Connect with us

Entertainment

Sugar Season 2 Review

Some spoilers follow for both seasons of Sugar. Sugar Season 2 is available on Apple TV now.
As detective shows go, Sugar is one of the more intriguing offerings of recent years, and not just because Colin Farrell’s eponymous PI is revealed to be an alien. Through the eyes of this otherworldly sleuth, series creator Mark Protosevich endeavors to grapple with what it means to be human — the way we act, the way we feel, and the choices we make when faced with right and wrong. Do we just observe the horrors of the world, or do we try to do something about them? Must we take a life to save lives or achieve some sort of justice?
In Season 1, John Sugar faced those existential questions against a Los Angeles backdrop. His investigation into the missing granddaughter of a wealthy studio head led him to the serial killer son of a senator whose murderous machinations were being covered up, not just by powerful figures of Earth, but also by Sugar’s own people. Their secret presence had been revealed, causing some to be targeted for death while others (by the final episode) decided to return to their home world. Not John, though; he chose to stay in order to get answers about his presumed dead sister, Djen (Maeve Whalen), from his treacherous best friend, Henry (Jason Butler Harner), and to find out just who sold his people out.
Season 2 kicks off — again — in East Asia. Sugar locates a near-dead Henry, who succumbs to his wounds before the PI can learn any more about his sister. The PI looks around a hideout covered with blown-up black-and-white photos and “Beware Assimilation” painted on the wall before destroying all evidence of it and Henry in a fire. Farrell continues his velvety voiceover, waxing poetically about home, isolation, and the emotions of living, yet that warning of assimilation will hang over the eight episodes once Sugar returns to Los Angeles to take on a new case.
Protosevich certainly offers a compelling neo-noir plot for Sugar to get caught up in. This time, he’s not working for the wealthy elite, but Korean-American immigrant Danny Moon (Jin Ha), a poor up-and-coming boxer whose chaotic brother, Ji (Raymond Lee), has gone missing. With the help of Sasha Calle’s cool, street-smart protégé Val, and Shea Whigham’s gruff, cancer-stricken government operative Tom, Sugar unearths a conspiracy involving Ji, narcotics, the sheriff’s department, and the homeless community. Season 1 might have touched on the wealth gap in LA, but here it becomes part of a cogent critique of societal prejudice toward those pushed to the margins.
Sugar has always been an empathetic hero and a sparkling-eyed contradiction to the world-weary dicks of Old Hollywood that he’s long idolized, but his privilege has rarely been checked. He drives a classic Corvette Sting Ray and lives out of a Chateau Marmont-esque hotel with a closetful of pristine bespoke suits to boot. Spending time with people like Val, Danny, and Ji while navigating the less affluent sides of LA awakens him more convincingly to the very human struggle of living a good, moral life. Throw in an endearing romance with Laura Donnelly’s “is she/isn’t she?” femme fatale Charlotte and a vendetta against Tony Dalton’s charismatic antagonist Sheriff Ray Vega, and Sugar’s got a persuasively entertaining and evenly-paced storyline to rival that of The Big Heat.
Protosevich has never been subtle about how much those kinds of Hollywood films are an education on Humanity for Sugar. The alien moves with a cineliterate lens: His mind flickers to Paul Newman in The Hustler as he hustles a woman for information on Ji at a pool hall; later, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, a 1941 classic about maintaining your identity and inner worth, is playing on his TV at a moment of pensivity for what bad thing Sugar had to do to save innocent lives. Yet this meta-contemplation fails to illustrate the vivid character study of a lonely alien hiding out in the body of a human.
This is not a question of Farrell’s performance. His kind gaze and warm, earnest presence evoke memories of Bruno Ganz’s angel in Wings of Desire and David Bowie’s alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth. Still, it’s a struggle to comprehend Sugar’s unease with human assimilation when the series shrouds so much of his alien heritage in ambiguity. If Sugar is worried about being too nurtured by human behaviour, what inherent nature is at risk?
It’s a frustration inherited from Season 1, where many of the science fiction elements were breadcrumbed in. Here, a few flashbacks to Sugar’s interactions with a rogue alien, his sister’s secretive work, and a hint of his telekinetic powers are not enough to stave off hunger for meatier details about this alien race’s behaviors, their backstory, and their purpose on Earth.
By the final episode, Sugar resolves his initial conundrum — and we get to see exactly why these aliens are allergic to cinnamon — but this subplot leaves us with more questions. A third season would hopefully clear those up, but maybe if Sugar was as much of an homage to sci-fi as it is to film noir, Season 2 would be a far more satisfying slice of cinematic cake.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

New movies to watch this weekend: See ‘Toy Story 5’ in theaters, rent ‘Pressure,’ stream ‘Project Hail Mary’ on MGM+

Welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything, a weekly guide to all the new movies out each Friday and where to find them. This week’s buzziest release is Toy Story 5, the latest entry in the iconic 31-year-old Disney-Pixar franchise.
If you’d rather have a movie night at home, you can rent or buy Pressure, the star-studded WWII D-Day movie that elicits tension about a weather forecast.
And on streaming services you’re likely already paying for, the Ryan Gosling sci-fi vehicle Project Hail Mary, one of the year’s biggest box-office hits, is coming to MGM+.
Intrigued? Let’s get into it!
What to watch in theaters
Movies newly available to rent or buy
Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have
🎥 What to watch in theaters
The biggest release: Toy Story 5
Why you should see it: Toy Story 5 is here and set to become the biggest movie of the summer at the box office, 31 years after the original introduced the concept of a feature-length, entirely computer-animated movie to the big screen. It continues the storied franchise’s tradition of laughs, tears and, frankly, just being damn good movies that both kids and adults can enjoy.
When Bonnie receives a Lilypad tablet as a gift and becomes obsessed, Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang have to go head-to-head with the all-new threat to playtime.
What’s most impressive here is the way the movie understands the multi-pronged threat that technology poses to children: how it changes the very nature of “play” to the point where playing with toys is discouraged, and why using a tablet to communicate with your classmates as the only way to connect, especially for shy kids, can be a big disadvantage.
It took becoming a parent for me to realize that every single one of these movies is, quite obviously, about parenting. In case that wasn’t made clear enough, there’s a shot toward the end of the film that makes it fact, with Bonnie’s parents and Buzz and Woody positioned so we’re watching both sets of “parents” react.
It may not reach the highs of the original trilogy, but it has a renewed sense of purpose that wasn’t quite present in the fourth entry. By focusing on the very real threats children face from our societal push toward “smart” toys and the proliferation of iPads and tablets, Toy Story 5 more than justifies its existence, even if the messaging stops short of going full “analog is better, and tech is inherently bad for children’s development.” Reminding children that nothing can replace face-to-face contact, and that simply hanging out, playing, and using your imagination is the best way to form community, is an important lesson, particularly relevant today. But there is some cognitive dissonance required when the movie tries to have its cake and eat it too about tech’s invasion into our lives — they have to sell Lilypad, after all.
What other critics are saying: It’s getting mostly positive reviews! Nick Schager at the Daily Beast writes: “A cute and funny sequel that treads well-worn territory and yet manages to elicit its fair share of waterworks, it’s not the series’ best but, in most respects, is still better than the rest.” TheWrap’s William Bibbiani, meanwhile, calls it “enjoyable but repetitive.”
How to watch: Toy Story 5 is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Get tickets
The Death of Robin Hood: The latest film from Michael Sarnoski, the writer/director of the beloved Nicolas Cage film Pig, provides his own take on the iconic character. Grappling with his violent past, Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) finds himself gravely injured after a battle that he thought would be his last. He soon gets a chance at salvation when he meets a mysterious woman and a young girl. I’m technically on vacation and missed this one, but it’s getting strong reviews, with critics calling it both gratuitously violent and thoughtful.
Get tickets
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy
The biggest release: Pressure
Why you should consider it: Pressure will either sound fascinating to you, or incredibly boring, and however you feel about it going in will, in fact, determine what you think of it.
In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, the film follows General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) and Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott) as they face an impossible choice — launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.
Essentially, it’s an entire movie relying on the tension of a weather forecast. It’s a movie tailor-made for the stereotypical “dad” viewer, who stand a little too close to the TV and watch movies with their hands on their hips, rapt. It combines two undeniably “dad” interests — World War II and the weather — and attempts to deliver a rousing spectacle.
Despite a terrific lead performance from Scott — and a hammy big one from Brendan Fraser — the movie is simply boring. It’s a lot of people talking about how sure or unsure they are about the weather, and the tension isn’t quite there, given that we all know the actual day D-Day happened. It’s one of the most famous dates on the calendar!
Pressure may satisfy those who think a movie about a WWII-era weather forecast sounds like riveting entertainment, but the rest of us might find it more suitable for background fodder during a nap.
What other critics are saying: Reviews are more mixed. AP’s Jocelyn Noveck writes: “Fraser’s Eisenhower is physically imposing and stubborn too. … But he’s frankly less interesting than Scott’s multifaceted Stagg, a character and performance that elevates an otherwise efficient, well-made war movie into something more intriguing.” IndieWire’s Alison Foreman writes: “There are hints of a far better movie peeking out from [director Anthony] Maras’s dull weather drama, and the Australian director nearly finds it on numerous occasions.”
How to watch: Pressure is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Prime Video and other VOD platforms.
Rent or buy
But that’s not all…
Busboys: Extremely successful podcaster Theo Von joins up with comedian/actor David Spade in this independent film that is entirely written, produced and self-financed by its two stars, who put up $3 million of their own money. A pair of clueless friends see becoming waiters as the answer to all their problems, and hijinks ensue. It wasn’t screened for critics in advance, but I’ll be catching up with it soon! Rent or buy.
Deep Water: Renny Harlin bounces back from his awful trilogy of Strangers sequels with this shark attack/plane crash double disaster flick. A group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group must work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage. The plane crash sequence itself is the highlight, arguably one of the most and most drawn-out crash sequences I’ve ever seen, but once they’re fending off sharks, the movie’s budgetary constraints start to show. Aaron Eckhart’s hammy performance will either work for you, or it won’t.Rent or buy.
📺 Movies newly available on streaming services you may already have
The biggest release: Project Hail Mary
Why you should consider it: Ryan Gosling and his ample reserve of charming movie-star energy help power the extremely familiar Project Hail Mary to recommendable status, despite some elements that occasionally get in the way.
