Materialists

Director: Celine Song 
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Zoë Winters, Marin Ireland, Dasha Nekrasova, Louisa Jacobson, Eddie Cahill, Sawyer Spielberg, Joseph Lee, John Magaro
Running Time: 117 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★) 

Going by its wildly misleading trailers, you might expect Celine Song's Materialists to be an unremarkable rom-com centering around a love triangle full of goofy misunderstandings and tired tropes. What we get instead is a compelling, shrewdly written romantic drama with an IQ twice the size of other offerings in the genre. And that's evident in a scene where its matchmaker protagonist lists all the reasons she's wrong for her date, spouting off the same calculations and criteria she uses with her clients. But when a similar scenario plays out later with a different guy, so much has happened in between she's no longer the same person, her entire perspective altered by a single event.

Song, whose 2023 semi-autobiographical debut Past Lives quietly landed a Best Picture nomination, hasn't exactly gone more mainstream with her follow-up, nor has she "sold out," an especially ironic assertion considering the film's themes. In fact, it's refreshingly outside the box for a commercial release featuring these stars, all of whom play real, relatable characters who can't stop themselves from making believably human mistakes. Ultimately though, it's a timely examination about connecting, told through an emotionally detached woman so skilled at her job that it affects her entire outlook on relationships.

Successful matchmaker Lucy Mason (Johnson) works at Adore, an elite company in New York City that sets clients up based on a number of specific criteria, including age, income, height and level of attractiveness. A self proclaimed "voluntary celibate," she's committed to being alone, unless a really rich guy comes along and changes her mind. But while meticulously ensuring her clients' prospective dates check all the right boxes, Lucy struggles to find a match for the recently rejected Sophie (Zoë Winters), who she's come to view as her own personal challenge.    

Frustrated by everyone's unrealistic standards for a long-term partner, Lucy attends a client's wedding and meets the groom's wealthy brother Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal), who's immediately more interested in her than signing up for a dating service. After charming Lucy over, she reluctantly agrees to go out with him, just as her ex-boyfriend John Finch (Chris Evans), an aspiring actor, reappears, jogging up memories of their break-up years ago over money issues. But as Lucy's relationship with the seemingly perfect Harry grows more serious, an unexpected catastrophe occurs, forcing the cynical matchmaker to take a closer look at everything she thought she knew about life and love.

Methodically building her story and its main character, Song kicks this off with a 2001-inspired opening that shows a prehistoric cave couple committing to each other. But as opposed to apes, these early humans are further along in their development, discovering what they want and how that affection can be bought. So when the action seamlessly cuts to busy, bustling present day New York, we soon find out just how little has changed, forming the basis for how Lucy and others can often cripple under  societal expectations. 

Lucy's pitches to prospective clients is unusually strong, in no small part due to a blunt delivery that convinces us she makes them feel important and seen. Adopting an almost mathematical method when it comes dating, there's no denying her commitment, which sets the stage for the film's ethical dilemma. And from the moment she first appears, Johnson owns the screen with a sincerity that's business-like, but hard to fake, even when the character's lying. Because of this, the setup's whole appeal comes in us wondering what in Lucy's past led her down a path where statistics trump feelings. 

Upon meeting her match in Harry, a conflict develops between who Lucy was and what she wants to be, doing everything in her power to avoid the attraction. But as someone who's also in a profession revolving around facts and figures, he sees right through her defense mechanism, demonstrating how little she actually differs from the clients she goes to bat for on a daily basis. 

It's all about feeling valued, and while Harry definitely does that for Lucy, John's reemergence does something else entirely, and it isn't all positive, especially considering he hasn't changed at all since both were aspiring actors financially struggling to make it in their twenties. Sharing a cheap apartment with a couple of aimless roommates, he now working as a caterer and waiter as Lucy tries to convince herself she's moved on. 

Under normal circumstances, we'd have the ideal ingredients for a love triangle where the career woman is torn between her flawed ex and the rich, charming playboy. But that's all a red herring for the major incident that shakes Lucy to her core, forcing her to take serious stock. And though the film undergoes a titanic shift that nearly takes this into thriller territory, Song retains command of the controls, asking a lot of Johnson, who really comes through with a versatile turn. 

