I Swear

After Robert Aramayo won the BAFTA for his performance as a young man with Tourette syndrome in the movie I Swear, I hoped that it would eventually come to the Broadway.  I was able to see it there last night with my nephew and I found it both funny (which I wasn't expecting) and heartwarming.  John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson) is a young teen living in Scotland when he suddenly develops tics and episodes of uncontrollable swearing just as he begins high school.  This leads to problems at school, for which he is ultimately expelled, and at home, which causes his father David (Steven Cree) to leave.  Everyone around him believes that he is faking his symptoms for attention and he eventually becomes so distraught that he attempts suicide.  Thirteen years later, John (Aramayo) has been diagnosed with Tourette's, is heavily medicated, and is still living with his exasperated mother Heather (Shirley Henderson) who is embarrassed by him.  His former childhood friend Murray Achenbach (Francesco Piacentini-Smith) invites him home for dinner and, when he predictably causes a scene, Murray's mother Dottie (Maxine Peake), a mental health nurse, decides to take him under her wing.  She invites him to live with her family, slowly weans him off his medication, and finds him a job working at a community center with Tommy Trotter (Peter Mullan).  When an episode at a nightclub leads to a fight for which he is arrested, Tommy speaks passionately on his behalf in court and blames John's problems on a lack of awareness about Tourette's rather than the condition itself.  This inspires John to work to inform schools, hospitals, police departments, and other organizations about how to support individuals with Tourette's which eventually leads to an MBE (in a hilarious scene with the Queen).  This is based on a true story and it features all of the usual biopic tropes but it is elevated by an absolutely brilliant performance from Aramayo that kept me riveted.  I was also impressed by Watson's affecting performance, especially when he is forced to eat dinner away from the family.  I loved that Davidson's story is told with humor and an emphasis on the need for understanding.  This is epitomized by my favorite scene in which John meets with a young girl who has Tourette's and they both engage in escalating tics and outbursts (which made me laugh out loud) until they both realize how powerful it is to interact with someone else who has the same condition (which brought tears to my eyes).  The best thing I can say about this movie is that it gave me a lot more empathy for people with this condition (especially in light of what happened with Davidson at the BAFTA awards ceremony) and I highly encourage everyone to see it.

Stanley Cup Playoffs!

Seeing a Stanley Cup playoff game in person has been on my bucket list for what seems like forever (even before bucket lists were a thing).  I have seen NBA and NFL playoff games but never an NHL one even though hockey is my favorite sport (it was always impractical to travel to Denver to see the Avalanche because the postseason coincided with the last two months of the school year and that was not a great time to be away).  I finally got to cross this item off the list last night by seeing the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 Game 4 and I am so glad that I decided to splurge on a ticket because feeling the energy in the Delta Center was definitely an experience that I will never forget!  It was an incredible game and I felt every emotion imaginable!  I was beyond excited when the game started and so were all of the people around me.  They waved their rally towels and cheered so loudly I couldn't even hear the music in the arena!  All of that energy from the crowd slowly dissipated during the first period after a goal from Pavel Dorofeyev in the first minute and a short-handed goal from Brett Howden in the final two minutes gave Vegas the 2-0 lead.  I was really frustrated with all of the costly turnovers and, in my opinion, this was the Mammoth's worst period of hockey in the playoffs thus far.  I hoped that they would come out strong in the second and create more scoring chances to slow a highly motivated Vegas team down.  I almost gave up on the Mammoth early on after Cole Smith tipped in a shot to go up 3-0 but then Nick Schmaltz and Ian Cole scored goals for Utah within 29 seconds of each other.  The crowd went nuts!  Michael Carcone tied the game with a pretty one-timer at 1:45 in the third period and I was thrilled to see Dylan Guenther get the assist (everyone around me high-fived me because I was wearing his jersey).  The Mammoth got the 4-3 lead with a deflected shot credited to Clayton Keller and I couldn't believe that they might actually win the game after being down 0-3!  Then Howden evened it up for Vegas at 10:25 and this eventually sent the game to overtime.  I was so nervous but I was on my feet with the rest of the crowd for practically the whole time!  It looked like Vegas had won with a goal from Dorofeyev at the 10:22 mark but it was recalled after the play was ruled to be offside.  That gave the crowd a bit of hope once again and the energy was absolutely electric!  However, in the last minute of overtime, Karel Vejmelka (who had some great saves) stopped Jack Eichel's shot but his stick was knocked away in the melee and he couldn't make it back to the net before Shea Theodore hit a one-timer to win the game 5-4.  It was definitely a heartbreaking loss after how hard the Mammoth fought but I am so glad that I got to experience a playoff game!  The series is now tied 2-2 so I still have hope that Utah will advance.

Note:  This experience was also bittersweet because I really missed my dad.  I have so many memories of cheering for the Oilers and then the Avalanche in the playoffs with him and I know he would have loved this game (even with a loss).