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction. But an unexpected friendship may mean he doesn’t have to do it alone.
If it sounds like you’ve seen this all before, that’s because Project Hail Mary is essentially a mash-up of several popular works of science fiction, including the decade-old Matt Damon flick The Martian, which was based on a book written by Andy Weir, the same guy who wrote the bestseller on which Project Hail Mary is based.
Gosling does commendable work throughout, carrying the movie on his back so thoroughly that I hope he checked in with a chiropractor after filming. It’s essentially a one-man show, and he does an excellent job of guiding the audience through it all. By the time a spider-like rock creature is introduced, he plays off his scene-partner puppet with gusto. Sandra Hüller of Anatomy of a Fall fame is also great in her scenes on Earth as the no-nonsense head of the expedition.
The movie pays lip service to classic sci-fi films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind while simultaneously stealing the plot of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Interstellar. It ultimately morphs into an E.T.-style story about a human befriending an alien creature and discovering we’re not all that different. There’s also a spacewalk scene that reminded me of Gravity. No, you’re not crazy to reference Armageddon or even Cast Away.
In addition to its plot similarities to The Martian, Project Hail Mary also emulates that film’s Obama-era hopecore ideal that if all the smartest people in the world put aside their differences and work together, nothing is impossible. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Arrival too. Also, am I the only person who remembers that bad Netflix movie Spaceman, starring Adam Sandler, from a few years ago? How did we end up with two movies about a guy talking to a spider-like creature in outer space?! That movie must’ve ripped off this book!
Anyway, as the movie goes on and on (and on and on, it ends about 15 times), it’s as if you’re watching the filmmakers attempt to convince themselves as well as the audience that the movie is an important work of sci-fi grandeur on the level of classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, which it’s somehow longer than.
Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have good reason to want to prove themselves — they became in-demand after the popularity of their 21 Jump Street reboot and The Lego Movie, but were famously fired mid-movie while making Disney’s Han Solo Star Wars spinoff before beloved director Ron Howard took over.
On a technical level, the movie looks great; I was especially taken with the alien creature’s ship. It’s the storytelling that falters. The movie aims to please so much that it undercuts any potential drama; it’s preordained that everything will work out fine. It’s so desperate to entertain that it constantly breaks the tension with jokes, which gets irritating, even if Gosling is good at selling it.
Part of the problem here is the flashback structure, which kills momentum by doubling back to fill us in on the story, which isn’t all that compelling because we’ve all seen the movies it’s ripping off. It is also a reminder of the incongruity between Gosling’s character as presented in space and as portrayed on Earth, where he’s a meek science teacher.
Despite the movie constantly joking about his lack of space captain abilities, he’s able to fly the ship when the movie needs him to, and there’s little point in spending so much time with his character refusing the mission. I’ve seen the future — he’s already there!
In short, Project Hail Mary mostly delivers as an IMAX-sized spectacle, anchored by Gosling’s terrific work, despite the movie’s increasingly derivative nature and protracted finale. And now you can find out how it plays at home on your television.
What other critics are saying: It’s well-reviewed, which is part of why I felt I had to level-set expectations. There’s something so try-hard about it to me! David Fear at Rolling Stone writes: “Gosling can actually sell us on an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances while still beguiling us with old-school snap, crackle, and pop.” Mashable’s Kristy Puchko writes: “Imagine The Martian meets Half Nelson meets E.T., and you’ll get some idea of the mirthful mash-up that is Project Hail Mary.”
How to watch: Project Hail Mary is now streaming on MGM+.
Watch on MGM+
Another great option: Voicemails for Isabelle
Why you should watch it: A romantic-comedy tearjerker that revolves around a character’s recently deceased sister shouldn’t work, but Voicemails for Isabelle absolutely does, thanks to strong performances and smart, clever utilization of rom-com tropes.
A young woman’s hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar. It plays like a modern update of You’ve Got Mail with a tragic twist, yet it remains charming and funny despite the heaviness.
Zoey Deutch is wonderful, as always, in the lead role, and Nick Robinson does a great job navigating the complexities of the situation his character finds himself in. It’s one of those movies that reminds you that formulaic material can be a comfort, if executed properly.
Voicemails for Isabelle will make you laugh, cry and swoon over a romance that, in lesser hands, could’ve come off incredibly cheesy. Writer/director Leah McKendrick, whose previous feature, Scrambled, is also worth a look, proves herself an exciting new voice to keep an eye on.
What other critics are saying: It’s getting solid reviews. AV Club’s Caroline Siede calls it “the best Netflix dramedy in years.” William Bibbiani at TheWrap was a bit more restrained: “The enthusiasm comes across, and it’s infectious even when the movie doesn’t quite work. Which is most of the time.”
How to watch: Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix.
Watch on Netflix
But that’s not all…
How to Make a Killing: This remake of the 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets stars Glen Powell as a blue-collar man disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family who will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way. Margaret Qualley steals the show as the sexy, menacing femme fatale; anytime she’s onscreen, the movie is electric. When she’s not, it’s fairly limp, and the energy shift to lame broad-caricature comedy about rich failsons that Powell ends up taking out one by one is always disappointing. In this case, you’re better off watching the original, in which Alec Guinness portrays all the victims, a far more clever take on the aristocracy’s borderline inbred nature. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Never Change: If you enjoy comedy with several jokes a minute and a lot of very funny people, this very silly movie might be for you. In 2008, the graduating class of North Meadows High School had their senior year cut short by a devastating tornado. Now in their mid-30s, they’re being forced to return home and finish high school once and for all. It’s got a Wet Hot American Summer-style penchant for silliness and a premise ripe for taking advantage of that. It won’t be for everyone, but those who find it funny will find it very, very funny. Now streaming on Hulu.
That’s all for this week! We’ll see you next Friday, just in time for Supergirl.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Oliver Tree’s mom breaks silence after singer vowed not to share wealth with family

