The Saturday 411: #2
Hook, You People, and another podcast episode!
Happy Saturday, everyone!
Today has been a whirlwind for me. This week has been a whirlwind. I’m neck-deep in my projects, and realizing I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew in the first three weeks of 2024. I’m an ambitious person with big dreams and goals. My to-do lists for every day (using the bullet journal method) are often far too long. One of the things I’d like to consider this year is how to dip more deeply into less things. I’m looking for simplicity, depth, synergy between my projects, and momentum. I’ve got books on my reading list — Atomic Habits, Saving Time, 4,000 Weeks, Deep Work…
Despite all this, I still managed to watch two movies this week! That was partly in thanks to the snow. On Monday night, as the flurries started falling, my husband and I snuggled up in bed with golden milk (we’re doing “Whole30ish”) and the iPad to watch a childhood classic that I had somehow missed out on for all these years: Hook.
Hook
What a wild ride! A childhood fantasy! You’ve never seen a Neverland like this before. Young Robin Williams transforms from a stodgy businessman to a spry and energetic Peter Pan. Julia Roberts is a vivacious Tinker Bell — I had no idea she was in this! Maggie Smith is, well, very old-looking. She looks older here than she does in the Harry Potter films, and its confusing. She’s still wonderful, as usual. And then there is Dustin Hoffman.
Oh my goodness, Dustin Hoffman stole the show. I wouldn’t have known it was him, except that Ben pointed it out in his first scene as Captain Hook. From that moment on, I was transfixed. He is boisterous, melodramatic, mischievous. His wig is, simply, magnificent. I loved him. You’re not supposed to love the bad guy, but I did. I loved him.
That night, the night of the snow storm, Ben and I had wanted to watch something “cozy.” We sat down and started scrolling through Netflix. We couldn’t agree on anything. What I thought was “cozy”? Ben wasn’t in the mood for. And vice versa. We were about to give up completely on finding something we both wanted to see when I said, “Childhood. What’s one of your favorite childhood movies?”
“Hook,” Ben said. It’s one we’d been meaning to watch together, and it hit the spot.
I tell this story because that’s what I want Leading Ladies to be — a place where you can read or hear about shows and movies you might want to see. Keep a list, refer back to the archive, or become a paid subscriber to receive a personalized watchlist! My hope and goal is that this publication will host articles and podcast episodes on things to watch for various age groups and varying moods, such as “cozy.” If you’re reading this, I’m really glad you’re here.
You People
One movie we had briefly entertained watching on Monday night was You People. It got a lot of attention when it started streaming on Netflix in 2023. It was on my radar for a while, and we ended up “being in the mood” for it on Tuesday night.
While it was entertaining, and I watched the whole thing because I was curious about the ending, the final resolution to the film’s conflict fell flat for me. As Ben and I started discussing it, we found more and more issues with it.
Part of the difficulty of critiquing it is the fact that the story is trying to critique the problem of race and offer solutions. And in the end, a white Jewish man and a black Muslim woman end up together. What could be wrong with the story?
For me, it lacked some compelling components of good story telling. I didn’t find either main character very convincing or deep, and I didn’t see much change. The most change happened in their parents hearts, and the most moving line is delivered at the end by an Eddie Murphy you have never before seen.
So for something trying to be a love story, I surprised by the lack of warm and fuzzy feelings. The love between the two people from very different backgrounds is not what won out in the end. What ultimately won was their parents apologizing for their mistakes. The main characters took no ownership for their flaws and didn’t fight for the relationship. All responsibility fell on the shoulders of a white mother and a black father.
Maybe that will speak to some people. But I think it says a lot more about the ideology behind the movie than it does about genuine racial reconciliation. And it’s scary to write all that because it feels like this is a movie I’m not allowed to not like.
Also, for a movie that bills itself as a comedy, I just didn’t laugh that much. And way too much use of the montage technique. Lose the montages.
For me, the show stopper was Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing a very tone-deaf, rich LA mother. She, and Eddie Murphy, were the best actors and the most convincing characters. So one could make an argument that that’s what I’m missing. You People is really about them.
A new episode of the Leading Ladies Podcast
Lastly, I’m excited to share another episode of the podcast, the first part of a conversation that my friend Tory and I had earlier in January! We talk about our holidays, the Crown, and, most prominently — Priscilla! Enjoy!