School of Rock at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts

I always enjoy seeing a production of School of Rock because it is such a fun and exuberant show with a powerful message about finding your voice despite the pressure to conform. I saw SCERA's version last night and was incredibly impressed by the incredibly talented kids (and adults) on stage! Dewey Finn (Jacob Thompson) is a slacker who is kicked out of his band No Vacancy right before the Battle of the Bands and is fired from his job at a record store. When his best friend Ned Schneebly (Felipe Larrocha), with whom he has been living for several years, is pressured by his girlfriend Patty DiMarco (Sierra Palmer) to make him pay rent, he takes a substitute teaching job at Horace Green Prep School meant for Ned in desperation. He realizes that his students are being suffocated by the expectations of parents who don't understand them so he decides that they need a little rock and roll in their lives. He forms a band with Zack (Noah Huber) on lead guitar, Katie (Afton Largey) on bass, Lawrence (Miles Tanner) on keyboard, Freddie (Simon Maxfield) on drums, and Shonelle (Lillian Walker) and Marcy (Reese Davidson) on backing vocals. He recruits Billy (Watson Lane) to be the band's stylist, James Porter McCormick) as security, Mason (James "Jeb" Buffington) on tech, and Summer (Juniper Martin), the class know-it-all, as the band's manager. He also convinces Tomika (Tessa Jensen), a shy and insecure transfer student, to sing lead vocals with him. The students eventually become more confident so he decides to enter them in the Battle of the Bands but, first, he needs to convince the uptight principal Rosalie Mullins (Camilla Curtis) to let him take them on a field trip. The parents are angry when Dewey's deception is discovered, but the kids ultimately win them over when they hear them play. Thompson gives a fun and energetic performance and he has a great rapport with the kids. I loved all of the young actors, especially Huber, Largey, Tanner, and Maxfield because they play their instruments live on stage and they sound great. They all do a fantastic job singing and dancing in "You're in the Band," "Stick It to the Man," and "School of Rock" and they also have impressive comedic timing, particularly Martin who made me laugh out loud several times (I loved her rendition of "Time to Play"). Curtis also made me laugh in a hilarious scene when she drunkenly sings "Edge of Seventeen" (I always laugh at this because I love the song). The set is one of my favorites for this show. There is a multi-level stage with a giant guitar that lights up as a backdrop and several DJ lighting towers in front. Panels that rotate to become Ned's apartment, a classroom at Horace Green, and the Roadside bar are brought on stage and placed between the towers and several arches descend from the rafters to become a hall at Horace Green (these are used to great effect when the students sneak out of school for the audition). The school uniforms worn by kids are also a lot of fun (I loved the pop of yellow). I had a really great time at this feel-good show and highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 2.

Fuze

The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Fuze (my nephew likes heist movies and I like Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  It is thoroughly entertaining even if the ending is a bit anticlimactic.  An unexploded World War II-era bomb is discovered on a construction site in the middle of London which necessitates the evacuation of the entire area, including an Afghani refugee named Rahim (Elham Ehsas) and his family.  The police, under the command of Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), monitor the area while the military, under the command of Major Will Tranter (Taylor-Johnson), attempt to diffuse the bomb.  The tense situation is further complicated when the police discover the heat signature of a group, led by Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), attempting to rob a bank inside the evacuated area.  The police initially suspect that Rahim is involved but, when they witness the group leaving the bank,  they give chase.  The sudden explosion of the bomb allows the robbers to get away but that is just the beginning as crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses ensue.  This is an economical and tightly-plotted thriller with lots of action and suspense.  The hand-held camera work is kinetic with quick cuts that emphasize the chaos and keep the audience feeling disoriented.  All of the twists and turns kept me riveted but the third act loses momentum and the abrupt ending is disappointing after all of the build-up.  James and Taylor-Johnson are fun to watch, for reasons, but Worthington barely makes an impression.  I ultimately enjoyed this and recommend it for a fun night out.

Mother Mary

I am a big fan of David Lowery (A Ghost Story and The Green Knight are two of my favorites) so I was really excited to see his latest, Mother Mary, as part of a double feature with my nephew last night.  It is a surrealistic psychological drama very much in the vein of Lowery's other films and I loved it.  An iconic pop star who uses the stage name Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is attempting a comeback after a traumatic injury.  She is nervous about her return to the stage and is unhappy with the costumes because she thinks they represent her stage persona rather than the real her so she travels to see Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), her former stylist from whom she has been estranged for many years, hoping that she can help her rediscover her identity.  The two of them have a complicated relationship and their initial interactions are fraught with tension. Sam was incapacitated when Mother Mary abandoned her after achieving success and was only able to let go of the trauma, represented by a red ghost, by removing her from her life.  Now Mother Mary is debilitated by that same trauma, portrayed once again by a red ghost, and they both eventually realize that Sam must (literally) exorcise it for them to find success again.  Their reconciliation allows Sam to find the inspiration to create an iconic dress and allows Mother Mary to give an authentic performance that reignites her career.  I loved how the narrative uses the collaborative nature of the creative process to explore the need for resolution in broken relationships.  I also loved how Mother Mary's performances (which are incredibly theatrical and feature original songs by Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff, and FKA Twigs) are interspersed within the narrative to show the backstory of their rift and its effect on each of them.  The way that Sam's barn opens up to become Mother Mary's stage creates a very dream-like atmosphere and the visuals are incredible.  Watching the characters spar back and forth is very compelling and, even though many of the supernatural scenes involving the red ghost are a bit inscrutable (particularly a scene involving a seance), they are definitely intriguing.  Coel gives a powerful performance as an artist who has lost her muse and Hathaway is riveting as an a performer who needs help to shed a persona that no longer serves her (she is also fantastic in the concert sequences).  As with most of Lowery's films, I had to think about this for quite a while before I made sense of it so I would only recommend it to fans of the director (my nephew didn't enjoy it as much as I did).