Maybe seeing two movies back to back swayed my opinion here, but one movie I saw this weekend was definitely a winner, while the other just sort of left me feeling nothing. I don’t know that I had high hopes for either, but I was certainly looking forward to seeing both. I don’t feel that time was wasted, but maybe could have been spent watching a different film.
First up in my movie theater marathon, was the Awkwafina starring independent film, The Farewell. I know we’re all used to seeing Awkwafina as the star comedian in everything she does, but this film was all drama. She plays Billi, who goes back to China for an impromptu wedding, as a guise to go see her grandmother, Nai Nai, who is dying of cancer. No one in the family wants Nai Nai to know, so the film shows the inner struggle Billi is facing while trying to keep that secret. There were so many times throughout the film that I thought she would cave, but she ultimately respects her family’s wishes. What’s even more interesting about this film it that it’s based on the director’s life, and we learn that six years after her Nai Nai’s diagnosis she’s still kicking! There were plenty of light comedic moments, and heartbreakingly sad ones, but this film left me asking myseld similar questions Billi was facing down.
Next up was the 70s era gangster movie, The Kitchen. Starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elizabeth Moss, this film centers on these three women trying to take over Hell’s Kitchen to make ends meat while their Irish mob husbands are in prison. Once again, with names like McCarthy and Haddish, you’d be expecting a knee-slapping comedy, but this film was also heavy on the drama (and the “c” word). They are all fairly timid wives at first, then they really come into their own before teaming up with the Italian mob for protection. There are some serious twists and turns, but the dialogue and scenes are choppy, making its hour and forty minute run time seem to drag quite a bit. At the end you realize these ladies like who they are with money and aren’t afraid to mow down the people who get in their way, including each other.
I’d say skip The Kitchen in the theaters, and as long as you don’t have a problem with subtitles, then The Farewell is for you (95% of the film is spoken in Chinese). The weekend wasn’t a dud, but I’ve seen better and I’m waiting for better this month.