Pictured clockwise, from left to right: Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence), Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke), Plankton (voiced by Doug Lawrence), SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny), Gary (on top of SpongeBob’s head) and Mr. Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown) in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” (Image courtesy of Paramount Animation)
Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional, underwater places of Bikini Bottom and the Lost City of Atlantic City, the live-action/animated film “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” features a predominantly white voice cast (with some African Americans, Asians and Latinos) in a comedic adventure story that’s part of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise.
Culture Clash: SpongeBob SquarePants and his neighbor Patrick Star go on a mission to rescue SpongeBob’s best friend/pet snail Gary, which is being held captive by an egotistical overlord named King Poseidon.
Culture Audience: “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise and people who like family-friendly animation that can be enjoyed by various generations.
King Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry) in “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” (Image courtesy of Paramount Animation
As the first computer-generated imagery (CGI) animated movie in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” is an exuberant and eye-catching adventure that makes up for some predictable moments with just enough unexpected zaniness to make it worth watching for anyone who appreciates earnestly goofy animation. It’s not necessary to see any episodes of the long-running Nickelodeon animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” or its spinoff movies (“Sponge on the Run” is the third one in the film series) to enjoy the movie, although it certainly provides some better context for some of the relationships in the movie.
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” has several scenes that are flashbacks to some of the characters’ childhoods. It’s an obvious promotion for “Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years,” the prequel spinoff “SpongeBob” TV series that launches on Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access) on the same day that “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” is available on the streaming service. “Kamp Koral” focuses on what some of the main characters did as children at Kamp Koral, and “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” gives a sense of what people can get expect from this spinoff TV series.
Written and directed by Tim Hill, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” is the first “SpongeBob” movie to be released since the 2018 death of SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 57. The movie has a dedication to Hillenburg before the end credits. Compared to 2004’s “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” and 2015’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” there’s a slightly wackier vibe to “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” thanks in large part to an amusing featured role from Keanu Reeves.
Things in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom are what SpongeBob fans can expect: SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny), the cheerfully upbeat sponge protagonist, is still working as a fry cook at a fast-food restaurant called the Krusty Krab, which is owned by his cranky Scottish boss Mr. Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown). The pessimistic Squidward Tentacles (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) also works at the Krusty Krab. The tiny green copepod named Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) and his computer wife Karen (played by Jill Talley) are still scheming to get the secret recipe formula for the Kristy Krab’s Krabby Patty burgers, in order to boost Plankton and Karen’s failing rival restaurant the Chum Bucket.
This time, there’s a new challenge: SpongeBob’s best friend/pet snail Gary (also voiced by Kenny, who makes Gary sound like a cat) is stolen by Plankton, who gives Gary to the vain and tyrannical King Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry) because the king uses snail slime to keep his face looking youthful. King Poseidon ran out of snails and offered a reward to anyone who could provide him with a useful snail. Plankton sees that offer as an opportunity to try to get in the king’s good graces and get revenge on SpongeBob. King Poseidon lives at Poseidon Palace, which is located in the Lost City of Atlantic City.
What follows is a madcap trek that involves SpongeBob and his amiable starfish neighbor Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) going on a mission to find and rescue Gary. Along the way, they end up in a Western ghost town, where they have some off-the-wall encounters with flesh-eating zombie pirates (portrayed by live actors), a rapping gambler (played by Snoop Dogg) and a villainous zombie cowboy called El Diablo (played by Danny Trejo). But some of the funniest scenes in the movie are with a giant, advice-giving tumbleweed named Sage that rolls into SpongeBob and Patrick’s lives when they first arrive in the ghost town. Sage is a tumbleweed with a talking head of Reeves inside the center.
Also part of these antics is a new automated computer robot named Otto (voiced by Awkwafina), which the brainy squirrel Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) has given as a gift to Mr. Krabs. However, Mr. Krabs quickly gets annoyed with Otto and throws the robot away. Otto ends up becoming a crucial part of how the story develops.
The movie also has some cameos of celebrities playing a version of themselves as underwater animated characters that work at a nightclub in the Lost City of Atlantic City. Tiffany Haddish appears briefly on stage as a wisecracking fish that’s a stand-up comedian named Tiffany Haddock. Jazz saxophonist Kenny G plays a plant called Kelpy G, which does a smooth jazz version of “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme from the 1997 movie “Titanic.” It’s a somewhat subversive song choice, considering “Titanic” is a disaster movie where most of the characters end up drowning in the ocean.
There are some other endearingly oddball and unexpected choices in the movie, such as a criminal trial that takes place at the nightclub. The King Poseidon character plays with masculine and feminine stereotypes, by blurring the lines between obsessions with machismo and obsessions with beauty products. It’s why King Poseidon is not a typical villain in an animated film.
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” clearly knows its audience well, since it’s made for kids as well as adults. “SpongeBob SquarePants” has been on the air since 1999; therefore, many of the kids who grew up watching the show now have children of their own. It explains the inclusion of Reeves, Snoop Dogg, Kenny G and Danny Trejo as cameos, since these stars’ pop culture significance have a different meaning to people who are old enough remember the 1990s and early 2000s.
The movie’s very retro music soundtrack is definitely geared more to adults, with rock and pop tunes from the late 20th century, such as Foghat’s “Slow Ride,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” and Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” Weezer has two songs on the soundtrack: “It’s Always Summer in Bikini Bottom” and a cover version of a-ha’s “Take on Me” and the original song Also on the soundtrack is the Flaming Lips’ “Snail: I’m Avail.”
Mikros did the movie’s vivid CGI and animation, which is not as outstanding as a Pixar movie, but it’s better than most CGI animated films. Writer/director Hill moves things along at a brisk-enough pace, even though it’s very easy to know how the movie is going to end. “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” imparts a lot of positive messages of self-acceptance, but the characters have enough foibles and flaws to make the jokes relatable to viewers. Watch this movie if you like animated films and you’re up for an energetic diversion that might make you want more “SpongeBob” movies, regardless of how familiar or unfamiliar you might be with the franchise.
Paramount Pictures’ Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies will release “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021, the same date that Paramount Home Entertainment releases the movie on VOD. The movie was released in Canada in 2020.
Culture Representation: Set in New York City, the live-action/animated film “Tom and Jerry” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Latinos and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Longtime “frenemies” Tom (a stray cat) and Jerry (a pesky mouse) find themselves causing mischief at an upscale hotel, which will be the site of a major celebrity wedding.
Culture Audience: “Tom and Jerry” will appeal primarily to fans of the original “Tom and Jerry” cartoon series or people who want something for their young children to watch, but this clumsily made and boring film can’t come close to the exuberant spirit of the original “Tom and Jerry” cartoons.
Goldie, Jerry, Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña and Rob Delaney in “Tom and Jerry” (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Animation technology has come a long way since the “Tom and Jerry” franchise was created in 1940 with a series of short films by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. But having better technology still can’t replace good storytelling. And in that respect, the live-action/animated film “Tom and Jerry” (directed by Tim Story) is vastly inferior to all the “Tom and Jerry” films that came before it. Even if the movie might have been “dumbed down” with the intent of making it easier for very young children to understand, it’s still an insult to children’s intelligence to make this such a dull and awkward film.
Written by Kevin Costello, “Tom and Jerry” is a movie that looks like a haphazard collection of short sketches that were forced into a flimsy overall plot. In the movie, main characters Tom (an animated cat) and Jerry (an animated mouse) wreak havoc at an upscale New York City hotel that’s the venue for a high-profile celebrity wedding. Tom and Jerry are famously mute, while other animated animal characters in their world can talk. It’s too bad that no one muted this lazy and unimaginative movie by not making the movie at all.
What’s supposed to pass as comedy in this film is very stale. The action sequences are forgettable. And there’s no suspense in this story because everyone, except for people who’ve never seen cartoons before, will know exactly how this movie is going to end. The live-action actors all look like they did this movie for their paychecks, not because their hearts are in it.
“Tom and Jerry” takes place in New York City, where Tom and Jerry have known each other for an undetermined period of time and have crossed paths on the streets of New York City, where they live. Jerry is the “brattier” one of the two. In an early scene in the movie, a marquee sign at Madison Square Garden shows that Tom is a keyboardist who’s supposed to be appearing as an opening act for John Legend.
But, as an example of how poorly written this movie is, Tom is then shown playing his keyboard in a park, busking for change to a small group of people and pretending to be a blind musician. It doesn’t make sense that an artist who’s reached the level of playing Madison Square Garden, even as an opening act, would have to stoop to the level of doing these small-time con games. The marquee could have been Tom’s fantasy but it’s presented in the movie as real.
Jerry knows that Tom isn’t really blind, so it isn’t long before he causes some mischief and exposes Tom for being a fraud. It’s one of many “back and forth” acts of revenge that the cat and mouse play on each other throughout the story. None of these acts is particularly inventive or exciting in this movie. Tom has two imaginary alter egos that can talk and represent his inner thoughts: an “angel” that represents Tom’s “good side” and a “devil” that represents Tom’s bad side. Both characters are voiced by Lil Rel Howery.
As Tom chases Jerry for ruining Tom’s “blind keyboardist” act, they both crash into Mackayla “Kayla” Forester, a temp worker in her 20s who was on her way from picking up dry cleaning in her work as a personal assistant. Of course, the clothes go flying in different directions and get dirty.
The next thing you know, Kayla is on the phone with her boss (played by Craig Stein) at the employment agency, and he tells her that she’s suspended. She begs for another chance and offers to be his personal assistant. He refuses and says she might not be suited for this type of work. She agrees and quits on the spot.