Oliver Tree’s mom, Christine Begin Nickell, is mourning the loss of her son after he died in a helicopter crash on June 14.
“Our dear son Oliver, you made this world a better place. We are so proud of you. RIP,” she wrote on her Facebook page, along with three broken heart emojis, on Thursday.
Nickell also shared a never-before-seen photo of her son, who looked unrecognizable without his signature bangs and long hair.
Many friends and family reached out in the comment section to offer their condolences, with one person saying, “We were fortunate to have known Oliver as a ‘little’ boy to a young and talented exceptional artist. Thank you to both of you, Christine and Jesse, for having tortured such a wonderful family. Rest in peace, Oliver Tree. Rudy-Virginia.”
“You raised an amazing man who inspired and left his mark on so many people. He is so sorely missed. Sending you and your family all my love,” another person wrote.
Meanwhile, another added, “May you find peace. we are so saddened by this. You are all in our thoughts. He was a spirit to be reckoned with for sure. He helped so many people through his art. So much to be proud of.”
Just two months ago, Nickell had shared a photo of Tree hugging his mom and dad, Jesse, after they attended his show at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
And in February, she shared the poster announcing Tree’s “The World’s First World Tour,” which would take him to Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil, where he ultimately died.
On Sunday, two helicopters crashed in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the Southwest zone of Rio de Janeiro, with the “I Miss You” singer being identified as one of six casualties. He was 32.
Per CNN, two helicopters collided early in the morning while flying over an electric vehicle yard and set fire to at least 20 cars due to the collision.
Tree had just performed a show in São Paulo on June 6 and was scheduled to pick up his tour in Lisbon on July 13.
His mom’s comments came two months after Tree vowed not to leave any money to his family after his passing.
“I don’t believe that any of the wealth, or the things that get made from it, is mine,” the “Life Goes On” singer said on the April 24 episode of the “Zach Sang Show.”
“So when I die, my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one’s going to get a penny,” he added before insisting that if he had “a wife or kids or anything, [they’re] not getting a f–king penny.
“I’ll get my kids through college. That’s the agreement,” he continued. “But there’s not going to be a silver spoon. The idea is, when I die, all the money is going to go back to artists.”
Instead, he wanted his money to go toward “the physical making of art” rather than education after setting up a foundation called Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses to collect the interest from his music.
“You’re not allowed to buy equipment with the money. You’re not allowed to go get education and schooling with the money,” he said. “You have to physically hire people to physically produce stuff — and you’re allowed to rent equipment to make things.
“I have basically a committee that I’ve set up when I pass — and I plan to do it while I’m alive — where basically everyone will vote on who the money goes to each year.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

