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Christa32
Reviews
Paquita Salas (2016)
Well acted, funny, quick and heartwarming
This is a quick witted comedy full of unexpected heart. Mockumentary style ostensibly sends up the absurd (has been?) talent agent Paquita Salas, but we end up loving her instead because of her consistently humane reactions in the face of failures. She is also good at her job despite being somewhat over-the-top, and this makes her endearing. This is a workplace sitcom - parallels to Ricky Gervais and the Office are somewhat hard to avoid - and like the office gives us a window into the somewhat mediocre world of b/c list talent representation. But Paquita Salas used to be a-list - could she again?
You People (2023)
One long lecture about race
This movie amounted to nothing more than an attempt to get white characters to atone for being white. Ultimately that's what most scenes revolved around. It's meant to be a comedy (I guess?) about a white guy and black woman who have fallen in love, in LA meeting each others' families. But there is no depth either to their relationship, or the comedic situations - beyond the mere trope of laughing at the white characters. The actual comedic set up is extremely thin. As are the characters - literally skin deep.
Also, given the constant race theme, the joke about the Holocaust where a black character coached the Jonah Hill character in how to "Holocaust up" the apparently small (though lovely) diamond ring he was going to propose with - well, it about sums up how truly heartfelt any of this was.
Hard Cell (2022)
Touching, funny, rich
Really brilliant comedy showcasing female acting. Felt a bit like Ricky Gervais ' Afterlife in that it was funny was poignant at times, with a lot of heart. Catherine Tate gives amazing comic performances. What a shame it wasn't picked up for a second season by Netflix - but the six episodes show a really nice narrative arc and are a treat in themselves.
The storyline of an EastEnders actor coming in to do a musical and the inmates having to write it themselves because they can't get the rights to a Broadway show was a nice throughline. Liked that the governor (one of Catherine Tate's roles) started out less sympathetic but we grow to see her triumphs.
The Gold (2023)
Didactic, lengthy monologues about class, too long
Good characters (excellent acting) but terrible didactic script laden with political observations about class, the legal and political system, endless references to "south London" and "Kent" as short-hands for aspects of British society. Little nuance. The actors frequently had to stop what they were doing to launch into monologues about "us lot" and "them lot" and "the system" - ever heard of show don't tell? There was a good story in here, but it was watered down by these too-frequent virtually to camera public service announcements on the general theme of white collar crime/corruption vs street crime. Imagine the Wire doing that?
The Kominsky Method (2018)
Emotionally cold
I found this dry and entertaining but lacking in humanity and warmth. In the first episode the best friend's wife (of 48 years) passes away and as they are walking out of the hospital they are planning getting take out (this was not intended to be ironic - I believe it was intended to be sweet or even whimsical). Felt cold.