Kayla is apparently having financial problems because she’s been going to the Royal Gale Hotel by pretending to be a guest and getting free meals at the buffet-styled dining area. The hotel’s main doorman Gavin (played by Daniel Adegboyega) knows that she’s been doing this freeloading. The next time he sees Kayla arrive at the hotel one morning, he asks if she’s back for the free food.
After getting some free breakfast, Kayla is in the lobby when she sees a prim and proper woman who looks like she might be able to afford a personal assistant. The woman is seated by herself in the lobby. Kayla sits down next to the woman, who is a Brit named Linda Perrybottom (played by Camilla Arfwedson), and strikes up a conversation.
Kayla is wearing a black leather jacket and tight black jeans, so she’s not as well-dressed as most of the hotel’s usual clientele. Linda notices it immediately, and she’s a little standoffish when Kayla tries to figure out if she can finagle her way into this stranger’s life for some money. Kayla asks Linda if she needs a personal assistant, and the answer is no.
It turns out that Linda is not a guest at the hotel, but she’s applying for a temp job in the hotel’s events department. Linda tells Kayla that she wants the job so that she can work on the upcoming wedding ceremony of a celebrity couple named Preeta Mehta (played by Pallavi Sharda) and Ben Jacobson (played by Colin Jost), who are famous enough to be on the cover of a gossip magazine that Linda shows to Kayla. It’s implied that Preeta and Ben are in the entertainment business, probably as actors.
Although Linda seems wary of Kayla, Linda ends up talking too much and giving away too much information about herself. Kayla sees an opportunity to steal Linda’s identity by first lying to Linda and saying that she’s an undercover supervisor who works for the hotel and was testing Linda to see how she treats strangers at the hotel. Kayla tells Linda that she failed the test because Linda was rude and indiscreet about Preeta and Ben’s wedding.
Kayla then asks Linda to see her résumé and tells Linda that she didn’t get the job. And just like that, Kayla takes Linda’s résumé, goes to a copy center to replace Linda’s name with her own. The résumé is so impressive that Kayla is hired on the spot for the job that Linda wanted. Needless to say, Kayla has no experience in hotel hospitality work or in event planning.
Kayla’s immediate boss is Terence Mendoza (played by Michael Peña), the hotel’s events manager. Terence reports to Henry Dubros (played by Rob Delaney), the hotel’s general manager. They both meet Kayla for the interview and put her immediately to work.
Terence is a smarmy character who becomes suspicious of Kayla’s qualifications early on, so she has to always keep one step ahead of him to prevent him from finding out that she’s a fraud. Terence is more likely to dismiss Kayla’s ideas, while Henry is more open-minded and willing to give Kayla a chance. Terence is desperate for Henry’s approval, so he’s often two-faced in how he deals with employees, depending on how well he thinks it will help further his career and impress Henry.
During Kayla’s first day on the job, she’s introduced to some of the other hotel employees who are featured in the movie. Chef Jackie (played by Ken Jeong) is a cranky taskmaster who likes to yell at his subordinates. Joy (played Patsy Ferran) is a nervous and socially awkward bellhop. Cameron (played by Jordan Bolger) is a laid-back and friendly bartender, who ends up giving Kayla some pep talks when certain things start to go wrong for her.
The first problem that Kayla encounters is finding out there’s a mouse loose in the hotel. The mouse is first spotted in one of the worst places to find a mouse: in the kitchen. And we all know who the mouse is. Tom the cat is lurking around too, so Kayla decides to “hire” Tom to capture Jerry. There’s a scene where Tom is literally wearing a bellhop cap, as if that is automatically supposed to be funny.
The rest of the movie is just more run-arounds, mishaps and sight gags, leading up to the big wedding. There’s a very dull subplot about how Ben ignores that Preeta wants a simple ceremony, and he becomes caught up in the idea of making the wedding more and more elaborate. It’s supposed to be a traditional Indian wedding, but Ben has taken over the wedding planning, as if he wants it to be a big movie production.
Ben is also very nervous about getting the approval of Preeta’s stern father (played by Ajay Chhabra), who acts like he can barely tolerate Ben. There are some humorless scenes where Ben and Mr. Mehta interact with each uncomfortably. Preeta’s mother (played by Somi De Souza) and Ben’s parents (played by Patrick Poletti and Janis Ahern) are also there, but their characters are written as very non-descript and unremarkable.
Ben’s obsession with wanting a lavish wedding reaches a point where he gets two elephants and a tiger for the ceremony. The idea is to have Ben and Preeta ride in on the two elephants, whose names are Cecil and Malcolm. All of the wild animals in the movie are animated characters. So too are the movie’s many domesticated animals, including Ben and Preeta’s pets: a bulldog named Spike (voiced by Bobby Cannavale) and a pampered cat named Toots.
The other animal characters in “Tom and Jerry” are three alley cats that are members of a gang that sometimes menace Tom: gang leader Butch (voiced by Nicky Jam), red-haired Lightning (voiced by Joey Wells) and diminutive Topsy (voiced by Harry Ratchford). There’s also Goldie, a goldfish that lives in Henry’s office and becomes a hunting target for Tom. And there’s a rapping bird named Pigeon (voiced by “Tom and Jerry” director Story) that acts as a narrator.
Because “Tom and Jerry” is a live-action/animation hybrid, the movie relies heavily on how convincing the actors look next to these animated characters. Moretz fares the best in putting the most effort in expressing different emotions with these imaginary animals. Peña at times looks uncomfortable, while Jeong dials up his angry and sarcastic persona to the highest and campiest notches.
There are some very predictable hijinks that ensue that often happen in movies with a wedding as the center of the action. A ring goes missing, a cake is in danger of being destroyed, and certain characters will inevitably have a big fight. It’s nothing that hasn’t already been done in other movies.
In addition to the formulaic plot developments, the dialogue and gags are often cringeworthy. When Kayla first meets Preeta and Ben, she gushes over them and tells them what a cute couple they are. Kayla also compliments Preeta on Preeta’s enormous engagement ring: “That rock! You can see it from outer space!” Ben smugly replies, “You can see our love from outer space.”
And it should come as no surprise that Spike the bulldog character is used for the inevitable fart and defecation jokes that every kids-oriented animal film seems to have these days. Spike eats a burrito that doesn’t agree with his intestinal system. And there’s a scene where Terence has to walk the dog after the dog ate the burrito. Enough said.
The direction and tone of “Tom and Jerry” are best described as a movie that doesn’t have any clever ideas and jumps around too much from antic to antic, in order to distract people from the very weak plot. The alley cat gang, which could have been used for more comedy, is very under-used in the film. Tom and Jerry do their expected slapstick shenanigans, but they’re surrounded by human characters that are just too bland.
And the movie’s visual effects aren’t very impressive, since some of the animation looks really out-of-place with the live actors. An example of a live-action/animation hybrid that did everything right is 1988’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” which didn’t have a lot of the animation technology that exists today. “Tom and Jerry” isn’t the worst animated film ever. But considering that people have so many better options, this movie is not essential viewing. It’s just not worth watching if you’re interested in engaging entertainment that’s truly fun to experience.
Warner Bros. Pictures released “Tom and Jerry” in U.S. cinemas and on HBO Max on February 26, 2021.
Pictured from left to right (top row): Dan J. Johnson, Jocelyn Hudon, Adwin Brown and Daniel Robaire. Pictured from left right (bottom row): Alisa Allapach, Michael Kupisk and Emma Lahana in “Safer at Home” (Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Los Angeles and partially in New York City and Austin, Texas, the dramatic film “Safer at Home” features a racially diverse cast (white, African American, Asian and Latino) representing the middle-class.
Culture Clash: While quarantining during a coronavirus pandemic, a group of young urban professionals take Ecstasy during a nighttime videoconference chat, and something terrible happens that causes the night to spiral out of control.
Culture Audience: “Safer at Home” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching terribly written, dull movies that exploit a real-life deadly pandemic.
Pictured from left to right (top row): Dan J. Johnson, Jocelyn Hudon, Adwin Brown and Daniel Robaire. Pictured from left right (bottom row): Alisa Allapach, and Michael Kupisk in “Safer at Home” (Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
In the obnoxious and boring movie “Safer at Home,” a group of young people take Ecstasy during a video chat, and their drug-induced states of mind might explain some of the grossly illogical decisions that they make when they have to deal with an unexpected crisis. Viewers of this garbage movie will wonder if the filmmakers might have also been in an impaired state of mind to think that this junk was anywhere near approaching the level of “interesting to watch.” It’s one of those movies that was clearly made to cash in on the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s just an incoherent mess that’s a waste of time.
Directed by Will Wernick, who co-wrote the moronic screenplay with Lia Bozonelis, “Safer at Home” begins with a montage that’s a blend of real-life news footage taken in 2020 (at the start of the real-life COVID-19 pandemic in the United States) and fabricated news footage that’s supposed to depict 2021 and 2022. According to what’s shown, by January 23, 2022, a second coronavirus strain called COVID 20-B has spread, and the pandemic death toll in the U.S. has totaled 12.3 million people.
By August 4, 2022, a third coronavirus strain has appeared, and 31.2 million people in the U.S. have died from the pandemic. For those who don’t want to do the math, that’s 18.9 million people who died from the pandemic in the U.S. in just eight months. And there’s no vaccine for the second and third coronavirus strains that have decimated the population.
In Los Angeles, where the main action of the film takes place, a news report mentions that the Los Angeles Police Department’s newly appointed police chief Charles Yates has mandated an earlier curfew. (The movie doesn’t say what the current curfew cutoff time is.) If anyone is caught outside after the curfew and doesn’t have the proper credentials, that person will be arrested and sent to a detention center.
Considering the extreme death toll happening around them, this group of seven friends who are on the video conference call seem just a little too lighthearted and upbeat about the serious enormity of the pandemic. They view the pandemic as an inconvenience that has interrupted their party plans. Their biggest complaint in life is that their group trip to Las Vegas had to be cancelled twice because of the pandemic.
While millions of people are dying, these self-absorbed dimwits, who are in the early 30s age range, tell each other how hard it is that their own lives just aren’t the same because they can’t party together in person anymore. It shows how willfully tone-deaf this movie is with these shallow and idiotic characters. On the night of September 12, 2022, these empty-headed pals gather for a video conference call, which ends up being an excuse for all of them to take Ecstasy together on the call.
The doltish pals who are this conference call are:
Evan (played by Dan J. Johnson), who ends up being at the center of the poorly written action in this story.
Jen (played by Jocelyn Hudon), who is Evan’s live-in girlfriend. Evan and Jen live in Los Angeles.
Oliver, nicknamed Ollie (played by Michael Kupisk), who is Evan’s best friend. Oliver lives in nearby Venice, California.
Mia (played by Emma Lahana), who is Oliver’s girlfriend in a fairly new relationship. Mia is in the process of divorcing her husband (who’s not seen or heard in the movie), and she’s moved in with Oliver, although Mia and Oliver are calling their living arrangement “quarantining together.”
Harper (played by Alisa Allapach), who seems to be Jen’s best friend. Harper is a stoner who lives by herself in Austin, Texas.
Ben (played by Adwin Brown), who is an attorney and the most level-headed one in the group, although that’s not saying much because he makes some very dumb decisions, like everyone else in this movie.
Liam (played by Daniel Robaire), Ben’s live-in boyfriend, who’s a lot more reckless and flamboyant than Ben is. Ben and Liam live in New York City.
Before the videoconference starts with all of the members of this group, Jen and Harper have a private conversation where Jen tells Harper some news that she’s very happy and excited about: Jen is pregnant, but she hasn’t told Evan yet. Jen makes it obvious that she hopes that when she tells Evan about the pregnancy, it’ll be the extra motivation he needs to propose marriage to her. Harper congratulates Jen, who asks that Harper not tell anyone else about the pregnancy until Jen has a chance to tell Evan.
And it just so happens that this videoconference call is taking place on Evan’s birthday. To celebrate, Oliver has arranged for a drug dealer he knows to mail all of them packets of designer Ecstasy, also known as molly. Oliver insists that they take the Ecstasy pills at the same time during the call. (By the way, the cinematography lighting in this movie is horrendous and unrealistic, since all of these friends have the same type of dark lighting in their rooms, as if they’re about to have a séance by videoconference.)
Ben is very reluctant to indulge in doing drugs, but he eventually gives in to peer pressure and takes Ecstasy at the same time as everyone else. Why is pregnant Jen doing Ecstasy and drinking beer? That’s hurriedly explained at one point in the movie, which becomes buried in a cesspool of bad plot developments.
As the Ecstasy starts to take effect, it leads to some useless scenes of awkward dancing (Ben, Jen and Harper do an embarrassing version of twerking), and then some people in the group make gossipy comments about each other’s relationships. The characters in this movie are so hollow and badly written, viewers won’t find out what any of these friends (except for Ben) does for a living, and there’s no backstory on how they all know each other.
It’s mentioned without going into too many details that Ben cheated on Liam in the past. And it’s apparently still a sore spot in their relationship, because Liam brings up the infidelity as an example of how Ben shouldn’t act so morally self-righteous about Liam wanting to do Ecstasy. Jen is leery of Mia, who’s a newcomer to their social circle, because Jen thinks Mia might be an inappropriate rebound for Oliver, whose most recent ex-girlfriend Rachel is someone who had Jen’s approval. Meanwhile, Liam makes a catty comment about Harper not being part of a couple.
This group of immature friends then move on to playing “Never Have I Ever.” How old are they again? Fifteen? First, the confession is “Never have I ever had a one-night stand.” Then it’s “Never have I ever slept with two people in the same day.” This leads Jen to confess that when she was in high school, she had a threesome with two guys.
Evan is shocked because it’s the first time he’s hearing about it. He’s also hurt because he expected Jen to tell him something like that in private first instead of blurting it out to to him and their friends. This threesome confession leads to Evan and Jen arguing, while their videocamera is still on in their living room.
During this argument, Oliver and Mia have gone to another room to have sex. Ben and Liam have gone into their bathroom because Ben is feeling ill and panicky from the Ecstasy. Harper is still on the call. She’s turned off the video but she can hear Evan and Jen arguing.
In the heat of the quarrel with Evan and Jen shouting at each other, Jen steps back and accidentally falls backward on the hard floor of the living room and gets a severe head injury. It’s bad enough where there’s the sound of a cracked skull. Evan panics because Jen isn’t responding, and blood is coming out of her head.
Evan frantically tells Harper that Jen is dead from an accidental fall. Harper didn’t see what happened but she heard Jen fall. And even though Evan is wailing that it was an accident, Harper isn’t sure what to believe. She turns the video back on, sees Jen bleeding on the floor, and Harper starts to panic too. Although the audience can see that Jen’s fall was an accident (Evan didn’t even touch her), no one else outside of Evan and Jen’s apartment saw her fall.
However, the movie has a plot hole in not explaining that the video camera in Evan and Jen’s living room still captured what happened during the livestream, so that would be enough proof that it was an accident. But if the characters in this movie thought that logically, there would be no “Safer at Home” movie because the rest of this dumb story is about all of them panicking over the thought that Evan will be arrested. Evan and Harper frantically shout for the other people to get back on the conference call, in order to tell them what happened.
Why didn’t they call 911 to get medical help for Jen? Oliver shouts, “They won’t send an ambulance! They’ll send the police!” Evan doesn’t want to call for help either. Adding to their panic, Evan and Jen’s nosy neighbor (who’s an ex-cop) in their apartment building comes over to find out what’s going on because he said he heard Jen and Evan arguing. The neighbor tries to go inside the apartment to snoop, but Evan manages to prevent him from coming too far into the apartment to see Jen lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Evan, who’s paranoid about being arrested, then stupidly decides now would be a good time to go somewhere and break the curfew, thereby putting himself at risk of being arrested. He decides to drive to Oliver’s apartment, but he doesn’t forget to take the video camera with him while it’s still logged on to the videoconference chat. Because that’s apparently what you do when you want to run from the law: Keep the video chat going with your friends.
Meanwhile, Oliver jumps in his car to go to Evan’s place before finding out that Evan is on the way to Oliver’s place. Oliver also makes sure that he’s still logged into the video chat while driving. Just like Evan, Oliver keeps looking into the video camera while driving and talking during the video chat.
It’s as if Evan and Oliver want to make sure the camera angle looks great when they’re talking to the camera during this crisis, instead of keeping their eyes on the road while driving. And while they’re outside in public places during this deadly pandemic, Oliver and Evan don’t wear masks, but they keep the video chat going. Priorities.
Mia, who doesn’t know Evan very well, thinks it’s possible that Evan could have killed Jen, so she doesn’t want Evan anywhere near her. She’s also very uncomfortable about Oliver wanting to help Evan, but Oliver scolds Mia and tells her that Evan is a good guy who wouldn’t kill Jen. At one point, Oliver advises Evan to go to Griffith Park so Evan can be by himself. To do what? Meditate?
Of course, as soon as Evan drives outside, you know what’s going to happen. And it does: Police helicopters see his car, so he’s followed by the police. The rest of the movie gets even more ridiculous, and it leads to two mind-numbingly atrocious plot twists. And viewers will either be howling with laughter and/or yelling at the screen over how bad the acting is throughout “Safer at Home.”
One of the worst things about the movie is how Evan (who is African American/biracial) and his racial identity are used by the “Safer at Home” filmmakers in a disgusting, exploitative way. There’s nothing remotely entertaining about this mindless and dull film, which shamefully tries to make money off of deadly issues related to the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. The only real safety lesson that can come from “Safer at Home” is to avoid this toxic trash dump of a film altogether if you value your time and your intelligence.
Vertical Entertainment released “Safer at Home” in select U.S. cinemas and on digital and VOD on February 26, 2021.
Pennie Downey, Marion Bailey, Josh O’Connor, Charles Dance, Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter, Erin Doherty, Michael Thomas and Pennie Downie in “The Crown” (Photo by Des Willie/Netflix)
With four prizes, Netflix’s drama series “The Crown” was the top winner at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which were presented on February 28, 2021. “The Crown” won the award for Best Television Series – Drama. The movie’s other prizes went to Josh Connor, for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama; Emma Corrin, for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama; and Gillian Anderson, for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
There was no one movie that dominated at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards. Searchlight Pictures’ “Nomadland,” Amazon Studios’ “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and Pixar Animation Studios’ “Soul” won two awards each. “Nomadland” won the prize for Best Motion Picture – Drama. “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao made Golden Globes history by becoming the first woman of color to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. She is also the second woman to win this prize, after Barbra Streisand won for 1983’s “Yentyl.” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” took the prizes for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, while the movie’s star Sacha Baron Cohen won the prize for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. “Soul” won the awards for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score.