John Early’s Secret Is Total Commitment

John Early has one of the most expressive faces of any actor working today. You’ve almost certainly seen it. The 38-year-old comedian, born and raised in Nashville, has had many small breaks into the zeitgeist over the past decade or so. His voice might also be familiar to you: He’s worked on a gamut of animated shows including Bob’s Burgers, Tuca & Bertie, The Great North, and Summer Camp Island (a personal favorite). He appeared most recently and prominently in the A24 comedy Eternity, but also in Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave, Julio Torres’ Los Espookys, and the wildly underrated HBO series Search Party. It’s this latter show where I first saw Early, not by actually watching an episode, but from clips circulating on Twitter.
Indeed, this is how I came to be familiar with several of Early’s peers, alt comedians like Jo Firestone, Patti Harrison, and Conner O’Malley, whose brilliant, keenly observed work seems to live timelessly on the internet. But Early has always communicated an old soul, duly inspired by his friends and colleagues, but also the movement and spectacle of Bob Fosse, the melodrama of cult classics like Showgirls, and, as evidenced by his directorial debut masterpiece, ’80s TV movies like Kate’s Secret.
Early’s film, Maddie’s Secret, is not a retelling of that 1986 film, which follows a bulimic woman as she faces pressures both familial and psychological, though there are commonalities: a blonde lead, an eating disorder, the anxiety of a life lived under scrutiny. But Maddie’s Secret is something entirely unique and surprisingly moving, a melodrama following the eponymous Maddie (Early), a dishwasher at the fictional Conde Nast magazine Gourmaybe, who is one day thrown into the spotlight when a video of one of her homemade dishes goes viral. As her fame increases, so does the burden of keeping Maddie’s harrowing past trauma, and the eating disorder that manifests because of it, at bay. In Maddie’s Secret, comedy and severity go hand in hand. Humor lives alongside and within the very real drama performed and staged by Early and his longtime professional partner, Kate Berlant. Maddie’s Secret showcases not only Early’s many talents as a performer, but his instincts as a filmmaker, one deeply attuned to the inner lives of women in friendship and in crisis.
I talked to Early over the phone about his new film. Among other things, we discussed sincerity, the line between vulgarity and crudeness, what it means to commit to a performance, a concept, a way of going about one’s life, and, of course, Showgirls. Our conversation has been lightly edited.
Congrats on making the movie of the year.
It’s official?!
It’s official, yeah. I just got a text about it.
Oh my god.
There was an element in this movie that I was … it’s not that I was worried about it, but I was curious as to how you would frame the bulimia. But you never show Maddie actually vomiting; it’s always before or after. Can you talk a bit about that? It’s a dignifying choice.
There was never any question for me. When I came up with this premise, I came up with it very quickly. This movie was made very, very quickly. That was by design. I wanted to make something kind of crude, not disgusting, but elementally kind of crude and blunt and direct and expressive. I figured if I just made it very quickly, that would be a good way for something exciting to happen that I maybe didn’t have that much control over.
But it was a strange thing where I was like, Oh, I’ve chosen this premise that, on paper, seems provocative. And it of course is, and there’s clearly some part of me that needs to be provocative. But I also think that’s part of what gives this movie a special kind of charge. There’s always this potential to be provocative. At every point in the movie, it could tip over into something that’s mocking or kind of suffocatingly ironic or even grotesque. I personally don’t think we tip over into that side. I mean, it’s not for me to be the judge of, but that was what I was trying to do, and instead to always protect it and keep it sincere. I don’t think the emotion would be felt if that potential wasn’t right next to it.
I think this is a perfect example: You read the logline, you see the trailer, you know it’s about bulimia, you’re expecting there to be some sort of scene where you see her vomiting. But I think it’s more interesting to not do that. Also, I couldn’t be less interested. I wasn’t holding back some sick desire to show it: I did not want to see that at all on screen. I would rather die than people describe this movie as like, queer body horror. I can’t take another queer body horror movie!
[laughs] Me neither.
I can’t take it. Bulimia interested me on a symbolic level. It interested me on a genre level. I just immediately, within like four seconds of writing this movie, felt a very intense protectiveness over Maddie, and I wanted to preserve her dignity. I didn’t want to see her in that situation.
That’s of a piece with how you’ve previously talked about irony, sincerity, camp, the line between these things. Maddie’s Secret is a movie where there is no line. I feel like a crucial part of that is the fact that you start with Maddie as a character, as a woman, first. Everything spirals outward from there. I wonder if you can talk a little bit about performance, acting, embodiment of character. I forgot it was you playing her about 10 minutes into the movie. Ironically, I was thinking of your “Rock the Boat” video during this film. Obviously for the dancing, but also your total commitment to movement and persona. It’s where the humor comes from.
I’ve played women before. I’ve done a lot of characters for a long time where the goal was a certain kind of realism, a kind of lace-front realism. I love broad sketch comedy, and I do it and I don’t bring it up pejoratively.
It’s more that I’ve always been compelled by doing something that could be seen as sketch comedy, but filming it in a way that actually allows for a certain kind of cinematic feeling, of emotion and nuance. I really believed that we could achieve that. I really believed that if you just gave me five minutes, that people will buy into this illusion, and that if they buy into this illusion, if their hearts are open to me as Maddie, then their hearts will be open to the rest of the stylistic extremes of this movie.
People have said to me that they forget that it’s me, and that’s so exciting. Because, who cares about me? That’s the problem too. I’m so sick of seeing the same fucking actors in everything, the same actors who are on the very, very short list of people who can get things financed. I want to see new faces. It’s also, like—I really love fully transforming, you know. Something like dance or something like playing a woman, these are very extreme things physically. They require you to fully commit. I deliberately am drawn to things like that because they don’t let you off the hook. In order to pull them off, you have to fully dance. And in order to play Maddie, I couldn’t send it up. If I were playing someone who looked like me, I can see it kind of deflating the tension. I need the gunpoint, for some reason.
Was Maddie always a woman?
No. Once I was writing the script, she was a woman. When I first thought of the premise, I was like, It’s a gay food influencer. He was bulimic too, but I was being pulled by these women’s pictures, these eating movies, these melodramas.
The archetype came first. First it was just: ingenue. So there was a certain rhythm of speaking, a certain attitude. And when I was trying to put that in a gay man’s body, as in my own, it just wasn’t working. I would love to change that, or I would love to try to push through it, but I wasn’t ready to do that, I guess. It felt too ironic.
That feels fair, though.
It felt more ironic to play a gay guy who had this kind of sunny disposition. It felt like I was doing something caustic, and I can’t explain why. The character being a girl was just pounding at the door and I was like, Yeah. That seemed kind of scary, but the second I opened the door, all of this color and emotion and expressiveness just rushed in. It was beautiful. The second I allowed myself to do what I actually wanted to do, it went from being this kind of ratty, angry movie to being something full of feeling.
There’s obviously the Showgirls element. I’m based in and from Vegas, where there’s that line between irony and commitment. Maybe what gets lost in certain reappraisals of Showgirls is the fact that Paul Verhoeven is, like, not joking. [laughs]
There’s footage of Paul Verhoeven directing those actors where he’s like … [mimes pulling exaggerated faces] He’s really encouraging them to be very stylistically kind of operatic and orgasmic, you know? Obviously Elizabeth Berkeley is taking that direction and is going there. It makes people laugh, I think, out of discomfort, and I think the laugh after is the reaction that you have right before you cross the threshold.
Absolutely.
That, to me, is almost the whole point of this movie. I wanted there to be something very moving that I was holding up in front of the audience, that they have time to approach with laughter. They might be kicking and screaming but a good portion of them, I felt in screenings, do cross the threshold and yield to the emotion in the movie. If people don’t cross the threshold and want to keep laughing the whole time, that is totally OK, and there’s certainly things to laugh at through the very end.
But I do think that my experience is, often when I’m cracking up at something, it’s because I’m uncomfortable.
Well, especially in the case of Maddie’s Secret, laughter feels good after you let yourself cry.
And crying feels a little bit better after you’ve kind of opened your lungs from laughing.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Tay Keith, Grammy-nominated producer, found dead in Nashville at 29

Grammy-nominated record producer Tay Keith was found dead in his Nashville apartment on Thursday, the city’s police department said on social media. He was 29 years old.
He was found dead by officers performing a welfare check, the Metro Nashville Police Department said. Police did not say what spurred the welfare check.
An autopsy will determine his cause of death, the department said. No foul play is suspected.
Keith, whose birth name is Brytavious Chambers, worked with music superstars including Beyonce, Drake and Eminem. He had two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song: one for 2019’s “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk and Swae Lee, and the other for Drake and 21 Savage’s 2024 song “Rich Flex.” Keith was a producer on both songs.
Other music he produced included Drake’s “Nonstop” and Eminem’s “Not Alike.”
Keith spent much of his life in Tennessee. He was from Memphis and attended Middle Tennessee State University, according to CBS affiliate WTVF, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2018. Memphis mayor Paul Young posted a photo of himself and Keith on Facebook.
“Rest in peace, Tay Keith,” Young wrote.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Jelly Roll, Bunnie Xo divorce: Everything we know about their separation

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo’s split may have shocked fans, but signs of trouble had reportedly been surfacing for months. Bunnie went into detail about her side of the story during a June 18 episode of her podcast, “Dumb Blonde,” in which she cleared up rumors, shed some light on their relationship and revealed some surprising future plans.
Jelly Roll filed for divorce on May 18 in Williamson County, Tennessee, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The 41-year-old country star listed the date of separation as May 9 and cited irreconcilable differences.
During her podcast, Bunnie shared details about what had transpired ahead of Jelly’s filing, explaining the couple had a fight on Mother’s Day which led to her telling him, “Well, then file the f—ing divorce papers.”
JELLY ROLL’S DAUGHTER CALLS FANS OUT OVER DIVORCE CHATTER AS BUNNIE XO POSTS CRYPTIC SONG LYRICS
“I packed a bag and I left and I didn’t talk to my husband for, I don’t know, weeks after that. And during that, you know, he was so mad, and we were so emotional that he ended up doing exactly what I told him to do, and filing the divorce papers,” she said.
“Was I blindsided and was this divorce mutual? No, I was not. It was not mutual. Even though I told him to file the divorce papers, I was speaking out of anger and just frustration,” she added.
Bunnie spoke about what led to the distance between them on her podcast, revealing the two were trying to have a baby through IVF, which turned her into “a shell of the person I was.”
She revealed that the two underwent three transfers and ultimately lost four embryos, which led to a breakdown in their communication and put a strain on their marriage.
WATCH: JELLY ROLL REVEALS SECRET TO HIS STRONG MARRIAGE TO BUNNIE XO
“We stopped communicating together in the past year and a half,” she shared on the podcast. “And I think that it’s safe for me to say that I always loved my husband a little bit more than he loved me. I was like always protecting him and always making sure he was okay and like always chasing him and I literally was the glue that held us together.”
Despite the divorce, Bunnie said the pair are “still having a baby together.”
“So, we have been the most unconventional couple that you guys have ever encountered,” Bunnie shared. “We’re going to co-parent together. J is my best friend. Like, this isn’t what you guys think this is. Nobody cheated on the other person. It’s literally just we served our purpose for each other.”
During his show in Saratoga Springs, NY on Thursday, Jelly spoke of the “liars” on the internet spreading false rumors about his relationship.
“Me and my wife are best friends. We will always be best friends,” he told the crowd. “We just got off the phone earlier today. Nobody cheated on nobody. She just did a whole podcast about it. You can go watch it. Every word of it is the truth.”
“That will be my best friend forever,” he continued. “This is the only time I will ever speak about it. Bunnie, I love you, baby. Thank you for those ten years. They were incredible. Thank you for the next 10 years of friendship and 20 beyond that.”
The pair, who wed in 2016, have reportedly “always had a complicated dynamic” throughout their relationship.
“When they first got together, they were both in a very different place in their lives,” a source told People. “There was a lot of chaos, ups and downs, and they built a life together through all of that.”
JELLY ROLL’S WIFE SLAMS TROLLS WHO CRITICIZED HER FOR TRASHING COUNTRY MUSIC SCENE
The source noted that Jelly — who has been on a weight-loss journey — has “changed a lot.”
“He’s very focused on his future, his health and being around for a long time,” the source said, adding that “there wasn’t a moment where everything fell apart.”
Other sources claimed that the divorce had been building for years.
JELLY ROLL’S WIFE BLASTS TROLLS WHO QUESTION HER FAITH AFTER RECEIVING BACKLASH FOR SKIMPY HALLOWEEN COSTUME
“A lot of people want to point to one thing, but it was really a combination of issues that had been building for years,” a source told Page Six. “They came from similar worlds when they met and bonded over surviving difficult circumstances, but over time their lives started moving in different directions.”
“Jelly has changed tremendously over the last few years. His focus shifted to his health, faith, family and the long-term legacy he wants to leave behind,” the source added.
WATCH: JELLY ROLL CONFESSES BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF LOSING WEIGHT
Prior to the announcement of the split, fans noticed they’d both seemingly sent subtle messages via social media. From cryptic song lyrics to ditched wedding rings, the signs were there — they just went largely unnoticed.
BUNNIE XO CONFRONTS HER TROUBLED PAST IN RAW MUGSHOT REVEAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
On May 20, two days after Jelly Roll’s filing, Bunnie took to TikTok to share some intuitive thoughts.
“Women’s intuition when that s— don’t add up” she captioned the video.
JELLY ROLL’S WIFE BODY SLAMS HIM IN PLAYFUL TIKTOK VIDEO AFTER SINGER SHEDS 200 POUNDS
“She been dropping hints this whole time and we missed it lol,” one fan commented, after the divorce news broke.
“Bunnie was dropping the tea in real time and we all did not clock it,” another added.
On June 4, Jelly Roll performed at CMA Fest in Nashville without his wedding ring.
One day later, Bunnie shared a video of herself riding a horse in the countryside. She accompanied the video with Aerosmith’s “What It Takes” and a caption that read, “Wild hearts can’t be broken.”
The lyrics from the portion of the song she chose were, “There goes my old girlfriend / There’s another diamond ring / And all those late night promises I guess they don’t mean a thing / So baby, what’s the story? Did you find another man?”
WATCH: JELLY ROLL AND BUNNIE XO WALK THE RED CARPET TOGETHER AT THE 2025 ACM AWARDS
JELLY ROLL ADMITS TO CHEATING ON WIFE BUNNIE XO IN RARE PUBLIC CONFESSION
On June 6, Bunnie posted another video of herself enjoying the serene outdoors with some girlfriends. She paired the video with lyrics from the Goo Goo Dolls’ hit “Name.”
“Did you lose yourself somewhere out there / Did you get to be a star? / And don’t it make you sad to know that life / Is more than who we are?”
Hours before the divorce news went public on Monday, Bunnie posted a video of herself lip-syncing the lyrics to Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.” Bunnie’s wedding ring was visibly missing.
“It’s not like you didn’t know that / I said, ‘I love you,’ and I swear, I still do / And it must have been so bad / ‘Cause living with me must have damn near killed you.”
Fans quickly added meaning to Bunnie’s post, with rumors swirling online that she was having an affair with Nickelback founding member, Chad Kroeger, a claim she denied on the podcast.
“I post a Nickelback song because Nickelback is like one of my favorite bands…I post this Nickelback song, not thinking anything of it. Not a shot at J in any sort of way, not even realizing that it’s a breakup song. It’s trending on TikTok,” she said, also acknowledging the other videos she posted involving the band.
“So there’s three f—ing videos…which it does look like overkill, and I get where people are trying to put puzzle pieces together, but you’re putting a puzzle together with missing pieces, and it’s not even like that. I am not with Daddy Chaddy. There’s no f—ing way in hell that that would even be a thing. And no, I did not cheat on my husband and leave him for Chad. Like none of that.”
Representatives for Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have not responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
This isn’t the first time the pair have weathered tough times. In her memoir, “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic,” Bunnie detailed her husband’s 2018 affair and explained how it impacted their relationship.
“When I found out about [Jelly’s affair], I was devastated,” she told Fox News Digital in February. “I was hurt because I didn’t think he would be the one person to do that. I thought he was different. And at that moment, my heart was broken. But instead of getting mad at him, I asked myself, ‘Why do I keep attracting these kinds of men?’”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Bunnie admitted she hadn’t envisioned a conventional marriage.
“I think a lot of people need to realize that coming into this marriage, we weren’t a traditional bride and groom,” she explained. “I was a working girl, and he was an ex-drug dealer — a gangster-turned-struggling artist. There’s a different set of rules on the street than there are in what I’d call traditional marriages. If you’ve never lived that lifestyle, you’re not going to understand. But of course, cheating is wrong across the board — it doesn’t matter.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In 2018, Bunnie shared her vulnerability on social media amid the breakup.
“I’m sure by now you guys know that J and I have separated,” she said in a YouTube video. “It’s been hard and for the best. I’m not going to talk about why we separated. He has his version, I have my version and hopefully one day we’ll be able to be friends.”
“My whole point of doing this vlog is to have a little bit of therapeutic release,” she added. “Everybody goes through heartbreak at some point in their life … I’m a f—ing hot mess. I literally can’t make it through the day with wanting to cry… break ups f—ing suck.”
While Bunnie isn’t quite ready to date yet, she shared on her podcast that Jelly Roll has already started seeing other people.
“He is ready, rearing and ready to go,” she said. “He’s all hopped up on testosterone, let me tell you. Um, and he’s ready to go. So, he’s even started dating, which is great. I love that. Um, so his DMs are open. Go to freaking his Instagram, uh, JellyRoll615 if you don’t know, and go send that mother f—er a DM. Like, you guys don’t be scared. Everybody go hit him up. Shoot your mother f—ing shot.”

Continue Reading

Latest News

Video1 hour ago

$350M for Secret Service redirected amid ballroom project: Source

A source told the Washington Post that millions of dollars allocated for the Secret Service was redirected for ballroom project...

Video2 hours ago

Inside Elon Musk's empire | BBC Americast

The US economy backs Elon Musk's vision for sending people to Mars, the moon and beyond with SpaceX. Elon Musk's...

Business2 hours ago

M&M’s are going MAHA, eliminating two iconic colors

M&M’s are entering their Make America Healthy Again era. But as a result, two historic colors may end up in...

Video2 hours ago

You may be hearing a lot more about Andy Burnham

Many Americans may not know the name Andy Burnham, but he could be the UK's next prime minister. The Greater...

Entertainment2 hours ago

New movies to watch this weekend: See ‘Toy Story 5’ in theaters, rent ‘Pressure,’ stream ‘Project Hail Mary’ on MGM+

Welcome to Trust Me, I Watch Everything, a weekly guide to all the new movies out each Friday and where...

Entertainment3 hours ago

Oliver Tree’s mom breaks silence after singer vowed not to share wealth with family

Oliver Tree’s mom, Christine Begin Nickell, is mourning the loss of her son after he died in a helicopter crash...

Video3 hours ago

What is going on with the US-Iran talks in Switzerland?

US-Iran talks expected to begin Friday in Switzerland were postponed after Vice President JD Vance cancelled his travel plans to...

Business3 hours ago

TikTok Video of Woman Dancing in Walmart Checkout Line After Apparent $3,000 EBT Purchase Sparks Debate on X

A TikTok video showing a woman dancing in a Walmart checkout line after what a caption described as a $3,000...

Entertainment3 hours ago

John Early’s Secret Is Total Commitment

John Early has one of the most expressive faces of any actor working today. You’ve almost certainly seen it. The...

HealthNews3 hours ago

Tick season is getting worse. Can managing deer help?

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia Barbatti moved with her family to Martha’s Vineyard full time. It’s an idyllic...

Trending News

Join Our Newsletter

Stay updated with breaking news and exclusive content.