Jared McMillan // Film Critic
A lot of movie titles come through the pipeline in any given week. With the many streaming options available to go with wide releases, it’s good to know about the smaller titles in case they are better entertainment options.
So whether at the local arthouse theatre or even from the comfort of your couch, here are some titles now streaming.
80 FOR BRADY
Rated PG-13, 98 min.
Director: Kyle Marvin
Cast: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Tom Brady
Now streaming on Paramount+
Lou (Lily Tomlin), Trish (Jane Fonda), Maura (Rita Moreno), and Betty (Sally Field) are life-long friends. When Lou was recovering from chemo in 2001, they stumble across a Patriots game where Tom Brady made his debut. From that point on, they are die-hard Tom Brady fans. So when the Patriots made the Super Bowl against the Falcons (in 2017), Lou and the gang decide to make the trek to see Brady lead the Pats because they don’t know when they’ll ever get the chance to do so again. But, for Lou, unbeknownst to her friends, that might be sooner than they think.
Based on the true story of the Over 80 for Brady group, 80 FOR BRADY makes sure not to water itself down in sentimentality to keep everything fun and light-hearted. It’s funny; however, there are moments when the story could’ve provided bigger laughs. Also, they take a lot of liberties at the Super Bowl to keep the story going, like Lou crashing the coordinators’ box to talk to Brady. As a result, it gets borderline goofy, but that’s not bad in this case.
The ladies have an experience of a lifetime and use it to overcome certain obstacles going on in their lives to help them live again. Tomlin and Fonda have really stepped into their chemistry as a comedy duo, and Moreno is charming, per usual, but the MVP is Sally Field. Betty, a former MIT professor, has the funniest lines and moments because she plays everything so straight that it sneaks up on you. It’s hard not to just tag along for the ride and have fun with 80 FOR BRADY. Well, unless you’re a Falcons fan.
ONE DAY AS A LION
Rated R, 87 min.
Director: John Swab
Cast: Frank Grillo, Scott Caan, J.K. Simmons, Taryn Manning and Virginia Madsen
Now streaming on VOD.
No one is having as bad a day as Jackie Powers (Scott Caan, who also wrote the screenplay). He is sent to take out Walter Boggs (JK Simmons) because Boggs is in debt to Pauly Russo (Frank Grillo) for $100,000. There are two reasons for Jackie’s role here: 1) He needs money to get a lawyer to defend his son for a crime he didn’t commit, and 2) he’s been paying back a debt to Russo since his days as a boxer, where he was supposed to take a dive, but didn’t. He doesn’t want to kill anybody; in fact, the movie opens with him moping in his car. Jackie is immediately framed for the audience as a reluctant man doing what he needs to do for his kid.
He’s also terrible at this. He tries to back out after seeing Walter pull up to his local diner on a horse (“I CAN’T SHOOT A GUY ON A HORSE”) and puts on an awful disguise to go shoot Walter. Walter gets the jump on him, and, in the midst of a shootout, Jackie shoots the cook, and Walter escapes. Jackie then kidnaps Lola (Marianne Rendon), who isn’t exactly threatened by Jackie after seeing his antics at the diner. He tells his story, and she agrees to help him. Lola can get the money for his kid if he pretends to be her fiancée, so her dying mother (Virginia Madsen) will give her some inheritance.
ONE DAY AS A LION has a lot going on in a short amount of time. It shoots off into too many directions that need more time to breathe and invest in the characters. For example, Jackie’s direct contact, Dom (George Carroll), is having an affair w/ Jackie’s ex Taylor (Taryn Manning), but there’s no depth to why Taylor would do it, Jackie and Taylor’s history, etc. So, it’s moot to have that aside for the audience because it just feels like something thrown in to get Dom to find Jackie.
The third act has some nice moments, but its climax washes out everything that happened before it. ONE DAY AS A LION is interesting and leans into a pulpy action style but sells itself short by not developing characters further in between the plot points. Caan really looks like he can be an action hero if given the chance, the counterpoint to his late father’s anti-hero roles. He and Rendon act well together and keep the movie entertaining despite the story’s rush to get to the end.
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING
Not rated, 77 min.
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste, Anaïs Demoustier, Jean-Pascal Zadi and Oulaya Amamra
Now streaming on VOD.
From the quirky mind of French director Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER, DEERSKIN) comes this tale of a group of Power Ranger-type heroes known as Tobacco Force. After defeating yet another monster, their chief makes them go on a retreat to build team morale. Benzine (Gilles Lellouche), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Nicotine (Anais Demoustier), Mercure (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammoniaque (Oulaya Amamra) reluctantly go to prepare for the biggest battle yet.
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING is probably Dupieux’s most accessible movie in terms of humor while still skirting the surreal. They’re all named after chemicals in tobacco but don’t smoke; their boss is a rat with toxic goo dripping from its mouth that women find attractive. Tobacco Force bonds over trying to tell the scariest story possible, which dips into the horror elements Dupieux likes to play with in his films, but even those stories are filled with dark humor, such as a guy getting stuck in a woodchipper but feeling no pain. Part satire, part outlandish comedy, yet wholly unique; definitely check this one out if you like your funny very weird.