The Golden Globes ceremony has traditionally been held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no large, in-person gathering at the ceremony. Instead, the Golden Globes ceremony had video linkups of the nominees, so that when the winners are announced, the winners could react live with their acceptance speeches. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the ceremony, with Fey Rainbow Room in New York City and Poehler at the Beverly Hilton. NBC had the U.S. telecast of the show.
Netflix’s dramatic movie “Mank” went into the ceremony with the most nominations (six), but in the end, didn’t win any Golden Globes. “Mank” is director David Fincher’s movie about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (nicknamed Mank) and his experiences while he co-wrote the 1941 classic “Citizen Kane,” including his clashes with “Citizen Kane” director Orson Welles.
The most emotional moment of the night was for the late Chadwick Boseman, who was awarded the prize of Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, for his final acting role in Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward-Boseman tearfully accepted the prize on his behalf and gave a heart-wrenching statement on what he might have said if he were alive and able to accept the award. Boseman died of colon cancer in August 2020. He was 43.
Other winners in the movie categories included Andra Day of Hulu’s “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama; Rosamund Pike of Netflix’s “I Care a Lot” for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy; Daniel Kaluuya of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Judas and the Black Messiah” for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture; and Jodie Foster of STX’s “The Mauritanian” for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
TV winners that won multiple Golden Globe Awards were the Pop network’s “Schitt’s Creek,” which got two prizes: Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, while Catherine O’Hara won the award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. The Netflix limited drama series “The Queen’s Gambit” won for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, while Anya Taylor-Joy got the prize for Best Actress in a Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) votes for the nominations and awards. The HFPA and Dick Clark Productions produce the Golden Globe Awards telecast. Eligible movies for the show were those released in the U.S. in 2020 and in January and February 2021. The eligibility window, which usually ends at the end of a calendar year, was extended for movies because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible TV programs were those that premiered on U.S. networks and U.S. streaming services in 2020.
In their opening monologue, co-hosts Fey and Poehler (who previously co-hosted the Golden Globes from 2013 to 2015) made some light-hearted jokes, as well as more serious-minded jokes that took aim at some of the controversial aspects of the HFPA and this year’s Golden Globe nominations. Fey and Poehler slammed the movie “Music,” which has gotten a lot of criticism for its offensive portrayal of autism by a non-autistic actress. Poehler and Fey also blasted the HFPA, which has about 89 members, for not having any black people in the group’s membership. (On February 21, 2021, the Los Angeles Times published an investigative report that exposed this racial diversity problem and other problems at the HFPA. Variety reported on February 26 that the HFPA hasn’t had any black members since 2002.)
Later in the broadcast, three HFPA leaders went on stage and addressed the controversy in prepared statements. HFPA vice president Helen Hoehne commented, “Just like in film and television, black representation is vital. We must have black journalists in our organization.” HFPA chair Meher Tatna added, “We must also ensure that everyone from underrepresented communities gets a seat at our table. We are going to make that happen.” HFPA president Ali Sar concluded, “That means creating an environment where diverse membership is the norm, not the exception. Thank you, and we look forward to a more inclusive future.”
Jane Fonda received the Cecil B. DeMille Award (for outstanding career achievements in entertainment), while Norman Lear received the Carol Burnett Award (for outstanding career achievements in TV). Both awards are non-competitive, and the award recipients are announced weeks before the ceremony takes place.
Presenters at the ceremony included Laura Dern, Angela Bassett, Colin Farrell, Christian Slater, Tiffany Haddish, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amanda Seyfried, Justin Theroux, Cynthia Erivo, Sarah Paulson, Salma Hayek, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Tracy Morgan, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Ben Stiller, Margot Robbie, Gal Gadot, Kenan Thompson, Ava DuVernay, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Meloni, Jeanise Jones, Rosie Perez, Renée Zellweger, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sandra Oh, Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig, Awkwafina, Maya Rudolph, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Some of the presenters appeared in person at either the Beverly Hilton or the Rainbow Room, while other presenters appeared by a video link.
Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2021 Golden Globe Awards:
*=winner
MOVIES
Best Motion Picture – Drama “The Father” (Sony Pictures Classics) “Mank” (Netflix) “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)* “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Studios)* “Hamilton” (Disney+) “Palm Springs” (Neon/Hulu) “Music” (Vertical Entertainment) “The Prom” (Netflix)
Best Director Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman” David Fincher, “Mank” (Netflix) Regina King, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)*
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)* Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”) Gary Oldman (“Mank”) Tahar Rahim (“The Mauritanian”)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”)* James Corden (“The Prom”) Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”) Dev Patel (“The Personal History of David Copperfield”) Andy Samberg (“Palm Springs”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”)* Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”) Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”) Kate Hudson (“Music”) Michelle Pfeiffer (“French Exit”) Rosamund Pike (“I Care a Lot”)* Anya Taylor-Joy (“Emma”)
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)* Jared Leto (“The Little Things”) Bill Murray (“On the Rocks”) Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”) Olivia Colman (“The Father”) Jodie Foster (“The Mauritanian”)* Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”) Helena Zengel (“News of the World”)
Best Screenplay “Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – Emerald Fennell “Mank” (Netflix) – Jack Fincher “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)* – Aaron Sorkin “The Father” (Sony Pictures Classics) – Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures) – Chloé Zhao
Best Original Score “The Midnight Sky” – Alexandre Desplat “Tenet” – Ludwig Göransson “News of the World” – James Newton Howard “Mank” – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross “Soul” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste*
Best Original Song “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah” – H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas “Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – Daniel Pemberton, Celeste “Io Si (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead” – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi* “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Leslie Odom Jr, Sam Ashworth “Tigress & Tweed” from “The United States vs. Billie Holliday” (Hulu) – Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq
Best Animated Film “The Croods: A New Age” (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures) “Onward” (Pixar Amination Studios/Disney) “Over the Moon” (Netflix) “Soul” (Pixar Animation Studios/Disney)* “Wolfwalkers” (Cartoon Saloon/Apple TV+)
Best Foreign Language Film “Another Round” (Samuel Goldwyn Films) “La Llorona” (Shudder) “The Life Ahead” (Netflix) “Minari” (A24)* “Two of Us” (Magnolia Pictures)
TELEVISION
Best Television Series – Drama “The Crown” (Netflix)* “Lovecraft Country” (HBO) “The Mandalorian” (Disney Plus) “Ozark” (Netflix) “Ratched” (Netflix)
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy “Emily in Paris” (Netflix) “The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max) “The Great” (Hulu) “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)* “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) Josh O’Connor (“The Crown”)* Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) Al Pacino (“Hunters”) Matthew Rhys (“Perry Mason”)
Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama Olivia Colman (“The Crown”) Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) Emma Corrin (“The Crown”)* Laura Linney (“Ozark”) Sarah Paulson (“Ratched”)
Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”) Nicholas Hoult (“The Great”) Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”)* Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”)
Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Lily Collins (“Emily in Paris”) Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”) Elle Fanning (“The Great”) Jane Levy (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”) Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”)*
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television “Normal People” (Hulu/BBC) “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)* “Small Axe” (Amazon Prime Video/BBC) “The Undoing” (HBO) “Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Bryan Cranston (“Your Honor”) Jeff Daniels (“The Comey Rule”) Hugh Grant (“The Undoing”) Ethan Hawke (“The Good Lord Bird”) Mark Ruffalo (“I Know This Much Is True”)*
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”) Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Normal People”) Shira Haas (“Unorthodox”) Nicole Kidman (“The Undoing”) Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Queen’s Gambit”)*
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television John Boyega (“Small Axe”)* Brendan Gleeson (“The Comey Rule”) Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) Jim Parsons (“Hollywood”) Donald Sutherland (“The Undoing”)
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”)* Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”) Julia Garner (“Ozark”) Annie Murphy (“Schitt’s Creek”) Cynthia Nixon (“Ratched”)
Culture Representation: The documentary “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” features an all-white group of people from the middle-class and upper-middle-class discussing the life of skiing filmmaker Warren Miller, including Miller himself.
Culture Clash: Miller came from a dysfunctional family and working-class background to become the pre-eminent filmmaker in the ski industry, and he endured many personal setbacks along the way.
Culture Audience: “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” will appeal primarily to people interested in the ski industry, filmmaking or stories about people who pursue their dreams.
Warren Miller in “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” (Photo courtesy of Gravitas Ventures)
You don’t have to be a skiing enthusiast to enjoy the documentary “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story,” which chronicles the life of pioneering skiing filmmaker Warren Miller. It’s an insightful look into his life that’s compelling for anyone who’s interested in learning more about someone who took a lifelong passion, changed an entire industry, and inspired countless numbers of people. Although the documentary at times has a laudatory tone to it, the movie doesn’t gloss over Miller’s flaws or the low points in his life. “Ski Bum” features the last on-camera interviews that Miller did before he passed away in 2018, at the age of 93.
Directed by Patrick Creadon, “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” also features interviews with Miller’s family members, business associates and friends to give further insight into his personality and how his work changed the ski industry. And there are expected archival clips, as well as clips from many of his ski documentaries that helped bring the popularity of skiing to new levels.
It’s no secret that skiing is an elitist sport that tends to cater to people who can afford to take skiing lessons and can go to ski resorts on a regular basis. Many of the people interviewed in the documentary comment that Miller, who came from a working-class background in Los Angeles, was able to break into these exclusive skiing societies because of his passion for skiing, which led to him becoming a prominent filmmaker whose specialty was making skiing documentaries with his company Warren Miller Entertainment.
