sadness, and love that can be shown through ASL, the same way as any spoken language. Simultaneously a gruff, 3rd generation fisherman, and an inappropriate father who, even without speaking, can still make his daughter embarrassed with dad jokes, Frank is the role of a lifetime. Hopefully, Kotsur’s performance will lead to watershed moments this awards season, as a wider audience learns that deaf actors are a talented subgroup of the entertainment community that should not be taken for granted.

Emilia Jones as Ruby though, is what ties this movie together. Yes, the character acts as a translator for both the hearing characters and the hearing audience, but that is not all that is there. Ruby is a quiet, tough girl who learned to be content living in a household that cannot hear her. She has one hearing friend, and that’s about it. Watching Ruby gain confidence in her personal abilities to sing, in a lesser film, would play as contrived, but Jones brings an honest reluctance to these scenes that pushes away any comparisons to Glee or other examples of choir on camera (the teacher, Bernardo, even makes fun of Glee in his first class). The only thing that’s not quite believable is that Ruby is an amazing singer, so for her to have never been told of her talents until now is a bit of a stretch. She sings all the time, even around hearing people. But, this was a passing thought I had, and ultimately, there’s enough plausibility for the situation she’s in to be believable, given her love for her family and her lack of connections in the rest of the world.

Ultimately, I’d strongly recommend watching CODA as soon as it’s available to you, whether it’s streaming on demand or in theaters. There are critics who will write off CODA as a milestone for deaf representation and not much else. But this movie is about so much more than that. It approaches acceptance, growing up, and familial responsibility from fresh perspectives, yet they are also perspectives we realize over the course of the film that are not at all too dissimilar from our own.

The Suicide Squad

6.8/10

The Suicide Squad is a movie designed to kill time. But what a way to kill time. From the endless cast of strange, new-to-the-big-screen characters, to the not-so-subtle criticism of American intervention in foreign governments, there’s a lot one can unpack beneath this antihero flick. It lacks the same level of charm of Guardians of the Galaxy, but then again, so does the rest of the DCEU, so I don’t blame director James Gunn for making the best use out of his material. 

Standout performances come from Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Sylvester Stallone/Steve Agee as King Shark, and newcomer to the American screen Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2. David Dastmalchian also plays great tragic comic relief as Polka-Dot Man, with the timing of his intergalactic gags moving the story along rather than being unnecessary roadstops. Perhaps the biggest surprise in this film is the humanization of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag, a Suicide Squad carry-over who fills his once stiff, one-dimensional character with humor, intelligence, and heart. Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller to the same tune as the first film, but this time around the workplace dynamic beneath her heartless direction is much more believable. And once again, Margot Robbie shows she knows how to play Harley Quinn.

John Cena has a notable performance as Peacemaker; however, despite Cena being at his best, the film suffers here from being overstuffed, as his character often contradicts the tone of the rest of the film, and possesses many of the same qualities as Bloodsport. If anything, Peacemaker works better as a metaphor than as a character.

The villains are forgettable, and ultimately don’t matter. How can you be a real villain when all the main characters are villains anyways? The real sin is the same issue that befell John Cena’s Peacemaker: James Gunn often doesn’t know when to stop adding things, and his films become overstuffed. He’ll keep going until someone tells him no or he runs out of money. Luckily, in this case, he assembled a team eager to work with him, but this could spell trouble on future projects. Elba, Melchior, and Dastmalchian are able to do a lot with a little, but only because these actors bring their A-Game. They make a “B Movie” a “B+ Movie”, by coloring their performances in between the lines. Robbie, Davis, and Kinneman all have the benefit of a previous film of experience, and Cena is left on his own. Ironically, just like Peacemaker.

Ultimately, I’d recommend giving this movie a watch. For those that spent money on it’s predecessor, this one is definitely more worth it. Don’t bother trying to keep track of every little detail or plotline; just sit back, and enjoy Gunn’s wild ride.

No Sudden Move

6/10

Steven Soderbergh is often alone as a filmmaker in terms of his simultaneously fascinating and frustrating cinematic choices. No Sudden Move is no exception. For one, the majority of his latest movie, if not all of it, is shot on a fisheye lens. This serves the audience on a few occasions, like when we get the POV of a character looking through a peephole or see something secretive happening, but otherwise it just makes it harder to catch everything that’s happening. Another odd choice is to have the script unnecessarily convoluted. Where the plots of Soderbergh’s other films unravel like a spool of thread, this one has many knots. It’s ok to not know everything, but a viewer has to know enough to stay interested, and it’s not until about halfway through the movie that there’s enough information for the audience to have a stake in this story.

The film operates as an ensemble piece, so there are no real standouts. Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, and Ray Liotta play their characters according to the script pretty well, without much variation. Both David Harbour as Matt Wertz and Julia Fox as Vanessa Capeli shine as characters on the opposite sides of this story. Harbour, in particular, has to do the most heavy lifting, carrying the weight of two separate equally confusing story arcs with surprising comprehension. At least he knows what’s happening, even if the audience does not. Without spoiling anything, there is also another performance in the movie by an uncredited actor that shines alone as a character study. However, at this point, if you’re still watching by the time they appear, consider this a rewarding monologue rather than a real continuation of the story.