While Johnson's been grinding it out in populist projects and edgy indie fare, this feels like the best balance of both, prompting audiences to see her in a new light and get a glimpse of just how adaptable she is as an actress. And for all the flak Pascal gets for popping up in everything these days, his portrayal of the suave, direct Harry serves as an ideal reminder why, showing us exactly what he adds in the right part.

Appearing to have it all, Harry carries a secret that encapsulates the picture's materialistic slant and masks people wear. He's a decent guy, just not someone who takes his own advice, complicating a process he even admits should be easy and effortless. Evans' likable John wears his heart on his sleeve over how things with Lucy ended, but that rift is as much about his insecurity as her judgmentalism. It's only when they're given an opportunity to meet in the middle about their problems that a chance comes to finally settle them.  

After getting the impression Lucy's smart and talented enough to do anything, it isn't long before we're asking why she's doing this. And soon enough she's exploring the same question herself in a prescient film that says a lot, but gets its biggest boost from Johnson, who delivers her most nuanced work to date. Far from predictable in either tone or execution, she's the anchor for a thought provoking look at compatibility that goes layers deeper than you'd expect from its plot description.             

The Phoenician Scheme

Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Benecio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Bill Murray, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Park
Running Time: 101 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)       

For anyone wondering how a Wes Anderson directed international espionage picture would play out, an answer comes with The Phoenician Scheme, which looks and feels a lot like previous Anderson efforts. But that's only bad news if you happen to detest his dry humor, twee tone, penchant for recycling the same actors in different roles, or even that unmistakable Futura font. And while it all converges into a distinctive style sometimes known as the "Anderson aesthetic," it has just as many fans as detractors, many of whom eagerly await each new release. 

When cinephiles rank Anderson's' divisive output there's largely agreement on what they've seen, often causing them to love and hate chosen titles for exactly the same reasons.  But after the visual and narrative spectacle of Asteroid City hinted at more complex themes bubbling just under the surface of its meta structure, this satire reprsents the latest signpost for his brand of mannered quirkiness. And though it can't help but feel like a slight step back in comparison, there's no denying it still showcases what he does best. 

It's 1950 and eccentric arms dealer/industrialist Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda (Benicio del Toro) is busy trying to evade multiple assassination attempts until a horrific plane crash nearly does him in. Fearing time may be running out, he attempts to reconnect with his only daughter, Liesel (Mia Threapleton), a Catholic nun repulsed by her father's behavior and suspicious he murdered her mom. Still, he persuades her to leave the Church to help run his business on a trial basis, also hiring Norwegian entomologist and family tutor Bjørn (Michael Cera) as administrative assistant.

Risking his wealth on a scheme to overhaul Phoenicia's infrastructure with slave labor, Korda plots to thwart the government's plans to bankrupt him by duping investors into covering the budget shortfall. Joined by Liesel and Bjørn, he starts with Californians Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston) before moving on to French nightclub owner Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), Newark investor Marty (Jeffrey Wright), and even his own cousin, Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), an heiress to the family fortune. Infuriating them with his lies, Korda refuses to enlist the help of estranged half-brother Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) due to their troubled history. But as Liesel spends more time with her dad, she reluctantly holds out hope that he's capable of change.

Somehow both convoluted and mind numbingly simple, the plot's almost beside the point, serving as an excuse for its characters to engage in the absurd, but highly entertaining hijinx put in motion by Korda's embarrassing scheme. Much of why involves the road trip element, which gives Anderson's troupe of regulars a chance to shine in wildly different roles. But none of that would be possible without del Toro's brilliantly bonkers performance as Korda, a clear amalgamation of narcissistic industrialists like William Randolph Hearst and Aristotle Onassis. 

Anderson employs a treasure trove of cultural, historical and cinematic references to fill out this story centering around his main character's eccentric peculiarities, such as adopting as many kids as possible and organizing his business files into separate shoeboxes. Del Toro has to walk a thin line line here, playing a selfish swindler, deadbeat dad and charmingly likable rogue all wrapped into one, showing just enough humanity for us to understand why Leisel bothers sticking around.

Amid a flood of famous faces, it's a revelatory Threapleton who makes the strongest impression as Liesel, whose faith is tested when confronted with the prospect of not only forgiving her emotionally inaccessible dad, but somehow forging an actual relationship with him. And it's when her character experiences Korda's moral failings up close that Threapleton's sarcastic wit and bemused facial expressions supply the film its heart. And opposite both in his largest Anderson role to date, an ideally cast Cera plays the awkward, bumbling Bjørn to perfection, just as we'd expect.  

While Hanks and Cranston's appearances do feel more like celebrity cameos than fleshed out parts, they're still sort of a hoot as brothers, with Wright and Johansson managing to give the looniest, most worthwhile turns of the investors. Others like Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Hope Davis and F. Murray Abraham only pop in and out. It's really the uncomfortable camaraderie between Korda and his two travel companions that carry this, leading right into the eventual sibling showdown with Cumberbatch's scary, bushy eyebrowed Nubar. The result is a surprisingly sentimental finale that prioritizes substance over style. 

Anchored by a charismatically flawed character in the vein of odd, ornery Anderson protagonists like Royal Tenenbaum and Steve Zisssou, it's hard not to wish this was at least slightly better, or even a little less messy. But with a trio of tremendous lead performances, a clever structure and stretches of hilarity, there's a lot to appreciate. Those rooting for Anderson to completely step outside the box may have to wait a little longer, but in giving us more of the same he continues to prove that few do it better.                        

Final Destination Bloodlines

Directors: Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein
Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Rya Kihlstedt, Anna Lore, Gabrielle Rose, Brec Bassinger, Tony Todd, Jayden Oniah, Tinpo Lee, April Telek, Alex Zahara, Max Lloyd-Jones, Brenna Llewellyn
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)     

The Final Destination franchise has always been somewhat underappreciated, especially considering how its premise of death taking who it wants when it wants contains more than just a kernel of truth. Characters who can't shake that sinking feeling of quiet dread may decline to take that last minute flight or pause before getting in the car to drive to work. And yet their fates are still sealed when they learn the hard way that the grim reaper doesn't take kindly to being messed with. 

It's an idea the supernatural horror series has exploited to mixed effect, as a number of gruesomely elaborate sequences show many failing in their attempts to avoid the inevitable. But in Final Destination Bloodlines, a thrilling opening lays the groundwork for co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein to reinvigorate this moribund property with a wild ride that prioritizes story over gore. We still get our fair share of over-the-top death scenes, only with higher stakes as its insanity serves a larger purpose. 

College student Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is haunted by reoccurring nightmares of her grandparents, Iris (Brec Bassinger) and Paul Campbell (Max Lloyd-Jones) dying in the 1969 collapse of the Skyview tower restaurant in her hometown. Heading back to New York to see her father Marty (Tinpo Lee) and younger brother Charlie (Teo Briones), she searches for answers after discovering the tower never actually collapsed. Though her dad is unwilling to dredge up the past, she grills Uncle Howard (Alex Zahara), who begrudgingly shares that Iris subjected him and Stefani's mother Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt) to a childhood of extreme isolation in the years following the Skyview's closing. 

After meeting an ailing Iris (Gabrielle Rose) at her secluded, reinforced cabin, Stefani realizes she somehow inherited her grandmother's Skyview premonition that saved hundreds of lives. Or at least until death spent the ensuing decades picking off the survivors and their offspring, who were never meant to exist. Now coming to finish the job, death's targeting Iris's entire bloodline, which not only includes Stefani and Charlie, but Darlene, Uncle Howard and his kids, Erik (Richard Harmon), Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner) and Julia (Anna Lore). Armed with Iris's survival handbook, time's running out for Stefani, who has to convince her skeptical family that they're next.  

The film's sensationally staged opening shows what happens when the impending sense of doom that's defined this franchise is put in the right directors' hands, firing on all cylinders. From the moment the credits roll, we're bombarded by a series of close calls and "almosts" that visually manipulate the audience in order to generate maximum suspense. And the opening of this Space Needle-like tower provides countless opportunities for that with its creaky elevators, extreme heights, irresponsible patrons, structural flaws and sizzling cuisine. But as is usually the case, the catalyst for chaos is what you least suspect.

Carried by capable performances from Bassinger and Jones as the young couple, we wait for the other shoe to drop, feeling every bit of Iris's anxiety as catastrophe approaches. It's only after an onslaught of nerve-wracking fake-outs that the skyscraper transforms into a towering inferno full of guests meeting their grisly demises. Cleverly though, screenwriters Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor use what could have easily been the script's high water mark as a launching pad for the idea this fatal premonition is passed on through the generations. And with death climbing down the family tree one branch at a time, it lands on Stefani, who's plagued by Iris's vision of the averted disaster.  

