(AMC+/Hulu/VOD) I have a penchant for films and documentaries about magicians and tricksters, and DEALT is about one of the king card mechanics. This doc could hit harder, but it’s a fascinating look at an unprecedented talent and how he can’t see himself.
Film
PAPER MOON (1973)
(Prime/VOD) Winsome depression-era period piece about a con man and his hanger-on. Sparkling dialogue, great chase sequences in a film that doesn’t need them, and surprisingly touching performances from Ryan O’Neil and his daughter. Peter Bogdanovich was on one hell of a roll.
ALWAYS SHINE (2016)
(fubu/kanopy/Plex/VOD/Vudu) A nuanced take on the ‘jealous friend’ genre from Sophia Takal (2019’s BLACK CHRISTMAS) that weaves in clever commentary about Hollywood and casting, while featuring deft camera work and terrific performances from Mackenzie Davis & Cailtin FitzGerald.
PILLOW TALK (1959)
(VOD) I’ll always love the use of a party line as a complicating device, regardless of how foreign the concept may be nowadays, so of course I was pre-disposed to enjoy this Hudson/Day tête-à-tête. PILLOW TALK is also notable for spending so much time with the primary characters in ‘splintered’ and ‘internal’ spaces, and it has some interesting visual framing and reframing work. A lot of it hasn’t aged well, especially the last 15 minutes — hell, it was almost certainly considered problematic even in 1959 — but at its best, it’s a surprisingly experimental and satisfying rom-com.
Full disclosure: I once wrote an entire horror radio play around the use of a party line.
NANCY DREW AND THE HIDDEN STAIRCASE (2019)
(VOD) Katt Shea (POISON IVY) directed and Nina Fiore (BLOOD DRIVE, one of my favorite one-season wonders) wrote this extremely winsome teen mystery that feels like a cult early naughts film. The mystery itself is pretty easy to suss out, but the inventive set pieces and Sophia Lillis’ charming performance elevate the material into something far better than it needed to be.
SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES (1980)
(VOD) Feels like Neil Simon’s THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, but slightly more insufferable. As a screwball comedy it ultimately works, partially due to some damn fine quips, but mostly due to Goldie Hawn’s ebullience. Chase’s smugness is extraordinarily suffocating at first, but that gets worn away roughly halfway through the film. Not a great movie — allegedly Simon doesn’t even remember writing the screenplay — but it’s a breezy fun time.
LITTLE JOE (2019)
(Hulu/VOD) A film about airborne pathogens that alter your brain might be a tasteless viewing choice right now, but LITTLE JOE is a sleek, patient take on THE BODY SNATCHERS, despite a surprisingly overbearing score that would feel more at home in Bryan Fuller’s HANNIBAL than a film about malicious flowers.
THE SWIMMER (1968)
(Crackle/Plex/VOD). Forgotten 60s classic about a man — Burt Lancaster, clad only in swimming trunks for the entire film — literally trying to swim his way through the haunted pools of his past, seeking redemption.
It’s worth noting that Grindhouse Releasing has limited, newly restored Blu-Ray available: https://grindhousereleasing.com/the-swimmer/
THE FITS (2016)
(AMC+/fubo/kanopy/Showtime/VOD) A girl training to box joins a community cheerleading team and, suddenly, members of the squad start falling inexplicably ill. More of an intimate drama than it sounds like, reminding me of Megan Abbot’s — no, not DARE ME — THE FEVER.
BREWSTER MCCLOUD (1970)
(VOD) An icarus story with a serial killer MacGuffin, Altman’s follow-up to MASH is even more chaotic and irreverent, while also being extremely impenetrable. The weirdness worked in my favor, but your mileage may vary.