The Saturday 411: #1
A name change, Beef, The Big Sick, and more
Happy Saturday! You made it through another week, and now you’re resting — or recreating, or maybe even working, as the case may be. I just wanted to drop in and share a few things I’ve been watching and enjoying (and also not enjoying)!
Let me know in the comments section what’s captured your attention on the big or little screen!
Before we get to the roundup, though, I have big news.
Yesterday, I made it the DMV and, after driving back home to get my marriage license (even though I had my new social security card in hand on the first trip there), I successfully applied for a new license displaying my new name.
It’s official, y’all! I am now legally Heather Noelle Cate Wright. Yes, I decided to keep my middle and maiden name as my combined middle name, because both were too hard to let go. And that means that this newsletter, which was formerly titled “Leading Ladies with Heather Cate” is now LEADING LADIES WITH HEATHER WRIGHT!
I announce this with a little bit of sadness but a lot of excitement. I’m still getting used to my new name, but I’m pretty thrilled that I found Mr. Wright. Get it?
Anyways, now I’ve just got to go to every. other. institution. and document my name change. Pray for me!
Alright, now that we have the big name-change announcement out of the way, here’s what I’ve been consciously consuming this week.
Television
Well, my husband has finally done it. After months of talking about his love of Malcolm in the Middle, Ben has convinced me to watch two episodes. We’re viewing on Hulu, and honestly? It’s tight writing. Very funny, very engaging, absolutely outrageous, and everything you want a sitcom from the 2000’s to be. It also happens to have a pretty stellar leading lady, Jane Kaczmarek, playing Lois Wilkerson, mother of four incredibly mischievous, daring, and adventurous boys.
There’s been a lot of talk over the past four years about the dangers of helicopter parenting and how kids need to be allowed to take risks. Well, that’s Malcolm in the Middle, in a nutshell. This definitely dates the show. Jury is out on whether or not it has aged well, but so far, so good for me.
Beef won several Golden Globes and I really like Ali Wong. So when I heard the Netflix miniseries took home so many awards, I suggested to Ben that we try it. After all, we finished Only Murders in the Building and it’s been really fun to watch a show together that neither of us have seen before. We often want to show each other shows that we already know and love, but experiencing a new story together is such a high!
So we put on the first episode of Beef, excited and expecting to laugh.
And laugh we did not. I had never watched the trailer (mistake #1) or read the premise (mistake #2). And Ben thought the show was about cooking — wrong! That’s The Bear. But it’s actually about a man and a woman who have beef with each other after an episode of mutual road rage. Their lives are stressful and depressing, and they take out these emotions on each other, complete strangers.
At this point, it’s a basic revenge story and I am not into it. Ali Wong won my heart in Always Be My Maybe. I like her when she’s making me laugh. Here, in Beef, it just feels like there’s a key piece missing. The key piece being: I am not compelled or sympathetic toward either of the main characters, and I’m not getting enough nuanced backstory to move me in that direction.
It was an alienating experience watching the first episode. There’s enough intrigue that Ben and I have agreed to watch one more episode, but if it gets weirder, we’ll drop it. Really, we’re just mourning the fact that we don’t have anymore Ted Lasso or Only Murders to watch together (yet).
Has anyone else watched Beef? Thoughts? Let me know your opinion in the comments!
Film
Since Ben was out of town on Sunday night for work gig, I invited some gal pals over for a movie night. I love a good girls’ movie night. Last winter, I hosted almost ten girls to watch The Devil Wears Prada. It was my sister-in-law’s first time seeing it, and it was so fun to experience that with her while the rest of us rolled our eyes at the ridiculous comments about female weight and size. Gosh, Meryl Streep is in such great form in that film!
This week, for the girls’ night, we watched The Big Sick, an indie rom-com from 2017. Kumail, a comedian in Chicago, meets Emily one night after a set. They fall for each other, but Kumail’s Pakistani family expects him to agree to an arranged marriage. I don’t want to say much else, because there are several surprising twists. But I will say that Ray Romano makes an appearance and Holly Hunter plays an excellent momma bear.
The girls and I were pretty much laughing the whole time. Thankfully, since it’s about a comedian, Kumail Nanjiani is an excellent one. Oh, and it’s based on his real life story! He plays himself. I highly recommend this one. Watch it on Amazon Prime for free!
On Monday night, while Ben was still away for work, I rewatched Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse. And I loved it just as much as I did the first time I saw it in theaters last June!
It’s a super fun film, big and bold, colorful and creative, and the soundtrack is stellar. In case you missed it, it’s a sequel to the first film Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse. I’m not often one for animated movies, but this is one I would willingly watch by myself. Plus I’m a big fun of the leading lady here, Gwen.
I talked about the movie on Wednesday with my friend Tory, and I’ll be sharing our convo here soon! But for now, let me just say — if you need a good multiverse movie for this weekend, look no further than Sony Pictures Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse, streaming on Netflix!
Up next for me is the final episode of the final season of The Crown. I’m also toying with the idea of finishing up the last season of Succession (which also took home awards on Sunday night) and I plan to watch a few episodes of Modern Love to get a feel for it and prep for a podcast conversation I’ll be having with a friend soon!
Okay, so I want to know: What did you watch this week? What are you consciously consuming? Any plans for the cinema this weekend? Share the love with us in the comments!