Clooney is ‘Jay Kelly,’ Melissa McCarthy stays up late & Shaq has a dunk-athon
FRIDAY, Dec. 5 Jay Kelly George Clooney teams with Adam Sandler for this heart-tugging comedy (above) about an actor confronting his past, which also features Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Laura Dern, Isla Fisher, Greta Gerwig, Stacy Keach and Patrick Wilson among its sprawling cast (Netflix).
Spartacus: House of Ashur The gladiator drama kicks off with two back-to-back episodes about arena fighters, nobles, villains, champions and backstabbers in ancient Rome (Starz).
The Family McMullen Connie Britton, Tracee Ellis Ross and Edward Burns (who also directed) star in this followup to Burns’ acclaimed ‘90s indee The Brothers McMullen (HBO Max).
SATURDAY, Dec. 6 Reindeer in Here Based on the award-winning Christmas book, you’ll be charmed by the heartwarming story of how a young reindeer and his friends band together to save the future of Christmas (8 p.m., CBS).
Dinner & a Movie Tonight hosts Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen swoon over Reese Witherspoon’s 2002 romcom movie Sweet Home Alabama (8 p.m., PBS).
Saturday Night Live Melissa McCarthy returns tonight to host the iconic late-night show for the sixth time (11:30 p.m., NBC).
SUNDAY, Dec. 7 The Wonderful World of Disney: The Santa Claus Tim Allen takes over for Santa in this 1994 Christmas comedy featuring Judge Reinhold (9 p.m., ABC).
MONDAY, Dec. 8 Predators Dive deep into an unnerving investigation of Dateline’s to Catch a Predator, pulling back the curtain on the show’s complicated legacy (Paramount+).
Password Holiday Special Keke Palmer host a special holiday-themed episode of the classic game show, with Jimmy Fallon and Jonathan Groff as celebrity guests (8 p.m., NBC).
TUESDAY, Dec. 9 Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House Three-part series finds Chip and Joanna Gaines remodeling a 1960s mountain property into a family retreat nestled in the Rockies (9 p.m., Magnolia).
A Motown Christmas Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey host this two-hour special of music from Motown legends and today’s hottest stars celebrating iconic Hitsville USA classics and holiday favorites (9 p.m., NBC).
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10 Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season two begins in the YA fantasy series (above) based on The Sea of Monsters, the second book in the best-selling series by Rick Riordan (Disney+).
Merv When their beloved dog Merv loses his spark after their split, Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and Russ (Charlie Cox) are forced into an awkward co-parenting arrangement (Amazon Prime).
THURSDAY, Dec. 11 Little Disasters Four new moms (Diane Kruger, Jo Joyner, Shelly Conn and Emily Taafe) become entangled in a web of circumstances that threatens to destroy their friendship and their families, above (Paramount+).
Dunkman Shaquille O’Neal rounds up 40 of the world’s greatest dunkers to compete for the coveted title of Dunkman (7 p.m., TNT).
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You can rock and roll all night, and long after that, with the new remastered 50th anniversary set of the landmark KISS album Alive! Released in both CD and LP formats, it’s a deluxe box set loaded with 120 tracks, 88 of them previously unreleased, and including rehearsals. Re-live the sonic boom of “Strutter,” “Deuce,” a Peter Criss drum solo…and, of course, “Rock And Roll All Night.” Plus a reprint of a 1975 press kit, pics, a T-shirt iron-on and much more!
A ‘Christmas Vacation’ marathon, Hallmark goes country & the Grinch steals Christmas…again!
Beverly D’Angelo & Chevy Chase in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’
FRIDAY, Nov. 28 Left-Handed Girl A conservative Taiwanese grandfather forbids his young left-handed granddaughter from using her “devil hand,” unraveling generations of family secrets (Netflix).
The Baltimorons Director Jay Duplass’s tale of a couple (Michael Strassner and Liz Larson) on a wild Christmastime adventure through Baltimore (Sundance Now and AMC+)
SATURDAY, Nov. 29 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Marathon It wouldn’t be Christmas season without this 1989 Chevy Chase comedy, and you can watch a full 24 hours of it. Didya know this is the only film in the Vacation franchise to NOT feature the Lindsey Buckingham song “Holiday Road”? ( 8 p.m., TNT).
A Grand Ole Opry Christmas TV movie about a young woman confronting her past when Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry invites her to honor her late country star dad at their Christmas celebration. Watch for real-world Opry stars Pam Tillis, Bill Anderson, Riders in the Sky and Brad Paisley (Hallmark).
SUNDAY, Nov. 30 Words + Music New musical performance spotlight series (above) kicks off tonight with John Legend, with following episodes to feature fellow Grammy winners Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette (MGM+).
Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell Glee’s Amber Riley stars in this tale (adapted from a Harlequin novel) about a woman who loves to cook…and a kitchen re-modeler who may become the missing ingredient needed to heat up her love life (8 p.m., The CW).
MONDAY, Dec. 1 Troll 2 When a dangerous new troll is awakened, unleashing devastation across Norway, adventurers Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann), Andreas (Kim Falck) and Captain Kris (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen) are thrust into their most perilous mission yet (Netflix).
The Merchants of Joy Heartwarming doc (above) about Christmas tree merchants in New York City who turn local streets into jolly holiday outposts every year (Prime).
TUESDAY, Dec. 2 CMA Country Christmas Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis host this musical holiday spectacular, with performances by Riley Green, Lady A, Little Big Town, Parker McCollom and many others (9:01 p.m., ABC).
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 3 My Secret Santa A vivacious single mom (Alexandra Brekenridge) in need of a job decides to disguise herself as a man to get get a gig as the seasonal Santa at a luxury ski resort. With Ryan Eggold and Tia Mowery (Netflix).
Oh. What. Fun A star-studded cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Denis Leary, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria) play members of a loving but dysfunctional family in this heartwarming comedy about the unsung heroes of any holiday season: the moms! (Prime Video).
Christmas at Rockefeller Center Reba McEntire hosts the holiday celebration from the iconic plaza in Midtown Manhattan, with performances by Halle Bailey, New Edition, Gwen Stefani and more (8 p.m., NBC and Peacock).
THURSDAY, Dec. 4 Next Level Baker Carla Hall and Candice Nelson join Gordon Ramsey as mentors in this all-new three-week event challenging top-tier bakers to create eye-popping holiday delights as the triple-decker set is transformed into a winter wonderland (9 p.m., Fox).
Do You Fear What I Fear It’s no friendly game of “Secret Santa” when a young woman discovers Christmas decorations disappearing in her home, accompanied by anonymous notes. Starring Cianna Hanna and Josh Henderson (8 p.m., LMN).
How the Grinch Stole Christmas / Frosty the Snowman Tune for these two back-to-back, half-hour animated classics, friendly TV “ghosts” of Christmas past (8 p.m., NBC).
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Saddle up for Yellowstone: The Complete Series, the new DVD set of the modern-day western that launched five TV spinoffs. All five seasons (with a sprawling cast including Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and many others) are here, plus a wagon-load of special features and behind-the-scenes moments.
June Squibb stars in the acclaimed Eleanor The Great (AV Entertainment) as a retired woman who tells a tale that takes on a life of its own—and makes a new friend, a young college student (Erin Kellyman) working to become a journalist. It’s a cross-generational delight. (Purchase at https://www.moviezyng.com/eleanor-the-great-dvd-june-squibb/043396646841)
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The music of so many movies is so important to how we absorb what we’re seeing. Case in point: The new Jaws soundtrack (Universal), newly released with scene-setting “mood music” from Oscar-winning John Williams, all newly remastered for the movie’s recent 50th anniversary. You may not be able to hum them, but you’ll certainly recognized the movie moments that go with “Chrissie’s Death,” “The Indianapolis Story,” “Preparing the Cage” and—of course—the “Main Title/Theme.” Duh-dum, duh-dum, duh-dum, duh-dum…
This meticulously melancholic movie drama probes the origins of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, widely regarded as one of the greatest plays of all time. It dramatically—and inventively—fills in gaps from the scant historical record about the life of the so-called Bard of Avon, his work, his wife Agnes and their three children, including a son who died when he was only 11.
The son’s name was Hamnet.
Based on a bestselling and award-winning 2020 novel of historical fiction by Maggie O’Farrell, it’s a story of love, anguish, grief and guilt, all ultimately channeled—plausibly—into a towering work of art, a tragedy that becomes a triumph.
Jessie Buckley has more than 40 acting credits, including acclaimed roles in movies including I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Men, Women Talking and Wild Rose, and TV’s Fargo and Chernobyl. But playing Agnes/Anne Shakespeare in Hamnet may very well bring her an Oscar. Agnes is a child of nature, a healer and a mystic (local townsfolk claim she’s “the child of a forest witch”) who tames wild birds, grows flowers, makes potions and poultices, and wails like a banshee during childbirth—or cradling her son as he breathes his last.
She also charms—or perhaps bewitches—the young “pasty faced scholar” of her village who’ll become her husband, and England’s most famous poet and playwright. William (an excellent Paul Mescal, from Gladiator II, All of Us Strangers and Aftersun) charms Agnes as well, captivating her with the Greek myth of the doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.
