ADOPTING AUDREY | THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING | FUNNY PAGES
Pop Culture Weekly Round-Up 26/08/2022
Hello, everyone! I’m back with some Pop Culture recommendations for your weekend. In this week’s newsletter, I share my thoughts about three films. FUNNY PAGES, THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING, and ADOPTING AUDREY. I’m still very busy and very tired. So excuse me if there are some mistakes like the one I made last week when I wrote “START WARS” instead of STAR WARS lol. I’m exhausted. It has been a long summer.
I’m also super annoyed because today is August 26 and I still don’t have the money to go to TIFF on September 8. So frustrating. It looks like I’m not going to make it to Toronto. So if you are rich and don’t know what to do with your money, send some to me. I will be forever grateful. No, but seriously though, if any of you know any editors and outlets looking for freelance coverage of the Festival, please let me know.
QUICK THOUGHTS
FUNNY PAGES is the directorial debut of Owen Kline, who is best known for his role as a co-star in 2005's film The Squid and the Whale. FUNNY PAGES revolves around Robert, a high school senior fascinated with the darkest corners of underground comics and their outsider creators. After the passing of his mentor, Robert decides to leave school to have a closer relationship with the underground style he adores. This film is an amazing dirty, angst-coming-of-age comedy that is hilariously entertaining. It also shows us a somber glimpse at an era without social media. exploring passions, oddballs, and artists through the perspective of a privileged yet tortured teenager who defies society and therefore must learn things the hard way Daniel Zolghadri turns in a ground-breaking performance as Robert. He convincingly embodies the youthful naiveté situations. Additionally, the supporting cast members are excellent and also get opportunities to shine. FUNNY PAGES doesn't overstay its welcome ( it has a 1 hour and 26-minute runtime) is entertaining to watch and has a deliciously non-Hollywood ending.
Funny Pages” is in theaters and on VOD today, August 26.
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING is director George Miller’s (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) latest film and it’s based on A.S. Byatt’s short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye. It's easy to admire this film just based on the fact that Miller is one of our most daring and diverse filmmakers alive. And this is definitely its very own thing. Tilda Swinton plays Alithea, a lonely and resentful British woman who while in Istanbul, finds an old bottle and lets out a djinn (Idris Elba) who grants her three wishes. She is stuck in apathy and unable to think of one wish until the stories the djinn tells her ignite a longing for love in her. There are many moments of lovely, surreal scenery to marvel at in this film. And if all you want from it is to see more wild and crazy Miller visuals, this is the movie for you since it is a visual masterclass. Unfurtemetely, TTYOL turned out to be a letdown for me. Mostly because of the poor script and hurried pacing, which robs the viewer of the bond they needed to enjoy the intimate stories being delivered. There will undoubtedly be some fans of THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING. mostly people who are content to let the movie's contents wash over them like a series of stories told to them by a loved one. But in my opinion, what Miller hoped would be an intriguing philosophical and emotional film comes off instead as amusingly silly at best. But hey, on to the next one, Mr. Miller. I can’t wait for FURIOSA!
ADOPTING AUDREY
Audrey (Jenna Malone), has been fired from her seventh job in two years. She lives alone and relies on YouTube to keep her company since she is also estranged from her family. After being lost in a YouTube rabbit hole, She discovers the world of adult adoption and chooses to attempt it for herself in the hopes of feeling more at home. Soon after, Audrey discovers an adoptive family whose instability matches her own. This leads to an unexpected friendship between Audrey and Otto (Robert Hunger-Bühler), the grumpy father, who appears to be as icy as she is charming.
The movie has a highly indie vibe to it, yet it's very well made. And I loved the two main characters’ delightfully funny dynamic. Although occasionally dark and grim, ADOPTING AUDREY is pleasant and proves that Malone is still an extremely skilled and underrated performer. Her character, Audrey, is a self-sufficient floating island. The DIY enthusiast also has trouble being categorized socially. She is not on the outskirts of society due to her political or religious ideals, but rather because she just wants independence. She isolates herself from normal life with a quiet disillusionment, but as she struggles to survive, her thought attitude seems just like a façade she has created for herself.
I think that ADOPTING AUDREY does a good job of examining typical causes of suffering, such as relationship problems, behavioral patterns, and challenges with family dysfunction. It is lovely how Otto learns from Audrey how to be a more accepting father. And that definitely provides a pleasantly upbeat but perhaps not particularly engaging story arc for the movie. Overall I liked the film and I think you guys should give it a chance. Just keep your expectations low and you might enjoy it too.
Adopting Audrey” streams on VOD today, Aug. 26
TOP 5 SONGS
These were the 5 songs on heavy rotation in my house last week. You can listen to them on Spotify and YouTube.
That Soccer Mommy remix is awesome. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, but it grew on me really fast.
Looking forward to Audrey--two great actors!