There are more twists where that came from, most of which involve Stefani's efforts to stay a step ahead, cracking the code in an attempt to assign an order to the victims. An immensely likable Santa Juana capably carries the load as this heroine struggling to regain the trust of a family who believes she's been as emotionally absent as her estranged mom. On the verge of failing out of school, she needs these nightmares to stop, even if that means playing a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with death. 

Richard Harmon delivers a great supporting turn as the heavily pierced and tattooed Erik, eerily channeling the kind of crazy jerk Matthew Lillard would have played in a 90's. Put through fate's wringer, he'll gradually show that familial loyalty comes first, while the late, great Tony Todd makes his final appearance in the series as creepy coroner William Bludworth. With a backstory crucial to the main plot, his role proves to be a moving send-off for both the character and horror icon portraying him.      

If uncontrollable havoc is par for the course in this series, Bloodlines raises the bar with some immensely satisfying set pieces. One centers around a family barbecue where unattended drinks, hoses, trampolines and runaway lawnmowers transform into instruments of mass destruction. But it's a jaw-dropping incident involving an MRI machine that rightly earns its designation as the franchise's most memorable death sequence. 

Despite us having a strong idea who might be left standing at the end, the film's final minutes are surprisingly gutsy in hammering home its dark central conceit. While the reaper occupies every corner of this universe, previous installments sometimes struggled to cohesively present the notion as more than just a collection of creative kills. Breezily paced and edited, this sequel exceeds those expectations with an experience that keeps audiences guessing through each outrageous development.                               

Happy Gilmore 2

Director: Kyle Newacheck
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny, John Daly, Ben Stiller, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Ethan Cutkosky, Philip Fine Schneider, Conor Sherry, Dennis Dugan, Kevin Nealon, Haley Joel Osment, Lavell Crawford, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory Mcllroy, Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Eminem, Steve Buscemi, Eric André, Martin Herlihy, Margaret Qualley, Travis Kelce
Running Time: 118 min.
Rating: PG-13

**The Following Review Contains Plot Spoilers** 

★★ (out of ★★★★)  

Netflix's heavily anticipated Happy Gilmore 2 answers the question of whether it's really possible for a comedy classic to go home again, responding with a mixed bag full of more misses than hits. But the real concern was whether it would feel like a reunion and little else, made with the presumption fans would simply rejoice at the whole gang returning after thirty years. 

Now after actually seeing what Adam Sandler director Kyle Newacheck cooked up, we're again reminded of the original's greatness, though not for the reasons they likely intended. Their biggest challenge is following a film that was never about positive vibes or giving us a likable protagonist. It was mean, nasty and hilarious, each scene dripping with the attitude that audiences who rejected it could trouble themselves to a warm glass of shut the hell up. 

While the original aligned perfectly with Happy's rebellious, anti-establishment spirit, this sequel represents something else. Given how decades have passed and characters age and evolve with its fan base, there's clearly a conscious attempt to pull on the heartstrings by taking a sentimentally inoffensive trip down nostalgia lane. But no matter how you frame it, that's just not who Happy Gilmore is. And this results in a middling effort more interested in paying tribute to the original's popularity than staying true to the character's arc.  

Having won multiple tour championships in the 90's, golfer Happy Gilmore (Sandler) went on to have five kids with wife Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) before retiring from the sport when personal tragedy struck. After losing all his money in a lawsuit, depressed alcoholic Happy now works at a supermarket while his four sons Gordie (Maxwell Jacob Friedman), Wayne (Ethan Cutkosky), Bobby (Philip Fine Schneider), and Terry (Conor Sherry) support him and their sister Vienna (Sunny Sandler), a gifted dancer aspiring to enroll in a Paris ballet school. But after rejecting an offer to join energy drink CEO Frank Manatee's (Benny Safdie) new Maxi Golf league, Happy gets the itch to make a tour comeback in hopes of earning enough to fund his daughter's dream. 