Footage of elaborate ski stunts and tricks are easily available these days on the Internet, but when Miller started filming skiers in the early 1950s, this type of footage was rare. In the documentary, he talks about how his dysfunctional childhood affected his outlook on life. Miller’s father was an alcoholic whose career as a radio personality was derailed by the Great Depression, so the family was often financially unstable.
Miller says he liked to escape from his home on the weekends to do Boy Scout activities or play sports. Miller describes it as leading two different lives: the one he had on the weekends and the one he had during the week when he spent more time at home. He also says he felt like an outsider in his own home because his parents paid more attention to his sisters than they paid attention to him.
After he graduated from high school, Miller enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He says of his time in the military: “I really resented that loss of freedom, so I really made up for it when I got out.” As a young man, he developed a love for skiing. In the documentary, Miller comments on how skiing changed his life: “It really opens up all the gates of freedom.”
He became a “ski bum” by living a camping lifestyle outdoors in ski areas (where he would hunt rabbits for food) or by living in a trailer behind a ski resort. At these upscale resorts, he would make money by giving ski lessons. And it was during this time, he decided that he wanted to be a filmmaker of skiers at these resorts, especially skiers with a penchant for extreme stunts, whether they were professionals or amateurs.
Miller explains his entry into filmmaking this way: “I got hooked on shooting a movie … Getting that good is not a simple task.” Therefore, he honed his filmmaking skills by taking still photos of skiers. Timing is everything. Miller began doing ski documentaries at a time when there weren’t very many other people doing it. He also started to hit his stride as a ski filmmaker around the same time that the ski industry began booming in the late 1960s.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. At the beginning of his career, his first wife Jean (whom he married in 1951, and he says it was “love at first sight” when he met her) died of spine cancer about 18 months after their son Scott was born. In his documentary interview, Miller gets emotional when talking about this tragic loss.
He explains that he coped by focusing more on his work: “I could pour all of my emotional angst in the film. You can’t worry if your mind is busy.” In addition to directing, editing and producing his movies, he narrated his films. Miller’s often-sarcastic but folksy style of narrating made his ski documentaries stand out from the pack. One of his well-known catch-phrases that he used with footage of someone (usually a ski instructor) throwing a ski in frustration was: “You want your ski? Go get it!”
Miller also literally went the extra mile in a way that most ski documentarians did not: He traveled around the country with his movies and gave live commentaries and introductions while his films played to movie audiences. It’s a form of interactive entertainment that most movie theaters do not have anymore, since movie cinemas and audiences now expect people to be silent while watching movies in theaters. Miller says of his ski-filming activities: “I always had more fun than anyone else.”
About a year after his first wife Jean died, Miller met his second wife Dorothy, nicknamed Dottie, who was also an ardent ski enthusiast. They married in 1955 and had two children together: daughter Chris (born in 1957) and son Kurt (born in 1959). When the kids were young, they would travel around the country with their parents for the film tours to show his movies and for Warren to get new footage of skiers.
Chris remembers of her early life: “I had an amazing, amazing childhood.” Warren would sometimes put his kids in his movies. But, by his own admission, he was a workaholic. And as his business became more successful, he spent less time away from home. By the 1970s, when his children reached their teenage years, and when they couldn’t travel with him as much because they had to be in school, he stopped putting them in his movies.
His daughter Chris sobs when she thinks about how her father’s absence made her feel bad when he couldn’t be there for her birthdays (he wasn’t there for her birth either) or other important milestones. She remembers how she envied kids in school who had a father who would be present for school activities. And she says she wished back then that he could be more like a “normal” father, but later in life as an adult she became at peace with how her father’s workaholic ways affected her childhood.
Warren admits that during his long and frequent absences from home, he “lived like a bachelor,” and his wife Dottie got lonely and ended up having an affair. The affair led to Warren and Dottie’s separation and eventual divorce after 20 years of marriage. In 1988, he married his third wife Laurie (who owned a ski shop at the time), and they eventually settled in the Seattle area, on Orcas Island. They remained married until his death. Laurie gives brief commentary in the documentary about how important it was for Warren to scale back on his workload as he transitioned into semi-retirement. However, he never stopped working.
In addition to dealing with problems in his personal life, Warren also had some major blows in his professional life. Early in his career, he let his mother and sister handle his business affairs. But according to Warren and his biographer Andy Bigford (a former editor of Ski magazine), the women embezzled about $160,000 from Warren. At the time, the money was almost his entire savings. Warren declined to have them arrested, but he says in the documentary that he never saw or spoke to his mother and sister again after this betrayal.
Losing his life savings meant that Warren had to financially start over from scratch, and he had to sell a lot of his equipment and possessions to pay his debts. After the success of filmmaker Bruce Brown’s 1965 surfing documentary “The Endless Summer,” Warren decided he wanted to make this type of influential documentary for skiing. He took a big financial loss when he made a movie (whose name is not mentioned in “Ski Bum”) that was a major flop at the box office. (It didn’t help that the movie was released during a hot July summer.)
And then another financial blow came with 1969’s “The Killy Style,” his first major documentary TV series, starring French ski champion Jean-Claude Killy. Warren financed the entire series himself and went over-budget. And when it came time to be paid by the TV network, the network refused and dared Warren to sue. Warren’s biographer Bigford says of “The Killy Style” series: “He lost about $160,000 on it.”
In the documentary, Warren comments on why he persevered when many other people would have given up under the same circumstances: “That old axiom ‘The show must go on.’ If you don’t have that attitude, then you don’t deserve to be in show business.”
In 1989, Warren sold Warren Miller Entertainment to his son Kurt and Kurt’s business partner Peter Speek. Kurt had been working for the company for about 12 years before buying it. And after the sale, Warren was the one who was working for Kurt. Warren was eventually phased out of the company’s day-to-day business.
Kurt comments on this transition, which he admits was difficult for the family and other people: “I had a specific formula that was 180 degrees [different] from what my father did.” As pointed out in the documentary, Warren’s style of running the company put an emphasis on storytelling. Kurt’s style of running the company put an emphasis on sales. Kurt says that when he took over the company in 1989, the annual stats were that 67,000 people attended the company’s movie screenings at $8 to $12 a ticket. By 2001, that annual number grew to 300,000 attendees at $22 a ticket.
Kurt eventually eliminated Warren’s narration in the company’s films and replaced it with narration from the skiing stars of the films. Also gone from the company’s movies were Warren’s jokes, which Kurt thought were too corny. And the company also reduced the number of personal appearances that Warren made for the movies.
Several of the people interviewed in the documentary say that they preferred the company when Warren was in charge. Professional extreme skier Dan Egan comments, “Warren loves people. He loves being in front of people. He loves inspiring people. I think being phased out is something that he didn’t figure.”
Danny Wimmer, a live events promoter who does a lot of work in extreme sports, tears up and gets emotional about Warren’s eventual ouster from Warren Miller Entertainment: “It was a sad thing. Inevitable, I guess. But he was the force behind that [company].” Warren Miller Entertainment was later sold to Time Inc., which sold it to Bonnier Corporation, which was then absorbed by Active Interest Media in 2013.
Warren’s wife Laurie and his daughter Chris say that Warren was heartbroken over no longer having day-to-day responsibilities at Warren Miller Entertainment, but his gradual exit from the company gave him the freedom to pursue other interests. He never stopped doing ski films, but he also helped build the Scott Stamnes Memorial Skatepark on Orcas Island with Mark “Monk” Hubbard as the architect. (Hubbard, who is interviewed in the movie, died in 2018, at the age of 47.) True to his humble nature, Warren didn’t want his name displayed anywhere in the park, even though he helped finance the park’s construction.
Several people in the documentary say that one of the reasons why Warren was so beloved was that even though skiing can be an elitist sport, Warren never had an elitist attitude toward people who wanted to learn how to ski. He also had a fondness for skiers with physical disabilities, whom he put in almost all of his films. One of his favorites was Tracy Taylor, who was born with sacral agenesis (a spine condition). Taylor appeared in his 1985 movie “Steep and Deep,” when she was 11 years old. Clips from “Steep and Deep” are included in the “Ski Bum” documentary.”
Other clips from Miller’s films that are in the documentary include 1983’s “Ski Time” and 1986’s “Beyond the Edge.” Skier/filmmaker Greg Stump, who made his first and last appearance in a Warren Miller movie in “Ski Time,” freely admits that he only wanted to be in the movie to use it as a launching pad for his filmmaking career. Stump says it’s the same thing that Warren did when Warren first started out as a filmmaker.
Stump, who calls Warren “the Beatles of ski movies,” laughs when he says that after “competitive” Warren found out that Stump was trying to be a business rival, Warren purposely changed Stump’s name in the voiceover narration in the home video release of “Ski Time.” Instead of calling him by his real name, Greg Stump’s identity was changed to a fabricated character of Todd Stockwell, an avocado grower from the California city of Yucaipa. Stump says that when he asked Warren about this narration revision, Warren denied any knowledge of it.
Other people interviewed in the documentary include professional extreme skiers John Egan (Dan Egan’s brother), Scot Schmidt, Kirsten Ulmer, Brad Vancour and Colby James West. Also weighing in with their thoughts in the documentary are Jonny Moseley, 1998 Olympic gold medalist; Ward Baker, Warren’s friend who was his surfing buddy when they were young; Kim Schneider, Warren’s longtime editor; and Gary Nate, who was Warren’s cameraperson from 1974 to 2007.