Director Chloé Zhao, who already has a pair of Oscars (for 2020’s Nomadland) might want to be making a spot on her mantle for a third. She confidently steers Hamnet through an emotional, intensely intimate journey of highs and lows, and a time when life was hard, dirt and grime and disease were everywhere, and nature rich with signs and portents. Up there, in the sky—that’s not just a bird on the wing, it’s a spirit, a soul, a memory borne aloft.
And that clump of buzzing bees on a tree limb, well, they spell trouble, something bad, perhaps a plague or a pestilence. To quote one of Shakespeare’s other works, “Something wicked this way comes.” Indeed, it does. And it hits hard.
Appropriately enough, the movie begins with a shot of the massive roots of a tree. Listen and watch, and you’ll catch glimpses of the roots of Shakespeare’s success, laboring by candlelight over what will become Romeo and Juliet or laughing with Agnes as their children playfully recreate a scene with three witches from Macbeth.
The scene when little Hamnet dies, crosses to the other side, is devastating. But it’s virtuoso filmmaking as we watch him entering the afterlife, then disappearing into a stage setting—the very stage setting from which we’ll eventually see him “re-emerge.” The movie’s real emotional wallop—and its ultimately uplift—comes at the end, when Agnes attends a cathartic performance of her husband’s play about a son, a ghost and death.
This isn’t a story you’ll read in a history book, at least not quite. But it’s one rooted in real people, a real place and time, and a real tragedy—and the play that’s speculated to be rooted in it all. “Get thee to a nunnery,” we hear as actors rehearse for Hamlet. Forget the nunnery. Get thee to a theater to see Hamnet and find out what the Oscar buzz is all about.
Perky romcom asks how do you want to spend your (after)life, and with whom?
Eternity Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller & Callum Turner Directed by David Freyne Rated PG-13
In theaters Wednesday, Nov. 26
Where do we go when we die? That question has fueled speculation since the beginning of time, and now we know: We take a train to an afterlife hub, a midpoint waystation where we then choose where we want to spend the rest of our forever.
That’s likely a bit different from what you might have learned in church, but in this clever new comedy, you just go with it.
Things generally run smoothly in Eternity’s afterlife. Until, that is, the recently deceased Joan (Elizabeth Olson, known as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel movie universe) arrives, just on the heels of her late husband, Larry (Miles Teller, from Whiplash). And guess who else is there, working as the hub’s bartender? It’s Luke (Callum Turner), the Korean War vet to whom Joan was married decades before Larry.
The hereafter romantic triangle plays out against a backdrop of afterlife rules and regulations. For instance, once you choose an afterlife, that’s it, the door closes. If you decide your afterlife destination isn’t really for you, well, too bad. We learn that you arrive in the afterlife at whatever “age” you were the happiest, regardless of how old you were when you expired. And it’s for everyone; there’s no heaven or hell, as such. “Everybody gets an eternity,” says Anna, Larry’s saucy A.C., or Afterlife Coordinator (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who almost steals the show.) “The good, the bad and the ugly.”
The afterlife in Eternity is a bustling place. It has entertainment by celebrity impersonators, upscale hotel rooms, and halls of memories where you can revisit everything that happened in your life. Exhibits and hawkers promote different forever destinations, like an endless travel convention. Almost anywhere you want to go, whatever your interest, you can spend eternity doing it in various recreated realms, or “worlds,” including ones that cater to whatever religious beliefs you hold dear. There are brochures and TV spots to help you choose between the nearly limitless options, like Smoking World (“Because cancer can’t kill you twice”) or 1930s Germany World (“Now with 100% less Nazis”).
Eternity is a mix of zippy metaphysical satire and humor that’s a bit less sublime (like the joshes about Larry’s renewed manhood, or another character’s experiments in bisexuality). It even gets a chuckle from a quick bit about a 9-year-old boy killed in a hit-and-run. You almost expect Ted Danson to stroll in from The Good Place. But it’s rooted in a predicament of the heart, one quite common in the realm of the living: Choosing a mate, a lover, the person you want to share your life…or your eternity. Love can be complicated, with the laws of attraction matted and messy and confusing. Can you love more than one person, for different reasons, at the same time? Will Joan choose to rekindle the youthful passions cut short by the premature death of Luke, almost 70 years ago, or continue in the afterlife with Larry, the grandfather their grandkids?
It’s no surprise the closing credits scroll to Dean Martin crooning “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.”
It won’t win any Oscars, but it could be a sweet little side dish to your Thanksgiving. If you’ve been yearning for a zesty afterlife romcom that makes you laugh, makes you think, tugs at your heartstrings and sends you home with a satisfied smile, well, here’s an answer to your prayers.
A ‘Raymond’ reunion, a great escape & Chris Hemsworth’s memorable ‘Road Trip’
Former castmates remember “Everybody Loves Raymond” Monday night.