As old friends help motivate Happy to pick up the clubs and improve his game, he's attending a court ordered alcoholic treatment program led by his late grandma's abusive nursing home orderly Hal L. (Ben Stiller). He also contends with returning arch nemesis Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), who's unexpectedly been released from the psychiatric hospital he was committed to after his 1996 Tour Championship loss to Gilmore. But with the non-traditional Maxi Golf threatening the sport's sanctity, Happy will have to defeat Frank's squad and redeem himself in the eyes of his family.

Though we find out about Virginia's death via flashback within the first few minutes, the circumstances surrounding it indicate this film's tone will wildly differ from its predecessor's, at least to start. And while it's a bold choice having Happy accidentally kill his wife with a golf drive, it does provide a justifiable, if overly extreme, explanation for his personal troubles. Uncomfortably teetering between dark humor and tragedy, it's almost as if the writers thought that Happy losing Virginia wasn't enough unless he was solely responsible. 

If much of the first hour finds Happy in dire straits, there is a clever visual gag involving his hiding of alcohol in various household receptacles and funny antics from Steve Buscemi and former golf pro John Daly, who plays "Uncle John," a fictionalized version of himself living in Happy's garage. And despite a failed attempt to convince us Happy having five kids is somehow hilarious, the overall plot of him reigniting his career to help his daughter does make for a solid launching point. 

For all the flak Sandler gets for casting friends and family, both Sunny and Sadie's performances (the latter as a member of Happy's support group) are effective. It's really a reminder that no one would care who Sandler put in his projects they just delivered. Unfortunately, his recent output has been underwhelming enough for complaints like these to keep flaring up.  

After an overlong sequence involving Happy's unsuccessful return to the green alongside a trio of recreational golfers (played by Eric André, Martin Herlihy and Margaret Qualley), the movie sort of turns a corner. Much of that has to do with the great Christopher McDonald's work as Shooter and some spirited appearances from PGA pros Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Rory Mcllory. Of those, Scheffler fares the best in a meta sub-plot parodying his recent arrest.

This wouldn't be a sequel without Happy again coming face-to-face with Shooter, but the real enemies are Safdi's obnoxious, scene stealing Maxi golf founder Frank and Stiller's Hal, whose brief, uncredited role in the original stole that movie. While his presence here as Happy's treatment counselor is noticeably expanded, the novelty of a seemingly accommodating character revealing himself as an unhinged lunatic is gone.With his mask already off, we're left with this weird guy who's just a run-of-the-mill jerk. 

Ironically enough, Travis Kelce actually comes closer to capturing Hal's phony, disingenuous attitude as a restaurant boss who fires waiter (and Happy's future caddy) Oscar (Bad Bunny). Both of them are highlights, proving how this fares better when incorporating newer faces rather than leaning entirely on callbacks. After a while, so many relatives of deceased characters start showing up that it almost plays like The Naked Gun reboot trailer if it wasn't in on the joke. Newacheck also has an annoying propensity for awkwardly inserting clips from the original, which seems equally pointless for hardcore fans and the uninitiated.                   

Sandler is Sandler in this, but has his moments, even if at times he's going through the motions and the Happy we're watching seems entirely different from the protagonist we remember. But that's probably the point. Aligning him on the side of tradition against this upstart league is a decent idea, but it's mainly to send up the ridiculousness of "extreme" sports and spoof LIV Golf with an insane finale featuring celebrities like Eminem, Guy Fieri, Stephen A. Smith, Post Malone, Becky Lynch and countless others. There must be close to a hundred cameos in this and it's overkill, making you appreciate Bob Barker's iconic appearance in the original that much more.    

We also see the return of those "Happy Place" dream sequences, but with an updated twist that's almost as humorous as anything involving McDonald's Shooter and Haley Joel Osment's tour prodigy turned rival. But perhaps realizing nothing Shooter does could possibly top his bombastic villainy in the previous film, they forego repeating that, opting to take the character in another direction, at least until he vanishes in the second half.

There's a temptation to cut Happy Gilmore 2 some slack since we get what was generally expected under the circumstances. But while many have rightly ranked this at the higher end of Sandler's Netflix titles, a legacy sequel to his all-time best comedy should probably be held to higher standards. Whether this comes down to Sandler waiting too long or just a general lack of quality control, the finished product feels like a misguided attempt at paying homage to the original while abandoning the edgy humor that defined it. That's not to say it isn't still good for some laughs, but they're fewer, even for those approaching this with lowered expectations.