THE MEDDLER - film review

THE MEDDLER
Director: Lorene Scafaria
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons, Jerrod Charmichael, Cecily Strong, Lucy Punch

Synopsis: An aging widow from New York follows her daughter to Los Angeles in the hopes of starting a new life after her husband passes away

I didn't get to see any films at all last week as I had to dash off to Hobart to be with the family for a few days, so my regular movie-going days off work were taken up with flying and cuddling babies and then more flying.

Baby cuddling time!!

Then when I did get back it was my favourite time of the year - EUROVISION!!! I look forward to Eurovision the way most people look forward to Christmas, I countdown through the year and then I spend three days in media lockdown until I get to watch the replayed telecast. Down under we get the live telecasts at 4am, and sadly I had to go to my regular job, so had to wait until 7:30pm for the replay. I spend the weekend with my bestie The Red Haired Amazona and this year we spent the Saturday semi-final celebrating our friend Elise's birthday with dumplings and Eurovision drinking games, then Sunday we watched the grand final with Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. Glorious.

Glorious, glorious Eurovision

Anyway, I digress...I got to go to the cinema yesterday and see a film, I had wanted to see the new X-MEN, but the timing didn't work out so I caught the new Susan Sarandon film - THE MEDDLER. Quite a naff title for a film that actually had a little bit of substance. It doesn't entice you to go and see it, the only reason I did was it worked out timing wise and I like Susan Sarandon. Otherwise I probably would have given it a miss, particularly with some of the films it's opening against this week. With only 4 other people in the cinema, it seems like I wasn't the only one thinking it sounded a bit naff.

Marnie Minervini (Sarandon) moves from New York to LA to be closer to her daughter after her husband passes away. Now I don't know about you, but my mother is actually not that intrusive, but I've seen an intrusive mother and I can totally appreciate how unnerving it would be. Marine is the mother of all intrusive mothers. Calling her daughter Lori (Rose Byrne) about 30 times a day, leaving voicemails just updating her on the day. When Lori decides they need to have "boundaries" Marnie finds other people to smother, like Lori's friends, the guy at the Apple Store, offering them reproductive advice, driving them to night classes, paying for their weddings. Marnie's level of intrusive varies from completely harmless like calling to tell her daughter about the new Beyoncé song, to downright out of control like making an appointment with Lori's shrink to ask questions about Lori.

Nothing like a Valentine's Day date with one's mother

Image via Sony Pictures

Writer-director Lorene Scafaria (SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD) based THE MEDDLER on experiences with her own mother, and although the script was not as sharp or witty as I might have liked, it will incite laughs, awkward winces and perhaps even a few tears from the general movie goers. I'm not sure it will fare as well with the critics, it's a little on the predictable side, and teeters on the verge of sitcomy humour. It is essentially a vehicle to showcase Sarandon, who is a little too glamourous and cool to pull off the Brooklyn-accented nosy britches mother, but nonetheless I think it will fare well as a lovely mother-daughter date film. Shame it didn't release over Mother's Day weekend - rookie error Sony.

There was some serious potential in this script for big side-splitting belly laughs, but Scafaria barely touches the surface of those moments which is a real shame. The bit where Marnie is seeing Lori's shrink could have played off into something huge, as could the moment where Lori starts pestering Marnie about her new "friend" Zipper, played by the gloriously moustached J.K Simmons.

Hello moustache

Image via Sony Pictures

Seriously, look at that stache!! Glorious! 

Image via Sony Pictures

THE MEDDLER had some lovely moments, but it wasn't as rich or filled out as it could have been, almost as though Scafaria was holding back a little. Unfortunate really as it had big potential. Nevertheless I enjoyed the film, it was short and snappy, at only 1 hour 40. It was refreshing to be out of the cinema before I was dying for a loo break. Overall, I think doting mothers and their daughters everywhere will get a good giggle out of it and if you're looking for something to take your Ma to go and see then I'd recommend a trip to go and see this film. I'm not raving about it and telling you to immediately go and hand over your 20-something dollars, but I don't think you'll be sad if you do part with that money.

3 out of 5

Xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell

SPY - review

SPY
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jason Statham, Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale

Recently I've found Melissa McCarthy to be a little bit type cast in the stupid funny comedies, and I was thinking that SPY would be much the same - a bit of a stupid funny comedy. It was a stupid funny comedy, but it was a GOOD stupid funny comedy and McCarthy was wonderful in it.

In their last movie together Feig took a mostly male dominated genre (buddy cop) and put a female spin on it. THE HEAT was a bit of a flop for me, a stupid funny comedy that didn't hit the mark. This time round Feig has put a female spin on the spy movie genre that is again a mostly male dmoniated genre, and this time round it worked.

SPY starts off with a little nod to the traditional nature of spy movies, the woman is desk bound and the strapping young lad is off in the field doing all the dirty work. McCarthy plays the desk bound woman Susan Cooper who is the desk jockey partner, guiding her strapping partner Bradley Fine through his very exciting field missions. She has spent her entire career in his shadow, and when he goes MIA, she gets the opportunity to step up and take her place in the field. She's trained for it, she went through the academy, was quite successful, and then ended up plonked behind the desk of her mentor.

Cooper and Fine at a celebratory dinner 

The film has some amusing parodies about the very unglamours nature of the CIA office, where Cooper is located in the building's basement, and other reviewers are claiming it's a little metaphor for the way Hollywood treats actresses. Now I didn't get that at all, and I did plenty of film analysis and theme studies as an English major, and I did not pick up on that at all, and I don't know that the majority of other people would either.

Cooper is very obviously in love with her partner, Fine, and when he goes MIA, and the rest of the film follows the basic premise of FACE/OFF, in fact they make a little joke about it in the script. There's a super nuke hidden somewhere, and the only person who knows where it's hidden is the daughter of a now dead international arms dealer Rayna (Rose Byrne). Somewhow she has all the identities of the top CIA agents, and the only person left to go after her and save the world is our lovely little desk jockey Susan Cooper.

Crocker giving Cooper her first mission

Cooper's boss, Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney) gives her a 'track and report' mission, but somehow Cooper cannot help but get far more involved, leady to a serious of comedic hijinks and spy escapades. She assumes a new identity and infiltrates Rayna's circle and does her best to get to the bottom os the missing and very dangerous nuke. Cooper is surrounded by naysayers who keep telling her she can't do it and biggest of all the naysayers is Agent Rick Ford (Jason Satham) who surprisingly is a comedic genius - who knew?!

the moment of infiltration and an acid martini 

The hilarious hijinks carry on throughout the movie and McCarthy and Statham play off each other beautifully. I didn't think he had it in him to be the funny guy, but he even steals some scenes from McCarthy throughout the film. It was quite a glorious thing to watch. I'd pick a favourite bit, but I can't, it really was an all round funny movie, a little spoofy at times, but I think that was the point.

The film was wonderfully directed, Feig has done an excellent job, and the rest of the casting is great. Byrne, Law, Hart and Cannavale make for a super supporting cast, and the script is full of excellent one liners. There are some super fight and chase scenes, a few SFX, but nothing too OTT. Oh, except maybe the helicopter thing, that might have been a little OTT, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I won't go much further into it, because I want you to enjoy the film for yourself. Don't get me wrong, I don't know that this film is going to be an award winning film, but it's certainly one of the more enjoyable comedies I've seen this year and I would recommend that you go and see it if you get the chance. It's got at least 20-something dollars worth of laughs in it, if not more.

3.5 out of 5

xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell