It was a busy weekend, and then I also had some film festival selections to watch, but still. There were some good ones in the mix this weekend!
Joy Ride – My friend had asked if I wanted to see the “sneak preview” screening of this all female, all Asian comedy, and you know I was in! I had seen the trailer numerous times before, and I laughed every single time I saw it. While funny in vastly different ways at times, I think I’d give the edge to this film over Jennifer Lawrence’s recent R-rated comedy vehicle. The laughs hardly stopped, but the emotional moment was stronger and delivered a bit more concisely, comparatively. Anyways, the premise is that Audrey is headed to Beijing for business, but ends up trying to find her birth mother with her three closest friends instead. This movie also had one of the best audience reactions I’ve ever heard. Some woman several rows back shouted in disbelief “WHAT?!” before dissolving into riotous laughter at one point. Bravo.
Master Gardener – You know, I say I like Paul Schrader films, and I do. But man are they odd. In fact, I’m sometimes not very confident that I’ve followed them 100 percent. In this installment, we meet Narvel, a gardener at a lush estate owned by a somewhat stereotypical rich white woman. She confides that she’s bringing her grandniece, Maya, back into her life but wants Narvel to have her as an apprentice. I was nervous that Maya was going to be heinously annoying, but all she really had were a couple of bad habits to break. Narvel, like most of Schrader’s male leads, is quite complicated, both in his past life and his present. Joel Edgerton is magnetic, so I was destined to watch this. I think it brings forth a similar tone and style to First Reformed, though similar to that film, it didn’t get nearly the love it deserved in theaters unlike his last full-length feature, The Card Counter. His style isn’t for everyone, but I promise you’ll be sucked into the story.