The takeaway that viewers will get from watching this documentary is that even though Warren rose to the top in the ski industry (including being appointed director of skiing at the exclusive Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Montana), he remained a “ski bum” at heart. Dan Egan sums up what that means and why this description applies to Warren: “A bum is living in the moment. He’s always willing to sacrifice something for his own personal greater good.”
Dan Egan also says in the documentary that many true ski bums give up a lot of life’s comforts and aren’t skiing to get rich: “When you’re free of materialistic things and you’re chasing a passion or a dream, then being a ski bum isn’t derogatory. It’s more of a state of mind.”
“Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” can be an inspiration to people who want to turn their passion into a career. But it’s also a cautionary tale not to let work become an obsession to the point where it can ruin relationships with loved ones. Warren Miller’s legacy is in how people can somehow find a balance of living their passion without losing themselves in the process.
Gravitas Ventures released “Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story” on digital, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on June 30, 2020. Discovery+ premiered the movie on February 25, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Northern California and other parts of the U.S., the dramatic film “The Ride” (which is based on a true story) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Asians and Latinos) representing the middle-class, working-class and criminal underground.
Culture Clash: A juvenile delinquent, who was taught to be a white supremacist, is fostered and then adopted by an interracial couple, and he learns that he has a talent for BMX racing.
Culture Audience: “The Ride” will appeal primarily to people interested in real-life stories of redemption, even if it’s told in a very predictable and formulaic way.
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Sasha Alexander in “The Ride” (Photo courtesy of WSO Film Group/Roadside Attractions)
“The Ride” is a biographical dramatic film that sticks to a certain formula that movies tend to have when they’re about people who’ve been able to overcome a troubled past to achieve some greatness. Based on the true story of professional BMX rider John Buultjens (formerly known as John McCord), “The Ride” takes a while to get to the heart of the story, it soars when it shows John’s transformation, and then it becomes a conventional sports competition by the end of the film. Despite having a lot of expected tropes, the cast members’ performances are appealing enough to make this movie worth checking out if people are looking for an inspirational and uplifting story.
Directed by Alex Ranarivelo, “The Ride” begins in Northern California, where most of the story takes place. John McCord (played by Alexander Davis) is only 9 years old, but he’s already living like an adult hoodlum. He and his friends have been recruited by a local white supremacist gang to commit crimes. The opening scene shows John and three other boys beating up a hospital security guard (played by Dorian Lockett) and stealing bottles of pills. But that’s not enough for these delinquents. They also brand the guard, who is African American.
John is caught and put in a juvenile detention center, where he kicks his cellmate Jose (played by Mario Gianni Herrera) just because Jose is Latino. And then, in a classroom at the detention center, three African American boys find out that John has a swastika tattooed on his neck, so the boys attack John. These scenes obviously show that a lot of John’s problems have to do with his racist beliefs.
Why did he turn out this way? John’s two older brothers Rory McCord (played by Richard Davis as a 14-year-old and Blake Sheldon as an adult) and Ewan McCord (played by the real-life John Buultjens) are both in the white supremacist gang which has become their surrogate family. John has an absentee father, while John’s mother Maggie McCord (played by Christina Moore) is a drug addict who’s been in and out of prison.
Maggie considers John to be a nuisance and refuses his pleas to let him live with her when he gets out of juvenile detention. While John is incarcerated, Maggie ends up dying from a drug-induced heart attack, essentially leaving John and his brothers as orphans. Seven years after being imprisoned, John (played by Shane Graham) is finally let out when he’s 16 years old, but he’s a very emotionally damaged person.
As a ward of the state, John is put in the foster care system. And the foster home he’s sent to live in is a nightmare for a white supremacist: Eldridge Buultjens (played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Marianna Buultjens (played by Sasha Alexander) are an interracial married couple. Eldridge is African American, and Marianna is white. They’ve had no luck in trying to start a biological family, so they’ve decided to try foster parenting instead.
When John is taken to Eldridge and Marianna’s upper-middle-class home for the first time, he immediately assumes that Eldridge must be a rapper or athlete to be able to afford this house. John is surprised to learn that Eldridge, who’s originally from Kentucky, has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Eldridge and Marianna met when they were grad students at the University of California at Berkeley. She has a master’s degree in linguistics.
Marianna and Eldridge know about John’s upbringing as a white supremacist, but they wanted to foster him anyway. When John asks them why they chose him, Eldridge says that Marianna felt that their family wouldn’t feel complete without a child. Of course, John’s bigoted beliefs cause problems in his difficulty adjusting to his new home.
There are the expected scenes of him being rude and uncooperative. And he constantly spouts racist assumptions. For example, during his first dinner with Eldridge and Marianna in their home, John assumes that he’s going to be served collard greens, which is a traditional African American meal.
John is enrolled in El Dorado High School shortly after the school year has begun. But he’s a misfit in the school, where cliques have already been formed. On his first day of school, John sees some BMX riders outside who are fellow students. One of them makes fun of John because of the shoes that John is wearing.
After school lets out for the day, the bully and his friends find the wheels removed from their BMX bikes that were parked outside. John is immediately accused of this vandalism. Police go to the Buultjens house to question John, but no arrest is made because there’s no proof of who committed the crime.
However, Eldridge is no fool, and he lectures John by telling him that he won’t tolerate any criminal activities. Eldridge also makes it clear that John has been given a chance to turn his life around, and John better not ruin it. John asks Eldridge again why he was chosen to be in this foster family: “Why me? Why not a good kid?” Eldridge replies, “Everybody deserves a second chance.”
It isn’t long before John discovers something about Eldridge that explains why Eldridge didn’t mind taking in a troubled kid with a criminal background. Slowly but surely, John warms up to his new family. When Eldridge finds out that John might be interested in BMX bike riding, Eldridge not only teaches John how to ride a bike but he also buys John a BMX bike.
The rest of the story goes how most people would expect it to go. As John begins to become better-adjusted in school and his BMX talent begins to blossom, he eventually starts to enter competitions. It’s not smooth sailing, since he gets rejected more than once, but he’s persistent in pursuing his goals. John’s racist older brothers find out that John is living with interracial foster parents, so they come back into his life and cause trouble.
“The Ride” director Ranarivelo co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with Hadeel Reda, J.R. Reher and Jean-Marie Sobeck. “The Ride” is a fairly solid film, but ironically, the BMX competition scenes that are supposed to be the most exciting are actually not as interesting as they should be. Maybe that’s because there are obvious stunt doubles which detract from these BMX scenes trying to look realistic. The best parts of the movie undoubtedly have to do with John’s expected redemption arc.
Bridges’ performance as Eldridge is at times a little stiff, but he and Alexander are convincing overall as caring foster parents, while Graham turns in a capable performance as teenage John. “The Ride” isn’t an award-worthy movie, but it efficiently serves its purpose for being a positive and life-affirming story that people of many generations can enjoy.
Amazon Prime Video premiered “The Ride” on November 13, 2020.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Texas and Mexico, the dramatic film “No Man’s Land” features a cast of white and Latino people representing the working-class, middle-class and criminal underground.
Culture Clash: A white teenage son of a Texas rancher shoots and kills a Mexican immigrant boy and flees to Mexico as a fugitive, while a Texas Ranger who’s a Mexican American goes in hot pursuit to capture him.
Culture Audience: “No Man’s Land” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching idiotic “chase movies” that have an offensive tone of white supremacy.
George Lopez in “No Man’s Land” (Photo courtesy of IFC Films)
There’s a cliché that says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” That saying could apply to the atrocious dramatic film “No Man’s Land.” The filmmakers of “No Man’s Land” say the movie is their way of trying to heal racial rifts among white Americans and Mexican Latinos, in a political climate where the Mexican/U.S. border wall has been used as a controversial symbol of people’s views on immigration in the United States.
If the “No Man’s Land” filmmakers had intentions of healing the harm done by racism, it didn’t work with this movie. In fact, “No Man’s Land” is tone-deaf schlock that actually has more than a whiff of white supremacy and racist beliefs. The film’s Mexican characters are written as expendable, not very smart, and pawns for whatever the white characters want, while the white characters are elevated as having more valuable lives, being more intelligent, and more deserving of redemption.
“No Man’s Land” was directed by Conor Allyn and written by his younger brother Jake Allyn (one of the stars of the movie) and David Barraza. As explained in the movie’s prologue, the movie’s title is named after the No Man’s Land area that’s the gap between the Texas border fences and the Mexican land that’s north of the Rio Grande. The movie takes place in Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas.
Conor Allyn made a very pretentious director’s statement in the “No Man’s Land” production notes. The statement reads in part: “In a time of great fear, we wanted to make a film about hope. The world is growing apart. Xenophobia and prejudice are abundant, millions clamor for walls to divide, yet there is still time to unite. But first we must recognize the borders within ourselves. And cross it.”
Conor Allyn continues in the statement: “But change does not come without pain. Our characters have to experience, and inflict, enormous pain in order to make a transformation. And in doing so, they are able to cross that border within themselves. And we hope that the audience does the same.”
The characters might inflict some pain on each other, but viewers of “No Man’s Land” will have some pain inflicted on them if they have to sit through this horrible onslaught of bad moviemaking. Be prepared to possibly have some brain cells damaged by the stupidity of it all. It’s not just that the filmmakers ineptly mishandled racism issues in this movie, but it’s also a terrible chase movie with insipid and unrealistic scenes.
In “No Man’s Land,” Jake Allyn portrays Jackson Greer, who lives with his family on a Texas ranch in an unnamed city that’s near the Mexican border. Jackson is in his late teens and is about to enroll in an unnamed New York City college on a baseball scholarship. Jackson’s rancher father Bill Greer (played by Frank Grillo) is more excited than Jackson is about Jackson getting a college education and possibly becoming a baseball star.
