By Anne Brodie
The first thing to notice about Wicked Part 1 is how expensive it looks. And its one of the most heavily promoted movie events in a long while, wall-to-wall TV interviews, ads, themes and digital banners, on pillows, hats, blankets, bags, tees, games etc… enough to turn any other studio green. The sheer volume of cast members, singers, dancers, actors is mind-boggling. The costumes are stunning, the sets and décor out of this world, the money is all onscreen – $145M in eye candy. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande bring their wickedly wonderful voices to the showtunes as Elphaba, the brainy, reserved green skinned outsider and Galinda, the seemingly superficial, vain and brainy, Elphaba’s nemesis turned best friend. Being green has taught Elphaba that the world can be cruel and prejudiced. Being pink and frilly has led Galdina to think she can have her way all the time. They are about to embark on journeys that will change and enrich them, bring out their bravery and humanity. They meet at Shiz (really?) University under headmistress and sorceress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeong). By the end of Part 1, the girls learn that things are rarely what they seem and must learn how to cope and thrive. It’s a long journey – 2 hours and 40 minutes – crammed with fulsome visual effects, lots of heartfelt songs, BIG dramas, head spinning scene changes, etc. Director Jon M. Chu’s ability to take us through this sensory overload at breakneck speed for 2 hours and forty minutes seem oddly easy. Its just so full. And there are philosophical issues crammed in there- the enslavement of animals, the worship of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the illusions and reality of Oz, love, friendship, mentorship, all the good stuff and of course the bad to ensure High Drama. What does it mean to be Wicked? And the idea that an unusual skin colour makes one somehow “other”. In the end the biggest stars are Erivo and Grande’s vocal performances – off the charts. However, caution – there are scenes that will frighten children – and did I mention it’s really long? In theatres now.
A striking stop action from Australia, the enchanting Memoir of a Snail may be animated and about children but it is anything but kid stuff. Filled with irony, surrealism, frank sex talk, and pet snails while looking dingy beige, it follows Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook) and her twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who live in a limited, tragic world. Their mother dies, leaving their alcoholic father, a street performer, now paraplegic to care for them. Grace’s clear-eyed view of their situation and the world and its people is a brilliant, radical departure for a child’s role. She takes us to the heart and soul of the things they experience, from lightheartedness to depression and suicidal thoughts. The family’s perils are only too real;they feel real feelings and so do we. Next, on top of the loss of their father, the twins are separated, Gilbert sent to a fundamentalist family of fruit farmers in Canberra while Grace is placed with a a weirdo couple of swingers. She befriends a street wino, a former magistrate who lost his job due to playing with himself . He will help her in the future when she needs it most. This surreal, dingy and gloriously skewed version of children in animated films is exquisitely funny. Grace’s only friend, octogenarian Pinky (Jackie Weaver) offers her comfort and shelter, but she misses Gilbert terribly. The years pass and Grace’s story deepens in this perfectly wise and wonderful fable. Its funny, horrifying and bittersweet and a cinematic gamechanger. In theatres now.
Lucy Lawless who plays forthright, brave women and was once Zena: Warrior Princess turns the spotlight on another whose name must be remembered. The late Margaret Gipsy Moth gets a much deserved documentary in Never look Away, her story as a working news cameraperson who thrived in war zones and did so for decades, always rushing into danger to get video the world needed to see while others retreated. Born in New Zealand she relocated to Houston and joined CNN, and spent most of her time on assignment. One boyfriend describes her as a lion tamer; he was 17 and she was 30 – they stayed connected the rest of her life. Fellow newsies go on record about her intense need for the adrenaline rush her work afforded; she got video no one else got. Her striking appearance – tall, spiky black hair and wardrobe gave her a certain advantage in Middle Eastern countries, where she was accepted as an exotic. Moth was in the thick of all the major wars – Kuwait and Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia where she was the sole person atop a high rise to catch an excepted incoming SCUD missile (thankfully it never came), Tbilisi, Georgia to show the world atrocities towards citizens, Sarajevo, Rwanda, the West Bank. Admiring journos shot extensive footage of her taking extraordinary risks, admiring men talked about their attraction to her strength and about the life altering events that lay ahead of her. Moth’s jaw was shot off in the notorious Sniper Alley in Sarajevo. Think that stopped her? A hero, a truthteller and one of a kind, Moth’s legacy is here available for all to witness. Extraordinary. Theaters on and TVOD.
Delighted that Apple’s outstanding series Bad Sisters has returned for a second season! There’s no show comparable to it, a compelling thriller/murder mystery/celebration of subversive sisterhood! Two years after the “accidental” death of Eva’s abusive husband John Paul (Claes Bang) the Garvey sisters -Sharon Horgan as Eva, Anne-Marie Duff as Grace, Eva Birthistle as Ursula, Sarah Greene as Bibi and Eve Hewson as Becka are dealing with guilt and attempt to drive themselves off a cliff. But as a cliffhanger, Eva can’t do it because its not their car. Then suddenly, a clue to the “accidental death” surfaces – literally. The badly decomposed body of a male is found floating in a local river, broken up in a suitcase and it’s “that prick, the father of the prick”. Meanwhile they must keep sweet Roger (Michael Smiley), the neighbour across the road who knows the truth and deal with his suspicious shrew of a wife Angelica (brilliantly devilish Fiona Shaw) who has launched her own investigation into the Garveys. The series is beautifully written, dense, challenging and rewarding, and operates on multiple levels, keeping us on our toes and ensuring a quickened blood rate. Its not that we condone murder its just that the pricks deserved it. The things is to keep those nosing around at bay. A police detective newbie Una (Thaddea Graham) finds a clue her superiors missed in the original investigation and requests the exhumation of John Paul’s body. And we’re off to the races. Buckle up.
Surely an impressive young man like Brandon Scott is an ideal subject for a documentary. Scott began his political career in school became the youngest ever City Council President in Baltimore, and now he’s Mayor. Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough’s The Body Politic on POV/PBS Nov. 25 follows his passionate crusade against gun violence, an extreme problem that has plagued the city for eons. There have been 300 murders per annum for the last three decades and he pledged to reduce them by 300; no one believed he could do it. Scott’s deep empathy and articulation show us that he has the fortitude to do the job despite the odds. It would take changing the personality of the communities. He began by engaging the city in his promise. Under the false “cures” of the war on drugs and zero tolerance police, things only worsened, so Scott took a different approach He instituted Safe Streets project, Ceasefire Weekend and an education programme run by citizens who had been impacted, to diffuse trouble, to create teams of “violence interrupters” and nurture a humane approach. People scoffed at his idealism, including the Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr., Governor of Maryland from whom Baltimore needed funds to set up programs. But despite lack of funding Scott’s plan found its place. Community conversation found that shootings occurred not due to drugs or gangs, but to intrapersonal disputes, one local says “the most gangster thing in the word is forgiveness”. We meet local activists who embrace Scott’s vision, fired by its simplicity and beauty. This doc could well be inspiration to other violence-plagued cities.
Families Like Ours streaming on CBC Gem Nov 22 is a fictional look at the devastation caused by climate change with focus on the ocean bound nation of Denmark. Water levels are rising fast, streaming into bedrooms in city homes, affecting infrastructure and human life. The government orders evacuation and as the citizens pour out into countries that allow them to enter, they experience horrendous losses. Homes are now without value, there is no currency, no buying or selling, the symbols and comforts of home lost for all time. The abandonment is turbulent; families and loved ones are separated unable to communicate. The country is closing, ending. Meanwhile the Dutch are finding the cost of protecting their shores untenable as the water threat is beyond what anyone imagined. Soon to be a high school graduate Laura (Amaryllis April August) must weight accompanying her parents as they leave or choosing her new love Elias (Albert Rudbeck) and going to Finland which is on higher ground. A true dilemma, start life anew or not, the possibility of carrying on to populate and create new homelands as pioneers, if they survive. The miniseries apocalyptic feel is terrifying – we know some island countries are already sinking, as climate change, caused by us, continues to alter our planet, perhaps towards extinction. We are with the politicians as they grapple with what to do, with the terrified refugees and with our young guides in this provocative, cautionary tale of what may lie ahead is we don’t do something.
Let’s have some laughs! Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny, Disney+ first ever standup comedy special shines a spotlight on one of the “most prolific comedians working today” and his witty, relatable observations on family life and being svelte for the first time – “Thin people, you don’t forget to eat, you’re dead inside!” he says, having embraced their lifestyle with great success. The 7-time Grammy nominee who has five children lays out his comic struggles as a father and husband with real finesse, stating this salient fact “Kids walked alone back then and now since Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” no.” Right? There’s no plot to hash over, and I won’t give away any of his material so just tune in! Available now.
And a final note, a mash note about The Great Canadian Baking Show on CBC and CBG Gem. Sunday night is the eighth season finale, as the bakers compete in the Signature, Technical and Showstopper categories for the great glass plate! This season’s remaining three bakers have laboured with love in the steaming hot tent over delicate bakes that are gorgeous to look with verve and talent. TGCBS is total comfort viewing, inspiring, set in a natural glade and the hosts, judges and bakers are entertaining and knowledgeable. And we can absorb the finer points of baking and admire the imagination with which the competitors create their wonderful treats. The show inspires some to bake, others to eat. Go on, admit it, Sweeth Tooth. Fingers crossed for S9 next year!
