The most newsworthy element of today’s Academy Award nominations was that these Oscars will be the most irrelevant in the modern era.
Ufa Need proof? Quick: Which film are you pulling for to win Best Picture?
As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, we’re going to see which businesses caught a nasty bout of COVID-19. In the case of the movies, the virus may prove fatal.
Certainly, theatrical moviegoing officially joined the Endangered Species list Monday: Note that not one nominated film was offered to the public in 2020. Instead, all are available through on-demand or streaming services.
That was a quick war. Only a couple years ago, streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu fought over scraps in the Best Picture race, and no streaming film had ever won the top prize. Now, they are the top dogs.
And say what you will about snubs and surprises this year. The biggest stunner was the Best Picture dismissal of Tenet, the time-bending Christopher Nolan thriller of summer that was Hollywood’s only real attempt at getting butts in theater seats. Not only did the quarter-billion film struggle to make $50 million in the U.S., but the Academy shunned it as the year’s only avatar for old school film viewing: on a 20-foot screen and at a quarter a kernel.
Which makes this year’s show kind of meaningless. The Oscars have always been Hollywood’s final backslap of the year, and that self-congratulations won’t stop because of a silly thing like a pandemic.
But if you had no investment in going to the movies, how many people are going to want a show that serves as a tribute to that very act?
The pandemic has tested, again and again, what we can live without. The Oscars — and the struggling industry they represent — must pull a hero’s escape to prevent this Academy Awards show from turning into a closing credit.
Here’s an easy way to tell whether you’re going to like Eddie Murphy’s latest sequel, Coming 2 America.
Did you like the first? If so, you’re in luck. Director Craig Brewer not only retreads jokes from the first film: He includes a video reel from the 23-year-old original.
If you weren’t won over the first time, you’re in less luck this go round.
Once upon a time, dear children, before you were born, they made a fairytale movie about a kingdom called Zamunda. Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy at the height of his popularity and charisma, became a huge hit and a cult classic.
In this film, dear children, Murphy played Prince Akeem — he didn’t need to be called Prince Charming, because he was already so darned charming. We met him on the morning of his 21st birthday, awakening in his palace bedroom to a full orchestra, servants tossing rose petals at his feet, and gorgeous naked women servicing him in the bathtub until his royal appendage was deemed clean.
Oops! Sorry, kids. Some parts of “Coming To America” didn’t age very well. Including most of the stuff about women.
But 33 years and one #MeToo movement later, it’s time for a reboot. The good news about America is that things have gotten better for women in Zamunda. Yes, it’s still a patriarchy (more on that soon) and yes, there are still obedient royal bathers. But we don’t see their naked breasts or backsides. There’s also a bathtub gag involving the great Leslie Jones that flips the gender dynamic entirely and gratifyingly (especially for her).
And now, Prince Akeem is not a randy young heir but an established family man. Happily married for 30 years to Princess Lisa — the bride he found in Queens in the last film — he has three daughters, brave and feisty. The eldest wants to be his heir. A female heir? That’s not done, in Zamunda. But the times, they are — or might be — a-changin’.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that this sequel, despite (or perhaps because of) its nod to modern sensibilities, isn’t nearly as funny or edgy as the original. It has seemingly everything — the original cast, some well-known newcomers, high-profile cameos — and eye-popping costumes by the great Ruth E. Carter (an Oscar winner for “Black Panther”). It has set pieces and choreography and de-aging technology and overlaying plot lines. What it has less of, is fun.
Still, just like we go to college reunions 30 years later to recapture the magic, fans of the first will flock to it on Amazon Prime. They likely won’t be too disappointed. Especially because, despite the knowing references to urban gentrification, transgender offspring, Teslas and even unnecessary movie sequels, little has really changed.
Obviously Murphy is back, as producer and star. So is Arsenio Hall, as trusty sidekick Semmi (and a bunch of other roles). Also back: the stately James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer; Shari Headley as Lisa (a seriously underwritten role); and Louie Anderson as Maurice. John Amos is back as Lisa’s dad, still ripping off McDonald’s.
A new presence is the casually appealing Jermaine Fowler as Lavelle, Akeem’s previously unknown son. Celebrity guests include a highly amusing Wesley Snipes as flamboyant General Izzi, leader of Nexdoria (next door); Tracy Morgan as Lavelle’s uncle; and Jones as his uninhibited mother. Another Saturday Night Live face, Colin Jost, makes the most of a brief cameo. Among notable musical appearances, Gladys Knight sings “Midnight Train From Zamunda.”
The plot follows a familiar trajectory, beginning in Zamunda and traveling to Queens to solve a major need. In this case, the need is not a bride, but a male heir. Akeem, who becomes king upon his father’s death, learns he unknowingly sired a son during that Queens trip three decades ago (it was Semmi’s fault!) He needs a male heir to cement his power. So he brings Lavelle, a ticket scalper who aspires to much more, back to Zamunda, along with Mom.
But Lavelle needs to learn royal ways, and pass a “princely test” which includes facing down a lion. There’s also the matter of Akeem’s daughter, Meeka (a luminous KiKi Layne, not given enough screen time), who rightly deserves to be queen one day. Complicating matters entirely, Lavelle falls not for his intended bride, Izzi’s daughter, but for his royal barber, Mirembe, who aspires to her own shop one day (women don’t own businesses in Zamunda).
Again, it all feels like a 30th reunion — maybe because it IS one — where the liquor flows, old stories are rehashed, the men haven’t aged quite as well as the women, the kids steal the show, and by the end you’re happy to have gone but feel no need to be at the next one.
The year is young and the upcoming Oscars are voting on last year’s movies. But The HollywoodBowles is ready to announce this year’s winner of the Coughy, which goes to the funniest viral video of the year.
While ‘21 will surely offer some worthy contenders, it’s hard to see how you could beat Cat Lawyer, which captured a Zoom call this week in a Texas courthouse.
The 48-second video has it all: The kitten filter works seamlessly, and kitty’s panicked, darting eyes out-animate anything South Park ever drew. The panicked gasp at :13 is Simpsonesque voice work. And the corner geezers are straight out of a Coen comedy, particularly when Gibbs Bauer puts on his glasses to make sure he’s seeing what he thinks he’s seeing. Rod Ponton’s “I’m not a cat” is the best feline punchline since Joe Exotic.
The icing: The recording of this hearing or live stream is prohibited. So the filmmaker had to risk legal prosecution to get the movie made.