Jackson would rather skip college and continue to work on the ranch. In a conversation between Jackson and Bill in Bill’s truck, the father comments to the son about this opportunity to go to college: “You go give it a shot. If it don’t work out, it don’t work out.” Bill’s incorrect grammar is meant to show that he’s a working-class guy who doesn’t care about speaking proper English.
The other members of the Greer family who live on the ranch are Bill’s wife Monica Greer (played by Andie MacDowell) and their younger son Lucas Greer (played by Alex MacNicoll), who’s close to the same age as Jackson. In their spare time, Bill and his sons patrol the borders of their ranch to try and chase off immigrants and drug smugglers who illegally cross the border. These illegal treks usually happen at night.
Meanwhile, members of a family in Mexico are preparing to make this illegal crossing into the United States. Gustavo Almeida (played by Jorge A. Jimenez) is a widower who has a green card (resident alien documentation) to legally work in the United States. However, Gustavo’s son Fernando (played by Alessio Valentini), who’s about 13 or 14 years old, was denied immigration permission to live in the U.S. with Gustavo.
Gustavo has temporarily returned to Mexico to illegally bring Fernando into the United Sates. About two or three local men they know from Mexico are also on this trek to cross the border with Gustavo and Fernando. Gustavo’s religious mother Lupe (played by Ofelia Medina) is staying behind in Mexico, but she wishes them luck, and she gives Fernando some cash to take with him.
Gustavo, Fernando and the other men cross the border and end up on the Greer family’s property. Bill, Jackson and Lucas are out patrolling that night with their rifles. And, of course, things go horribly wrong.
Bill orders the men to stop because they’re trespassing. Because most of the Mexican men don’t speak English and the Greer men don’t speak Spanish, there’s a language barrier. But there’s no mistaking what the guns are for and Bill’s tone of voice. Gustavo, who speaks some English, raises his hands and tells the Greers that the immigrants don’t want any trouble.
Some of the immigrant men try to ignore Bill and keep going. But with Bill leading the way, he and his sons confront the men. One the immigrants pulls out a switchblade knife. A scuffle ensues where one of the immigrant men gets in a struggle with Bill over his rifle. A shot is fired, and Lucas accidentally gets hit. Meanwhile, a panicked Jackson rushes to his family’s defense and shoots his rifle. The bullet hits Fernando in the back, and he is killed instantly.
During this chaos, Bill has rushed to Lucas’ side, while Gustavo has rushed to Fernando’s side. In a rage, Bill threatens to shoot all of the immigrants if they don’t leave his property. Gustavo begs to stay with Fernando, but he can also tell that Bill is so angry that the Mexican immigrants will be blamed for everything and will probably get arrested. And so, a heartbroken Gustavo leaves with the other men and they go back to Mexico. Lucas is still alive, and he’s taken to a hospital for surgery.
The Texas Ranger who’s in charge of the investigation is named Ramirez (played by George Lopez), and the “No Man’s Land” filmmakers didn’t bother to give this character a first name or a realistic storyline. Ranger Ramirez doesn’t have any law enforcement partners with him during most of the time when he investigates this serious crime. Throughout the entire movie, Ranger Ramirez is the only Texas Ranger in Mexico who’s pursuing this case that could lead to charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Ranger Ramirez is immediately suspicious of Bill’s story that Bill was the one who accidentally shot Fernando in self-defense during the scuffle. Bill is the registered owner of all the guns in this incident, but the facts don’t match up with Bill’s story. Bill claims that he was fighting with one of the immigrants over the gun that ended up shooting Bill’s son Lucas, while Fernando was shot seconds later by another gun. Someone else had to have been holding that other gun that shot Fernando. And Ranger Ramirez instinctively knows the shooter couldn’t have been Bill.
Bill wants to cover up for Jackson because he doesn’t want this crime to ruin Jackson’s promising future. However, Jackson has a guilty conscience. (He’s shown wailing by himself somewhere in the Texas Rangers station while his father is being questioned.) And, as guilty people often do, Jackson (on horseback) goes back to the crime scene.
At the crime scene in the remote desert field, Jackson finds Fernando’s wallet. And just who happens to show up right then and there? Ranger Ramirez, of course, who was presumably following Jackson. Jackson can’t take the guilt anymore and he confesses to Ranger Ramirez that he was the one who shot Fernando.
Instead of allowing himself to be arrested, Jackson panics and flees on his horse, with Ranger Ramirez in pursuit in his squad car. Jackson is able to lose Ranger Ramirez when they reach a creek that Ranger Ramirez can’t cross on foot or by car, but Jackson can cross by horseback. Jackson eventually crosses the border to Mexico. All he has are his cell phone, the clothes he’s wearing, his wallet, his horse and Fernando’s wallet. And he doesn’t know how to speak Spanish.
It’s either lazy screenwriting or the filmmakers’ way of showing that Ranger Ramirez doesn’t have much clout, because he’s the only Texas Ranger shown chasing Jackson, a fugitive who’s wanted for suspected murder or manslaughter. Jackson could be armed and dangerous, but the filmmakers want to make it look like the Texas Rangers are willing to give Jackson a lot of leeway for this felony, because they’ve only sent one Ranger to be in pursuit of him. And the pursuer happens to be Latino. There are some scenes where Ranger Ramirez has to do some running on foot when he’s clearly out of shape, which only highlight how the filmmakers want to make this Latino cop character look like a buffoon without any backup.
The “No Man’s Land” filmmakers try to make it look like they’re not playing into racial stereotypes of Mexican Americans, in an interrogation scene where Bill incorrectly assumes that Ranger Ramirez can speak Spanish. Ranger Ramirez defensively declares that he’s an American too and he doesn’t know how to speak Spanish. Therefore, the filmmakers have made Ranger Ramirez look even more inept, as someone who can’t speak Spanish when he goes to Mexico as the lone pursuer of Jackson.
There’s more racial privilege/condescension on display, when Ranger Ramirez tries to find out from Bill and Monica where Jackson could have gone after Jackson has fled from being arrested. And these self-righteous parents end up getting angry at Ranger Ramirez for letting Jackson escape into “dangerous” Mexico. These parents, who come across as racists, seem more worried about Jackson getting hurt by Mexicans while he’s evading arrest than they are about the fact that their son Jackson is the one who’s committed a fatal crime, and he’s breaking the law even more by becoming a fugitive.
Needless to say, this dimwitted movie doesn’t even address that Bill should be in trouble for lying to law enforcement. Bill’s false confession also impeded the investigation, which is another crime. But those crimes are ignored, because in “No Man’s Land,” the white characters are the ones the filmmakers want the audience to root for to be forgiven the most.
Jackson’s parents understandably want the man who accidentally shot Lucas to be arrested, but they (and this movie) expect Jackson, who committed a worse crime of killing someone else, to be shown more mercy. Lucas was shot, but he wasn’t killed. And Jackson’s parents don’t seem to care that a family lost an innocent child because the child’s life was taken by Jackson, who’s alive and well.
The filmmakers give a lot of attention to the Greer family and tell very little about the Almeida family. Viewers never find out what Fernando’s hopes and dreams were or anything substantial about Gustavo and his experiences as a legal Mexican immigrant in the United Sates. There are expected scenes of Gustavo grieving over Fernando’s death, but no further insight into their lives.
By contrast, there’s a lot of concern in the movie over how Jackson’s crime of killing Fernando will negatively affect Jackson’s future and the Greer family’s reputation. The entire “chase” part of the movie puts an emphasis on Jackson feeling out of his comfort zone because he’s hiding out in a country where he doesn’t know the language, even though he’s an outlaw of his own free will. The filmmakers make Jackson’s thoughts and needs more important than any of the Mexicans’ thoughts and needs. It’s a racist imbalance that makes the Mexican characters look like hollow plot devices that serve the main story of how Jackson is going to get out of his self-made predicament.
When Ranger Ramirez gets to Mexico, the movie makes some vague references to Ranger Ramirez enlisting the help of Mexican federales to try to find Jackson, as well as the man who shot Lucas. But these federales are barely seen in the movie and certainly aren’t written as important characters. It’s an example of how the filmmakers marginalize Mexican law enforcement throughout the entire movie. Ranger Ramirez is the only Latino person in the movie who has a significant role as law enforcement, and he’s set up to be a character to go after a white guy who’s supposed to be sympathetic.
And the filmmakers literally have Jackson go on what turns out to be a sympathy tour in Mexico. Everywhere that Jackson goes while he’s hiding from the law, he has Mexicans bending over backwards to help him because they feel sorry for him, even though he’s a stranger who has all the signs of someone who’s left somewhere abruptly and is trying to hide from something: He’s new to the area and homeless; he has no possessions except his horse and a few personal items; and he doesn’t talk about his background.
Jackson doesn’t even know what city he’s in for most of the time he’s in Mexico. He doesn’t bother to use a map, but he has all these friendly Mexicans willing to help him when he wants to hide out somewhere and get advice on where to go next. It’s the movie’s way of saying that a good-looking American white guy who’s a fugitive hiding in Mexico and who doesn’t know Spanish should have it this easy, just because he’s a good-looking American white guy.