FRIDAY, Nov. 21 Train Dreams Drama about Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of surprising depth and beauty in the rapidly changing America of the early 20th century (Netflix).
Friendsgiving Marathon What are Friends fans thankful for? That today, they can watch episode after episode of their favorite ‘90s sitcom (11 a.m., TBS).
SATURDAY, Nov. 22 Toronto Airport Uncovered Documentary goes for the first time behind the scenes at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport, revealing how they keep millions of passengers and thousands of planes moving, even in record-breaking snowstorms (8 p.m., National Geographic).
SUNDAY, Nov. 23 The Great Escaper Michael Caine stars as real-life Bernard Jordan, who made global headlines in 2014 by staging a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy to commemorate their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary (9 p.m., PBS).
A Road Trip to Remember Actor Chris Hemsworth turns the spotlight on his father, Craig, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as they embark on a road trip to revisit places from their past and explore the powers of social connections (8 p.m., National Geographic).
MONDAY, Nov. 24 Bel-Air Tonight begins the fourth and final season of the reimagined high-school sitcom based on Will Smith’s hit ‘90s TV series, starring Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes and Cassandra Freeman—and guest starring Tyra Banks (Peacock).
Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion Ray Romano hosts this celebration of the popular sitcom, which ran for nine seasons, with cast members including Brad Garrett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan and Sullivan Sweeten, with tributes to departed Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle (8 p.m., CBS)
TUESDAY, Nov. 25 The Ugly Stepsister Darker version of the Cinderella story about a young girl (Lea Myren) who battles her gorgeous stepsister, resorting to extreme measures to captivate the prince (Isac Calmoth) in a ruthless competition for physical perfection (Hulu).
Sidelined 2: Intercepted Noah Beck and Siena Agudong star in this YA drama about a freshman star QB suffering a setback and a dancer who begins to question the future she thought she wanted (Tubi).
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26 Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age The award-winning natural history series (above) turns back the cosmic clock millions of years, to the dramatic emergence of new prehistoric life after dinosaurs became extinct. Tonight it begins with the playful sloths of the Pleistocene. Actor Tom Hiddleston narrates the five-part series (Apple TV+).
Stranger Things Fifth and final season (at least that’s what they say) of the smash sci-fi series stars Millie Bobby Brown, Wynona Ryder, Maya Hawke, Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp, leading to a grand finale on New Year’s Eve (Netflix).
Louvre Heist: Minute by Minute How did those thieves brazenly rob more than $100 million of the world’s greatest treasures—and get away with it, at least for a while? Find out in this hour-long special (10 p.m., Discovery).
THURSDAY, Nov. 27 The Artist An eccentric and failing tycoon (Mandy Patinkin) hosts celebrities of the Gilded Age (including Thomas Edison and Edgar Degas) in this two-part drama series…and the truth about a shocking murder comes out. With Janet McTear, Danny Houston and Hank Azara (The Network).
Classic TV Thanksgiving Settle in before getting a bellyful of turkey with T’giving-themed episodes of The Waltons and Everybody Loves Raymond, plus some classic toons (starts 7 a.m., MeTV).
BRING IT HOME
A family fights for survival in the Hollywood Hills, caught between a raging wildfire and a pack of savage coyotes. Justin Long and Kate Bosworth star in the horror flick Coyotes. As if raging California wildfires aren’t scary enough, right?
Good evening, as the legendary “Master of Suspense” would say in the intro to his groundbreaking ‘50s and ‘60s series. Now you can own all 263 episodes with Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection (AV Entertainment), featuring some of the most recognizable actors of the era, including Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Walter Matthau, Peter Falk, Teresa Wright and Leslie Nielsen. (Available for purchase at https://zyng.us/UFFI4P
A beloved franchise gets a fond farewell in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), ending 15 years of TV and big-screen drama about Britain’s Crawley family and their staffers as they enter the 1930s in financial trouble and dealing with a scandal. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Paul Giamatti.
Disney’s Freakier Friday updates the original 2003 body-swap comedy with this new romp, reuniting original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in a new family misadventure. Bonus features reveal the fun and laughs that went on behind the camera, and the connections between the two tales.
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If you’re a Beatles fan, you’ll flip your wig over The Beatles’ AnthologyCollection, a massive 12 LP set newly restored and expanded. It includes the three groundbreaking Anthology double albums from the mid-1990s, plus a new compilation, Anthology 4. With 191 tracks (including 26 never before released on vinyl), studio outtakes, live performances, broadcasts and demos that reveal the musical development of The Beatles from 1958 to the band’s final single, “Now And Then,” released in 2023.
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Music lovers will love Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story 1951-1985, author Rob Bowman’s insightful, encyclopedic 750-page account of how a teeny Alabama hamlet became a top recording hot spot beginning in the 1950s, eventually attracting superstars like Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, The Osmonds, Willie Nelson and hundreds more.
The big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit soars to an emotional conclusion
Wicked: For Good Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh Directed by Jon M. Chu Rated PG
In theaters Friday, Nov. 21
Perhaps you’ve heard there’s another Wicked movie coming out. But you likely know that already, if you haven’t been living under a pile of yellow bricks.
The latest offshoot of one of pop culture’s most enduring tales, this one follows the hit 2024 movie, which quickly became the highest-grossing flick ever based on a Broadway show. You probably also know how Wicked, the stage musical, was based on a 1995 book, which in turn was based on the iconic movie from 1939, director Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz, which adapted L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, from 1900.
Wicked: For Good is another explosion of expensive-looking color and visual wowza, filled with songs and powerhouse performances sure to become new faves for faithful fans. The story continues to swirl around the complicated relationship of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the green-skinned enchantress unjustly shunned and feared as the “Wicked Witch,” and her former schoolmate Glinda (Ariana Grande), who’s now even more popular as Elphaba’s “good” counterpart.
Most of the cast of Wicked returns. Jeff Goldblum is back as Oz’s titular wizard, now admitting he’s more manipulator than magician. Michelle Yeoh again plays the dastardly Madame Morrible. There’s the dashing Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who’s been promoted to captain of the Wizard’s Guard. And SNL’s Bowen Yang as Glinda’s doting assistant, and Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s wheelchair-bound sister, now the governor of Munchkinland.
There’s a lot going on as Morrible and the Wizard plot to ensnare Elphaba, Glinda prepares for her wedding (and ponders trademarking the word “good”), and Oz’s talking animals flee the kingdom to avoid enslavement. And those flying monkeys, yep, they’re still darkening the sky.
Wicked: For Good often presents a “darker” shade on the golden shine of the Yellow Brick Road, particularly in the origins of the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion (voiced by Colman Domingo) and the Scarecrow. You’ll see how the crash-landing of Dorothy Gale’s farmhouse creates a fateful chain of events. And there’s a nod to very consequential bucket of water.
But although it dances around the well-known plotlines from the 1939 movie, it also colors outside those lines in a couple of significant ways—and if you’ve seen the stage production of Wicked, you know what I’m talking about. But no spoilers here.
And, oh yes, there’s plenty of music. Goldblum gets a feisty showstopper, “Wonderful,” joined by Grande and Erivo, who also intertwine their impressive voices for the soaring closer, “For Good.” Elphaba and Fiyero heat up a steamy number, “As Long as You’re Mine,” during a passionate encounter. There are two new songs, which weren’t in the Broadway production: Glinda’s “The Girl in the Bubble” and Elphaba’s “No Place Like Home.”
The dynamic between Glinda and Elphaba is the crux of it all. They’re old friends who found themselves in wildly divergent circumstances, on opposite sides of Oz’s political machinery and its plans—not to mention the chasm created by their perceived differences. Can they ever mend the fences that now separate them? What does fate have in store for them both?
At the screening I attended, there were laughs, tears and applause. Wicked fans will be over-the-rainbow enchanted and delighted by it all, and how it wraps things up. I can’t imagine any will leave disappointed—except for knowing that there likely won’t be any more Wicked movies after this one.
Brendan Frasier is pitch perfect as an actor pretending to be real in this warmhearted drama about finding out who you are.
Rental Family Starring Brendan Frasier, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto & Akira Emoto Rated PG-13 Directed by Hikari
In theaters Friday, Nov. 21
Brendan Frasier stars as Phillip, an actor in a slump now living in Japan who takes a gig with a “Rental Family” service to “act” as characters in other people’s lives. “We help clients connect to what’s missing,” says the owner (Takehiro Hira) of the service. “We sell emotion.”
So, Phillip—whose most recent gigs include playing a tree and a tube of toothpaste—embarks on a new phase of his career, one which has him role-playing the groom at a wedding, a mourner at a funeral, and a daddy to little girl (Shannon Gorman, in a most impressive debut) who’s missing a father figure. The clients of the service all need or want something, or someone, they don’t have, and Phillip is there to fill in the gaps in their lives.
And Phillip, who’s been longing for more “roles with real meaning,” certainly finds it.
Frasier—who brought home an Oscar two years ago for his intensely moving starring role in The Whale—is pitch-perfect here as a “big American” outsider in a place with its own customs, heritage, spirituality and heightened sense of propriety. Scenes where he ducks down to pass through a door without bonking his head, or hunker over in a chair that’s too small, reinforce the movie’s idea that he’s a visitor, an interloper, someone who just doesn’t quite fit in—at least not at first.
But he comes to connect with the strangers with whom he’s been hired to interact, learning about them and caring about their lives. It starts to bug Phillip that he’s living a series of lies, pretending to be someone he isn’t. (Even as he tells Mia, the little girl, that “Sometimes its okay to pretend.”)
It all plays out with some twists and turns and surprises, especially when Mia’s mother (Shino Shinozaki), who’s hired Phillip, becomes jealous of her daughter’s fondness for him. Or the feisty senior citizen (esteemed Japanese actor Akira Emoto) with dementia who wants to take Phillip on a tender road trip down memory lane…before he forgets what it is that he wants to remember.
In the very capable hands of director Hikari (real name Mitsuyo Miyazaki), who also directed several episodes of the hit Netflix series Beef, it’s a warm, sweet mix of whimsy and heart. It hits home with its themes of loneliness and emotional need, wherever home might happen to be, and whether we need a bit of drama to spice up our lives, or just “someone to look us in the eye and show us we exist.”
It’s about fathers and sons and daughters, and the broader meaning of family, with a few existential lessons about life itself. It’s no coincidence that, at one point, a conversation is sparked by a 1963 jazz album by Charles Mingus (titled “Myself When I’m Real,” how fitting!) and an observation that jazz is all about “improvisation, chord changes and flow,” making the music mesh with the musicians making it. “Jazz is about adapting, says Kikuo, the older man who thinks Phillip is a writer doing a story on him. Hmmm, adapting…kinda like life.
You’ll watch Phillip learn to improvise, to change, to go with the flow and adapt, to mesh and help make the music of life all the sweeter for everyone his life touches. So that, in the end, he can he look himself in the eye—and see that his “lies” have led him to the truth.
George Clooney and Adam Sandler shine in this warm hug of a movie about friends, family, work, choices, consequences…and regrets
Jay Kelly Starring George Clooney & Adam Sandler Directed by Noah Baumbach Rated R
In theaters Nov. 21, on Netflix Nov. 5
So, who’s Jay Kelly? He’s a very successful actor, not near as young as he used to be, and this funny, touching and moving movie takes us on an engaging, emotional journey with him as he re-evaluates his life. And it’s a big booster shot of authenticity that he’s played by George Clooney, himself a very successful (Oscar-winning) actor, not near as young has he used to be when he made his debut back in the early ‘80s.
Jay Kelly is a wonderfully woven story about life’s wide-ranging journey, told through an inside-Hollywood prism as we meet the people in Jay’s past and present: his manager (Adam Sandler), publicist (Laura Dern), director-mentor (Jim Broadbent), old acting-school chum (Billy Crudup), father (Stacy Keach) and daughters (Riley Kelough and Grace Edwards). The populous cast also includes Patrick Wilson, Isla Fischer, Emily Mortimer,Greta Gerwig and Eve Hewson.
The movie’s many characters have all played—and are playing—parts in shaping Jay’s life, and we watch him as he revisits old memories. Regrets? As the song goes, he’s had a few. But we see how he, and his life in movies, have touched countless lives, made so many people smile, across the decades. Jay Kelly is a showbiz microcosm for us all, reminding us how we’re irrevocably shaped by where we’ve been and what we’ve done, and the choices we’ve made. As Jay regards his own life, and his choices, he wonders if he’s been the father he should have been, the husband he might have been, or the friend he could have been.
Clooney is charming and spot-on-perfect, but Sandler is a revelation. Hundreds of movie miles away from the on-screen immature goofballs that have been his primary stock in trade, here he’s a big part of the film’s heart and soul as his character is wrenched between his loyalty to his client and his own family priorities.
Director/writer Noah Baumbach, a lauded Hollywood presence himself, expertly juggles all the actors and the movie’s many moving parts as the story moves across time—and across Europe, where Jay goes to attempt to catch up with his youngest daughter and pick up an honorary award. On a bustling train ride from France to Italy, he enviously watches “ordinary” people enjoying their lives—and becomes a real-life “hero” by nabbing a purse-snatcher. Throughout, the characters’ conversations and dialogue, and their behaviors, ring true.
But life, and fame, can be complicated, and sometimes nothing—and no one—is quite what appearances suggest, especially when it’s a superstar actor playing roles, always pretending to be someone else.
The movie begins—and ends—with Jay asking for another “take,” another shot at re-doing his part, his scene. “Can I go again?” he asks. Haven’t we all wanted a re-do, a chance to do something over, and do it better?
Jay Kelly is a wistful, wonderfully warm hug of a movie about friends, family, choices, sacrifices and consequences, a rumination with a smile wrapped in the life of an unreal actor who seems every bit as real as the real actor playing him.