Ultimately, I’d recommend avoiding this movie. Unless you’re a diehard Soderbergh fan like me, you’ll likely finish this movie wishing you had chosen to watch something else. Perhaps if Soderbergh had made this in the 90s, it would’ve clicked as a high-concept crime thriller; but in 2021, it lacks the edge or clarity needed to justify it’s 115 minute run time.

Dave (Season 2)

7/10

(SPOILER WARNING)

The second season of Dave is not nearly as good as the first season, for a couple of reasons; the first of which being that the first 3 episodes drag. The first episode, “International Gander”, has too high stakes for anything to be funny, and undoes all the goodwill Dave gained at the end of last season by comicalizing the abandonment of an intern in a foreign country. “Antsy” is an awkward second episode where nothing is resolved, and there is no justification for it being unresolved either, relying on gross sight gags and glitzy sets to keep it’s audience’s attention instead. The third episode “The Observer”, however, has to be the worst of all, essentially operating as a high budget inside joke, where Lil Dicky and Benny Blanco make fools of themselves, and not in a humorous way. I might have stopped watching altogether if it weren’t for the following fourth episode, “Kareem Abdul-Jabar”, which finally brings humor back to the show, while simultaneously using the episode’s title character as a vehicle to hold Dave responsible for his selfishness and disregard for cultural appropriation.

The second reason is that we spend too much time on Dave. The first season worked because it had an ensemble-like nature, everyone was of somewhat equal status, and characters other than Dave were developed and explored. The second season, however, sees these characters split off in separate directions, with the exception of GaTa and occasionally Mike. The conflicts that do emerge amongst the ensemble often don’t feel earned, usually primarily motivated by the unlikeability of Dave this season, rather than through development on screen together. Most episodes follow the arc where Dave puts himself in a newfound situation, almost finds the solution, and then makes the worst possible decision in that moment. It’s a loop that gets repetitive and frustrating, and not only causes the other characters to grow distant from him, but the audience as well.

The third reason is the show’s overall shift in tone. By becoming more dramatic and serious in an effort to address the topics of writer’s block, early fame, and single life (amongst others), Dave loses what made the show appealing in the first place. There’s certainly room in these situations for drama and comedy to exist, but more often than not a line of dialogue is ill placed or a decision happens at the wrong moment, causing the viewer to cringe rather than relate to it.

If the fourth episode was a transition back towards the old Dave, episodes five through seven are a return to form. “Bar Mitzvah” is a hilarious two-parter that does the most to explore Elz and Dave’s relationship all season, and GaTa finally gets his first fully fleshed out storyline of this season. “Somebody Date Me” is the best use of a celebrity appearance yet, bringing in the talents of Doja Cat as a serious plot point rather than just another shiny, 60 second cameo to point at. And lastly “Ad Man”, ironically, does in one episode what episodes one through six failed to do, which is contrast the reason Dave has loved rapping with how much he’s struggling and hating to do it now.

The final three episodes are what saved this season, and properly set the stage for an enjoyable season three. One would almost think that they should’ve started the season here, rather than have the audience sit through seven episodes of filler that barely advances any storylines. The eighth episode, “The Burds”, finally nails the dramatic tone Dave has been searching for all season. It makes a villain out of Dave, as he continuously fails to understand the state of the relationship he has with Mike, his label, and, most notably, his parents. Credit is due to Gina Hecht and David Paymer, who elevate what could’ve been the worst episode of the season with less seasoned actors to a direct manifestation of everything wrong with Dave’s relationships. Dave’s attempted reconciliation with Ally in this episode is a bit of an afterthought, but it’s still the most genuine interaction they’ve had since season one. The ninth episode, “Enlightened Dave”, is Dave at it’s best. It’s the funniest, strangest, creepiest episode all season, and it’s because the training wheels are off. Dave finally has to confront himself, and it’s only after a series of not so subtle hallucinations in Rick Rubin’s sensory deprivation tank that he’s able to start recording music again. The tenth and last episode, “Dave”, is what the whole season should have been. Everything is there, from GaTa finally getting his recognition, to Dave finally holding himself accountable and attempting to mend his ravaged relationships. This episode is carried by a 5-minute long standoff between GaTa and Dave at GaTa’s house, which may not be his house much longer now that his sister has signed onto the mortgage. Both the actors in this scene handle the vicious dialogue with such barbed naturalism, it makes you wonder where this was the rest of the season. It is only after this conversation that Dave fully takes responsibility for how he has treated people, apologizes to Mike and Elz, and brings GaTa onstage for the VMAs as his equal.

Ultimately, I’d recommend giving this season of Dave a watch. However, just know that this season gets worse before it gets better, so if you lack the time or patience to make it through Dave’s incessant self-pity to the “good parts”, maybe just wait for season three. I doubt you’ll miss too much.