"Hillbilly Elegy" is an adaptation of a book and play of the same name.
Elegy tells the story of J.D. Vance, a Yale student who is on the verge of landing an interview for his dream job when he is called back home to Kentucky as his mother is in the hospital.
J.D.'s mother Bev, played by Amy Adams, is mentally ill and has been addicted to substances for years. She is about to be released by the hospital for not having insurance. But where is she to go? Can J.D. help her?
The film is told as a memoir, with present day scenes and flashbacks throughout J.D.'s entire life, including the time he went to stay with his grandmother, "Mawmaw", played by Glenn Close.
The film is not for the faint of heart. It depicts years of mental and physical abuse, substance abuse, and mental illness.
Now streaming on Netflix, directed by Ron Howard, three stars.
Now streaming on Netflix, "The Midnight Sky" tells the story of a dystopian Earth, one that cannot sustain life. Humans fled the Earth and have created a colony out in space, on Jupiter's Moon.
On Earth is Augustine, a scientist in the Arctic who is desperately trying to make contact with the Aether, a spaceship that is trying to make it back to Earth. Aboard the Aether is Iris, played by Felicity Jones, and Commander Adewole, played by David Oyelowo.
Augustine, played by George Clooney, tries tor each out to the Aether, to let them know that the Earth is uninhabitable, and that they need to turn back. But the Aether is adrift in space and has lost communications with Earth.
Can Augustine contact the Aether and avert another disaster? Can the Aether make it back to Jupiter?
Now streaming on "Netflix", the movie "The Prom" is a movie adapted from a Broadway musical by entertainment mogul Ryan Murphy.
Based on a true story, "The Prom" tells the story of Emma, played by Jo Ellen Pellman, a girl in a small town in Indiana who wants to take her girlfriend, Alyssa, played by Ariana DeBose, to the prom. The school PTA board take a vote, and Emma's plea is denied. She can attend prom, just not with her girlfriend.
Meanwhile, on Broadway, Dee Dee Allen, played by Meryl Streep, and Barry Glickman, played by James Cordon, have just opened a show entitled "Eleanor Roosevelt: The Musical!" Unfortunately, the reviews were horrible, and it opened and closed on the same night.
Despondent, Dee Dee and Barry turn to the bar in Sardi's to drown their sorrows. While there they encounter Trent Oliver, an out of work actor who graduated from Julliard, played by Andrew Rannells, and Angie Dickinson, a Broadway chorus girl, played by Nicole Kidman.
Dee Dee and Barry got such horrible reviews that they turn to social media for a story that they can use to help make a difference in someone's life-while earning them some positive press in the process. They then read Emma's story on Twitter. From there, they hatch a plan to head to Edgewater, Indiana to dole out some justice for Emma.
The four Broadway actors head to Indiana on a bus, accompanied by the touring cast of "Godspell." Once they arrive in Edgewater, Indiana, the town will never be the same.
The movie also has great performances by Keegan Michal Key, who plays Emma's school principal, Mr. Hawkins, and Kerry Washington, who plays Alyssa's mother.
Despite the rampant homophobia in the small town in Indiana, the film is full of uplifting musical numbers and laughs. There are heart tugging scenes as well, from both Pellman and Cordon.
My favorite musical number is the finale, "It's Time to Dance." Look closely at the attendees of the prom in the finale-all of them are queer individuals. Whether they be gay, ace or trans, genderqueer or genderfluid, or any of the other letters in the LGBTQ acronym, all are welcome at the prom.
As a devoted Broadway fan, there are things about the movie adaptation that I don't especially care for. I know the soundtrack of "The Prom" by heart. All of the songs from the show are present in the film, although not all of them are performed in their entirety. I wish the film had been cast with the Original Broadway Cast, as they are an amazing, and amazingly talented, group of artists. That being said, the cast in this film are wonderful and made a great movie.
Listen to your unruly heart, and watch "The Prom." All are welcome. Now streaming on Netflix, 5 stars.
Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman star in the film adaptation "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", taken from the August Wilson play, directed by Denzel Washington.
"Ma Rainey" tells the story of an afternoon in the day of the life of Ma Rainey, famous singer of the 1920s, known as "the Mother of the Blues." Viola Davis stars as Rainey, and gives an adept performance. She is often unrecognizable in the role.
The late Chadwick Boseman plays Levee, an aspiring horn player in Rainey's back up band. This performance, his last ever caught on film, is frenetic, frantic, and haunting.
Ma Rainey was unapologetically queer in real life; in the film, the same is true.
The film feels very much like watching the August Wilson play in a theater.
It's an amazing piece of work, with a stellar cast, and should be on everyone's "must see" list.
"Over the Moon", now streaming on Netflix, tells the story of Fei Fei, a bright and brilliant young girl. She grew up listening to her Mother's stories of the Moon Goddess, Change'.
As she grows older, her friends and family make fun of Fei Fei for believing in Change'. However, Fei Fei is determined to build a rocket ship, travel to the moon, and prove everyone wrong.
Will she make it to the moon? What will she find if she gets there?
A brilliant musical, animated film with a majority Asian cast, starring Ken Jeong as Gobi and Phillipa Soo as Change'.