A new John Lennon doc, a JoBros Christmas, Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War and Charlie Brown’s T’Giving TV tradition
FRIDAY, Nov. 14 One on One Documentary offers a rare inside at the first year of former Beatle John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono living in New York City in the early 1970s, when the city was rocked by an explosion of creativity and political activism (8 p.m., HBO).
A Very Jonas Christmas The Jonas Brothers usher in the holidays with this lively movie in which they face a series of escalating problems as they try to make it from London to New York for Christmas. Watch for guests Billie Lourd, Laverne Cox, Andrea Martin, Kenny G, Randal Park…and Jessie Tyler Ferguson as Santa! (Disney+).
SATURDAY, Nov. 15 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving It’s over 50 years old, but this Peanuts classic never gets old as Peppermint Patty invites the gang to Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving, and Snoopy decides to cook his own feast with some help from his friends (Apple TV+).
SUNDAY, Nov. 16 Landman Taylor Sheridan’s series about oilmen in the boomtowns of West Texas begins season two tonight, with Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia and Ali Larter returning to their roles (Paramount+)
The American Revolution Peter Coyote narrates director Ken Burns‘ new docuseries, a sprawling, six-part, 12-hour examination of America’s war for independence. The all-star cast also features Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Samuel L. Jackson (PBS).
MONDAY, Nov. 17 Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition Top bakers face off in the “biggest little gingerbread competition” ever, building edible worlds from scratch. Hosted by Oliver Hudson (9 p.m., Food Network).
June Farms New original unscripted series about June Farms, in West Sand Lake, N.Y., and its staffers during the hustle-bustle wedding season (Prime).
TUESDAY, Nov. 18 Smurfs When Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is taken by a pair of evil wizards, the Smurfettes lead a mission into the real world to rescue him. Other voices in the new animated adventure include Rihanna, Nick Offerman, James Corden, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham and Alex Winter (8 p.m., MGM+).
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19 The 59th Annual CMA Awards Morgan Wallen and Laney Wilson (above, also the night’s host) lead the pack of nominees—with five nods each, including Entertainer of the Year—for the live ceremony honoring the best in country music, with performances by BigXthaPlug, Luke Combs, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Shaboozey and more (8 p.m., ABC)
Champagne Problems Minka Kelley stars as an ambitious M&A executive who travels to France to secure the acquisition of a world-renowned Champagne brand, but her plans are upended when she falls into a whirlwind romance with a charming Parisian—who turns out to be the founder’s son (Netflix).
Man on the Inside Season two finds Charles (Ted Danson, above) going undercover at a college to become a “mole” in a PI’s secret investigation. Mary Steenburgen, Max Greenfield, Stephanie Beatriz and more make guest appearances (Netflix).
THURSDAY, Nov. 20 Ghosts Sam and Pete get on each other’s nerves during a book tour road trip, when an air strike threatens their ability to get home in time for Thanksgiving (8:30 p.m., CBS).
BRING IT HOME
In Splitsville, two couples discover the farcical downside to open marriage. Starring Adrina Arjona, Kyle Marvin, Dakota Johnson and Michael Angelo Covino (who also directed).
In the bonkers true tale of Secret Mall Apartment (Music Box Films), a group of young artists build a habitable place for themselves inside, yes, a shopping mall—and live there for four years, while filming it all. But their squirreled-away apartment wasn’t a prank, they say. Instead, it was a living art project, one with a meaning and message about community.
The first two seasons of the Emmy-winning The Morning Show, about the turbulent highs and lows of a fictitious New York news network—with an ensemble cast led by Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Anison and Billy Crudup—now comes to DVD and Blu-ray. Time to catch up on all the scandal, rivalry, loyalty, power grabs and more!
A college quarterback with his eye on prize of going pro meets his NFL idol…and a hella lot of weirdness. Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers star in Him, a grueling gridiron-centric horror show. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment).
READ ALL ABOUTIT
For young readers (and Swifties!) in your realm, consider giving them What Are Taylor Swift’s Eras (Penguin Young Readers), with all the deets about her record-setting Eras Tour, which spanned five continents and included more than 150 shows. See the outfits! Re-live the albums and the songs! All all hail, Taylor Swift!
Learn about the long history of what we surround ourselves with inside the places we live, in The Story of the Interior (Thames & Hudson), which explores the social, cultural and technological history of interior design from prehistory into the modern era. And how what we live “in” shapes how we live, work, learn and play.
NOW HEAR THIS
Frank Sinatra’s “melancholy masterpiece” album of lost love and heartbreak, In the Wee Small Hours (Blue Note), celebrates its 70th anniversary with a newly remastered vinyl release. Tracks include “Mood Indigo,” “Ill Wind,” “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “This Love of Mine,” with tunes from the songbooks of Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael and others.
