Young Washington

I went back and forth about seeing Young Washington (for reasons) but I ultimately decided that I wanted to and did so last night.  I actually really liked it!  Eleven-year-old George Washington (Will Joseph) is forced to withdraw from school to work on the farm after the death of his father but his older half-brother Lawrence Washington (John Foss), a commissioned officer in the British Army, encourages him to continue learning and improving himself on his own.  Washington (William Franklyn-Miller) grows up to be incredibly ambitious but becomes a surveyor after he is refused a royal commission due to his lowly colonial background.  Eager to impress Lord Fairfax (Kelsey Grammer), and the young noblewoman (Mia Rodgers) betrothed to his son, he volunteers to survey the Ohio territory adjoining his land with his friend Christopher Gist (Leo Hanna) and, during their expedition, they discover that French forces are building a fort on land claimed by the Crown.  He reports this information to Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddle (Ben Kingsley) who appoints him a Major in the Virginia Militia and sends him to deliver a message to Joseph Jumonville (Clement Toyon) ordering him to leave.  Washington forms an alliance with a group of Seneca led by Tanacharison (Ryan Begay) after Jumonville refuses to leave but they open fire which precipitates the French and Indian War.  Washington hastily builds the stockade known as Fort Necessity in an area open to attack and is eventually forced to surrender to the French after a bloody battle which kills Gist.  Washington is demoralized and resigns his commission but his mother Mary (Mary-Louise Parker) convinces him to stay the course and he volunteers to act as aide-de-camp to General Edward Braddock (Andy Serkis).  He attempts to convince Braddock to abandon the traditional British battle formations based on his experience at Necessity but he is rebuffed and their forces are ambushed during the Battle of Monogahela.  He ultimately forms a rear guard using his own battle tactics to save the men from Virginia and this brings him great acclaim.  The narrative leans into the idea that Washington was successful because of divine providence and, while there is a scene in which the Seneca tell him that he was protected by the Creator's Spirit in battle, it is definitely not as heavy-handed as I feared it would be.  In fact, much of the criticism that I had read beforehand about belabored metaphors is very much exaggerated.  I really enjoyed Washington's character arc as a inexperienced soldier who learns from his mistakes and an ambitious leader who develops humility.  The cast is outstanding and Franklyn-Miller, especially, gives a compelling performance, particularly during the heartbreaking surrender of Fort Necessity.  I was also very captivated by Begay because he reminded me so much of Graham Greene (one of my favorite actors).  The battle sequences are exhilarating and the locations and production design are stunning.  I found this very entertaining and I encourage you to ignore the criticism and decide for yourself!

Toy Story 5

The second movie in my animation double feature last night was Toy Story 5 and, even though we probably didn't need another installment in this franchise, I loved it!  When Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) receives a tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee), she spends all of her time online so Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the other toys start to feel neglected.  Jessie confronts Lily by saying that Bonnie is losing opportunities to find friends so Lily connects her to some of her classmates online.  However, when Bonnie is ridiculed by these new friends, Lily feels guilty and finds a way to be donated.  Meanwhile, Jessie and Bullyeye are inadvertently sent to the home of their first owner and meet Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris), the little girl who lives there now.  She thinks that Blaze would be a good friend for Bonnie so she enlists the help of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks), and some of Blaze's toys but eventually realizes that she needs Lily to connect them.  Jessie also realizes that it is natural for children to outgrow their toys when she learns how much she meant to her first owner, Emily.  There are several fun sub-plots involving Buzz trying to work up the courage to ask Jessie to marry him and a group of Hi-Tech Edition Buzz Lightyears who crash land on a deserted island stuck in demo mode and aid Jessie when they attempt to reach Star Command (the scenes in which they engage in covert missions are incredibly amusing).  I loved this because it is funny (with lots of hilarious interactions between all of the toys, both old and new), compelling (with a powerful message about finding a healthy balance between imaginative play and technology), and quite poignant (the scene in which Bonnie is cyberbullied brought tears to my eyes and so did the scene in which Jessie finds Emily's box of memorabilia).  I loved Jessie's character arc as she comes to terms with being abandoned by Emily (Cusack is wonderful and gives a highly emotional performance) and I enjoyed the bickering between Woody and Buzz but I sometimes felt like there were too many characters who either don't add much to the story (especially Smarty Pants, voiced by Conan O'Brien) or are little more than cameos (I still liked seeing my favorite character Duke Caboom, voiced by Keanu Reeves).  Nevertheless, I think this is a worthy addition to the franchise and I highly recommend it.

Note:  I love the song "I Knew It, I Knew You" by Taylor Swift even more now that I've heard it in context!

Minions & Monsters

I had a lot of fun at an animation double feature last night.  I started with Minions & Monsters and this homage to Old Hollywood is so much better than I was expecting!  A tour guide (Allison Janney) leading a group through a film history museum tells the story of how a trio of minions named James, Henry, and Ed influenced Hollywood and saved the world.  A tribe, led by Dick, serve a series of evil villains throughout history, with disastrous results, until they discover a Wild West train robbery and decide to become the robber's henchmen.  They pursue the train only to discover that they have disrupted an elaborate movie shoot.  The director Max (Christoph Waltz) is furious because he believes all of his footage has been ruined but Frank and Elwood Bright (Jeff Bridges), the heads of Bright Brothers Studios, love the new scene and demand that the minions be hired.  They become big stars but, when silent movies transition to "talkies," they are unable to adapt because they are incomprehensible and are fired.  James, Henry, and Ed decide to make their own movie, called Minions and Monsters, but Dick and the rest of the minions leave the studio to find another evil villain to serve.  They become henchmen to Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), an alien robot who intends to invade Earth, but his plans are sidetracked when he meets a suffragette named Debbie (Zoey Deutch) and the minions are used to woo her, instead.  Meanwhile, James uses a spellbook, once owned by the sorcerer they served during the Middle Ages, to summon a monster but is disappointed when a Cthulhu named Goomi (Trey Parker) appears because he is not scary enough.  Goomi then helps them summon Irene, an amorphous blob of orange goo filled with eyeballs, but he has his own plans to use Irene for world domination.  James and Henry are soon overpowered until Dort and the other minions return in spaceships to help destroy Irene and they eventually cast another spell on Goomi.  It turns out that Ed was filming the whole attack and the movie Minions and Monsters becomes a huge hit!  I think the minions, who are all voiced by Pierre Coffin, are absolutely hilarious and I laughed out loud at all of their chaotic antics (I think I am even starting to understand their language).  However, as a self-described cinephile, I really enjoyed the story (which reminded me of Babylon and Singin' in the Rain) and all of the movie references, especially The Great Train Robbery, Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and, of course, The Blob.  The visuals are a lot of fun, particularly the train derailment, and the performances are great (Eisenberg is hilarious).  I loved this and, even though I still think the funniest scene involving the minions is in Despicable Me 2 when they sing "I Swear" at Gru and Lucy's wedding, it is definitely my favorite movie in the franchise!

Urinetown The Musical at Hopebox Theatre

I went to the national tour of Urinetown The Musical when it came through SLC in 2004 but I haven't seen it since so I was very excited for a production at the Hopebox Theatre last night. I loved it and I think it is my new favorite show at this theatre. In a dystopian future in which a 20-year drought has caused a severe water shortage, consumption is controlled by a ban on private toilets. The Urine Good Company, under the control of the megalomaniac Caldwell B. Cladwell (Jim Dale), owns all public toilets and charges an exorbitant fee to use them. Anyone who breaks the law by peeing for free is sent by Officer Lockstock (Dylan Watson) and Officer Barrel (Kaltin Kirby) to the mysterious "Urinetown" from which no one ever returns. After Cladwell bribes Senator Fipp (Jen Morgan) to vote for an increase in fees, Bobby Strong (Sean Bishop), the assistant custodian of Amenity #9 in the poorest part of town, decides to take control from the warden Penelope Pennywise (Elizabeth Rossander) and eventually stages a rebellion. Bobby takes Cladwell's daughter Hope (Allison Hogge) hostage and, when this results in tragedy, she leads the people to victory and sends her father to "Urinetown" with unexpected consequences. This is a hilariously self-aware spoof of musical theatre and I especially loved it every time Officer Lockstock and Little Sally (Morgan Richards) break the fourth wall to describe all of the tropes that are being used in the show. My favorites were the use of stock characters (the omniscient narrator, the innocent ingenue, the plucky hero, the melodramatic villain, etc.) as well as the amusing names (I laughed out loud every time I heard lock, stock, and barrel). However, in addition to the humor, this show is also uncomfortably thought-provoking with themes of diminishing resources, corporate greed, late stage capitalism, corruption, and social inequality. These themes are particularly compelling in a state facing a severe drought with leaders who seem to be more concerned with their own greed than the public good. As uneasy as the message made me feel about the current state of the world, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this production. The cast is one of the best I have seen at this theatre. The leads, Bishop and Hogge, have beautiful voices and give lovely performances that balance the satire but I think Watson steals the show with his over-the-top facial expressions and campy delivery. The ensemble is also very strong and the standout for me was Jack Dwyer because of his exaggerated physicality. The choreography is incredibly dynamic (my favorite numbers were "Too Much Exposition," "Cop Song," "Why Did I Listen to That Man," and "We're Not Sorry" because they feature the entire cast and utilize the small space very well), the minimal sets evoke a bleak and dystopian world, and the costumes do a great job in differentiating the economic classes. As with every production at the Hopebox Theatre, the proceeds are going to help someone in the community battling cancer and the recipient for this show is Carla Avis (go here to learn about her). I highly recommend getting a ticket because, not only is this show outstanding, it is for a good cause (go here for tickets). Act quickly because there are only three performances left!

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Last night I went to my first Screen Unseen at AMC (this features a movie that hasn't been released yet with the title kept secret until showtime) and I was really excited when it was revealed to be Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass because it was on my short list of movies to see at Sundance this year (I eventually opted for The Weight because I thought my nephew would enjoy that more).  It is a hilariously over-the-top spoof of The Wizard of Oz and I had so much fun watching it with a big crowd.  Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) is a mild-mannered hairdresser living in Kansas who is engaged to her high school sweetheart Tom (Michael Cassidy).  Their relationship is put in jeopardy when Tom sleeps with Jennifer Aniston (herself), his "celebrity sex pass," because Gail thought it was a joke when she agreed to their arrangement.  She decides the only way to save their relationship is to sleep with Jom Hamm (himself), her "celebrity sex pass."  Her loyal best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) is going to Los Angeles for a hairdressing convention and she decides to go with him to find Hamm.  They are eventually joined by Caleb (Ben Wang), a low-level employee at Hamm's talent agency, Vincent (Ken Marino), a paparazzo obsessed with getting a photo of Hamm, and John Slattery (himself), a down and out actor who once worked with Hamm on Mad Men, as they search the city but they are pursued by the wicked mob boss Ludovica (Sabrina Impacciatore) and her henchmen Sergio (Joe Lo Truglio) and Niccolo (Mather Zickel) who want the briefcase, that was inadvertently switched with Gail's at the airport, back.  The group eventually defeats Ludovica but, when they finally find Hamm, Gail is disappointed to discover that he is just an ordinary man.  She convinces him to give everyone what they want but will she return to Kansas to marry Tom?  The many references to The Wizard of Oz are highly amusing (pay very close attention) and I especially loved the use of ruby slippers and a hot air balloon.  This also pokes fun at celebrity culture and there a quite a few satirical celebrity cameos (my favorites are Henry Winkler, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Elizabeth Perkins).  Finally, the entire cast commits fully to both the zany tone as well as the physical comedy (Slattery is a hoot) and my audience laughed out loud the whole time.  I thoroughly enjoyed this madcap comedy and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.