Fans of classic rock will dig Bold as Love, the newly released and freshly remixed box set commemorating the 1967 album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Sony). It’s four discs of guitar-god goovery, with tracks in both stereo and mono, rarities, rehearsals, live cuts and TV and radio promo appearances. Plus a 44-page book, and Hendrix’s version of another band’s hit song of the day, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
The 25th anniversary reissue of Brian Wilson: Live at the Roxy Theatre (Oglio Records) shows the genus co-founder of The Beach Boys on stage in Hollywood performing the magic of his music. Available in a variety of formats (single CD, an expanded version, digital and LPs), it includes performances of Beach Boys classics including “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Good Vibrations” and more, plus other songs.
Paul McCartney’s post-Beatlesband, Wings, is the subject of the new hit-filled musical anthology available in multiple formats (LPs, CDs and Blu-ray discs). It charts the band through its course of becoming one of the biggest-selling acts of all time, and it’s packed with songs including “Band on the Run,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “With a Little Luck,” “Junior’s Farm,” “Live and Let Die,” “Helen Wheels,” “Silly Love Songs” and much more (Umusic).
Get your ya-ya’s out with the new Super Deluxe Edition of Black and Blue (Interscope/Ume), an colossolly expanded remix collection of The Rolling Stones’ groundbreaking 1976 album. Available as 5 LPS or 4 CDs, it contains all the hits—“Hot Stuff,” “Fool to Cry,” “Hand of Fate”—plus a gollywhopping amount of extras, including a Blu-ray of a live Stones concert, a 100-page book, outtakes and jams. I know: It’s only rock ‘n’ roll. But I like it!
Glen Powell has a blast running in the long shadow of Arnold Schwarzenegger in this bang-bang, boom-boom remake of the ’80s cult classic
The Running Man Starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin & Colman Domingo Directed by Edgar Wright Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 14
Glen Powell is running for his life in this slam-bang dystopian drama about a futuristic TV game show in which contestants are hunted down for the thrill of the kill.
If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s a remake of the 1987 movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role, based on a story by Stephen King. (Watch closely for a nod to Ahh-nold in the early minutes of the new film.)
Powell stars as Ben Richards, a distraught dad who auditions for a spot on The Running Man, TV’s hottest property—and its riskiest. Almost no one survives. But if they do, they’ll win a whopping billion dollars. And even if they don’t, they can still make some serious jack just by hanging on for as long as possible (and killing a hunter or two along the way). Richards desperately needs the cash to get his family out of the slums and buy medicine for his ailing daughter.
But he’ll have to dodge a lot of bullets and bombs first. And rappel down the outside of a hotel, outrun a fireball, leap off a bridge and fight for his life inside a high-tech V-plane (with six toilets, we learn). Meanwhile, ordinary citizens—and TV watchers—are encouraged to report him. He dons disguises and takes on fake names. Drones track him. It’s a high-stakes, life-or-death game of hide and seek.
As in the original movie, woven through the gauntlet of boom-boom and bang-bang, there are overtones and undercurrents about our escalating appetite for extreme entertainment, and how media can manipulate and mislead us. It even addresses the growing use of AI, with videos that look real, but aren’t. As Ben becomes a reality-TV superstar, his righteous anger pumps up the show’s ratings. At one point, he fatefully crosses paths with another reality TV show, a spoofy sendup of The Kardashians called The Americanos. The movie suggests that TV can be toxic to our health, in more ways than one.
Josh Brolin (above) plays the smarmy exec behind the show. Dominic Colman hams it up as the host (the role originally played by Richard Dawson). Micheal Cera is a rebel leader who becomes Ben’s ally. William H. Macy is an underground arms dealer. Katy O’Brien plays another contestant.
British director Edgar Wright (whose previous films include Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver and The World’s End) throws a lot into the story, and onto the screen. Some of it sticks, but some of it doesn’t. This is his “biggest” movie, by far, with dozens of characters and wide-ranging sequences shot in Bulgaria and Scotland. But its high-octane mix of satire, drama, cautionary-tale messaging and expensive, explosive action doesn’t always mesh. It sometimes feels like Blade Runner crossed with Mission: Impossible and Survivor, with a razzle-dazzle-y dab of America’s Got Talent.
And Powell, who made females in the audience swoon last year in Twisters, is clearly the star of the show. Come for the action, stay to see him lounging around a hotel room wearing only a towel. He’s a marquee name now, for sure, no matter what he’s wearing. In this movie, that includes a priest’s robe and a nerdy pair of glasses.
“You want a show?” Richards asks his rabid TV audience at one point, in a live video. “I’ll give you a show.” And in this stylish new spin on an ‘80s cult classic, Powell certainly does just that.
The Media Tourist 