That’s what happens when Jackson, who’s on horseback on a nearly deserted road, encounters a truck with a small family of ranchers who are heading back to their home. Even though they know nothing about him, Jackson quickly convinces them on the spot to hire him to work on their ranch and give him and his horse a place to stay. The family happens to have a truck that is already equipped to transport a horse in the back of the truck. Before they drive back to the family’s ranch, Jackson (showing his privileged attitude) acts a little surprised and embarrassed when they tell him that he has to stay in the back of the truck with the horse because there’s no room for Jackson in the front.
The family has two children in their late teens or early 20s: Miguel (played by Iván Aragón) and Victoria (played by Esmeralda Pimentel), who were in the truck when Jackson first met them. It should come as no surprise that Victoria is immediately attracted to Jackson, who acts attracted to her too. But it’s hard to tell how much of Jackson’s flirtation with Victoria is real and how much is fake, since he’s using this family while he hides from the law. Victoria suspects that Jackson has something major to hide, but she goes out of her way to help Jackson, even going as far as giving him cash.
Jackson also has some other “too good to be true” encounters with Mexicans who automatically trust him without knowing anything about him. There’s an elderly couple named Juan (played by Carlos Remolina) and Rosa (played by Julieta Ortiz), who immediately let him stay in their home. They don’t ask Jackson any questions (very unrealistic), and he would’ve stayed longer with them but his time with this gullible couple is interrupted.
And when Jackson is on a bus, he strikes up a conversation with a mother sitting nearby who’s reading “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” to her son, who’s about 7 or 8 years old. The boy thinks the book is boring, until Jackson lectures him about how “Huckleberry Finn” is a classic adventure and asks the boy if he’s gotten to the best parts of the book that talk about the royal characters. The boy says no.
And the next thing you know, the kid is sitting next to Jackson with his head leaning on Jackson’s arm, as Jackson reads the book to him like a friendly neighborhood schoolteacher. The cloying parts of this movie are just beyond laughable. If the filmmakers had more time in this scene, they might have made Jackson charm his way into letting the boy’s mother give Jackson a place to stay too.
Since this movie wants to make Mexicans look inferior to Jackson, there’s a silly subplot about a small-time Mexican criminal named Luis (played by Andrés Delgado), who’s also chasing after Jackson for revenge. Luis, who has a peroxide-blonde faux hawk hairstyle, looks more like a scrawny skater than a supposedly fearsome leader of a gang of hoodlums.
Luis and his sleazy friends live in a run-down trailer area somewhere in the Mexican desert. Apparently, one of the ways they make money is by ripping off unsuspecting tourists by operating a small convenience stand that sells overpriced food and drinks. When Jackson first crosses the border into Mexico, he tries to buy some water from the stand, but then refuses when he sees that he’s being overcharged.
Luis and his gang then try to steal Jackson’s horse, but Jackson is able to fight them off and flee with the horse. Somehow, Luis finds out Jackson is the same guy who’s responsible for killing the son of a local man named Gustavo. Yes, it’s the same Gustavo, the father of the dead Fernando. Luis goes to a grieving Gustavo and offers his services to kill Jackson. Gustavo and Luis then team up to hunt down Jackson and get revenge.
The movie gets even dumber from then on, as Jackson has not only law enforcement chasing after him, but also Gustavo and Luis. There are a few instances where Ranger Ramirez is close to capturing Jackson, but Jackson outsmarts Ranger Ramirez, because the filmmakers are intent on making Ranger Ramirez look like an incompetent fool. Just like Ranger Ramirez, Luis could easily get the help of his cronies to outnumber Jackson, but he doesn’t do that, because the filmmakers don’t want the Mexicans to be smarter than the white Americans in this movie.
The movie’s big climactic showdown is extremely annoying and an insult to viewers’ intelligence. And when viewers find out how much prison time that Jackson would be facing if he’s caught, it’s further proof of racial inequalities in the U.S. criminal justice system. The filmmakers of “No Man’s Land” are trying to pretend that this movie can help heal these racial divides, but this reprehensible movie just fans the flames of bigotry even more by glorifying “white American privilege” and exploiting systemic racism for a cash grab.
IFC Films released “No Man’s Land” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on January 22, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in London, the dramatic film “The Father” features an almost-all white cast of characters (with one person of Indian heritage) representing the middle-class.
Culture Clash: An elderly man with dementia has problems determining what’s real and what isn’t, as his middle-aged daughter contemplates putting him in a nursing home.
Culture Audience: “The Father” will appeal primarily to people interested in high-quality dramas with excellent acting and a unique take on the issues of aging and mental deterioration.
Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman in “The Father” (Photo by Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures Classics)
The well-acted dramatic film “The Father” is a different type of psychological horror story: The movie is told entirely from the perspective of an elderly man with dementia. Viewers are taken on a harrowing ride that feels like an endless loop of uncertainty and confusion, anchored by outstanding performances from Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman.
Directed by Florian Zeller (who co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Hampton), “The Father” is adapted from Zeller’s West End play. “The Father” movie, which is Zeller’s feature-film directorial debut, is designed very much like a theatrical stage production. Almost everything in the story takes place inside a building, and the movie is very heavy with dialogue.
But it’s not the type of performance piece that can be done by just any actors. This movie greatly benefits from having two remarkable leading actors who are also Academy Award winners. Hopkins gives the type of performance that is quietly devastating. Colman convincingly expresses the heartbreak of who someone who feels helpless to stop a loved one’s inevitable decline.
Even if viewers don’t know before seeing “The Father” that the story is from the point of view of someone who has dementia, this perspective is made clear very early on in the movie, which takes place in London. Hopkins portrays a retiree widower named Anthony, while Colman portrays his daughter Anne. Or is she really his daughter? Sometimes he doesn’t know who she is, and sometimes she tells him different stories about who she is.
Watching “The Father” is very much like putting pieces of a puzzle together where some of the pieces are missing, while other pieces aren’t meant to be there at all. There are scenarios that are repeated, and sometimes the same characters are portrayed by different actors. The intention is to make viewers feel as disoriented as Anthony feels.
What is consistent is that there is turmoil and indecision in Anthony’s family over what to do with him. Anne has grown frustrated because she’s having a difficult time finding a caregiver who will tolerate Anthony’s mercurial ways. He can be charming but also insulting. He can insist on being strong enough to take care of himself, but he can also show vulnerability and beg Anne not to abandon him.
The most recent caregiver whom Anne has hired is a young woman named Angela (played by Imogen Poots), who has her patience tested in taking care of Anthony. Simple tasks such as giving Anthony’s prescribed medication to him become lessons in jumping over mental minefields through his convoluted and erratic conversations. One minute Anthony tells Angela that he used to be a professional tap dancer and wants to show her some dance steps. The next minute Anne corrects him and says that Anthony was never a dancer and that he’s actually a retired engineer.
Anthony keeps telling Angela that she reminds him of his other daughter Lucy, whom he describes as a painter artist who doesn’t visit him as much as he’d like her to visit, because she’s always traveling. In front of Anne, Anthony also tells Angela that Lucy is his favorite child, as Anne’s eyes well up with tears. (One thing that’s clear is that Anthony doesn’t have any other children besides Anne and Lucy.) The real story about Lucy is eventually revealed, and it’s not much of a surprise.
Meanwhile, Anne’s husband Paul (played by Rufus Sewell) has grown increasingly frustrated with Anne’s insistence on having a caregiver for Anthony. Paul thinks that Anthony needs to be in a nursing home or some other institution where he can get 24-hour care. This disagreement has caused tension in their marriage, and Anthony notices it.
At certain parts of the story, depending on what you believe to be real, it’s explained that Anthony lived in his own apartment with a live-in caregiver. But the caregiver who preceded Angela abruptly left, so Anne decided to let Anthony temporarily stay with her and Paul until they could find a new caregiver for Anthony. Anne and Paul work outside their home on weekdays, so Anne has arranged for Angela to work until 6 p.m., when Anne is able to come home.
But then, in another scenario, Anne is divorced, has fallen in love with a man named Paul (who is never seen in the movie), and Paul lives in Paris. Anne breaks the bad news to Anthony that she will be moving to Paris, but she plans to visit Anthony on weekends on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Olivia Williams and Mark Gatiss portray two people who might or might not be in Anthony’s family.
Anthony has a fixation on his wristwatch, and it’s symbolic of his desperation to hang on to something from his past that he thinks is reliable. There are moments when he becomes enraged when he thinks that someone has stolen his watch. He has hiding places for his valuables that Anne might or might not know about when he inevitably tells her that something valuable of his is missing.
The last 15 minutes of “The Father” deliver an emotional wallop that lays bare the torturous nightmare of having dementia. The movie’s directing and screenplay are impressive, but the movie’s stellar casting and performances make it a superb movie that will leave a lasting impact on viewers.
Sony Pictures Classics released “The Father” in select U.S. cinemas on February 26, 2021, with expansions scheduled for more U.S. cinemas on March 12, 2021. The movie’s VOD release date is March 26, 2021. “The Father” was released in Spain on December 23, 2020, and had one-week theatrical run in Los Angeles in December 2020.
The 11th annual Athena Film Festival—which takes place from March 1 to March 31, 2021—has undergone a massive change this year. Not only is the festival an entirely virtual event for the first time (due to safety concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic), but the Athena Film Festival has also expanded to an entire month. The Athena Film Festival was previously a four-day event. Although the 2021 Athena Film Festival takes place during the entire month of March, the feature-length films are not available during all 31 days of March. Check the schedule for availability.
One thing hasn’t changed: The Athena Film Festival has a diverse selection of female-focused programming. This year’s feature-length movie lineup is dominated by documentary films, many which focus on social justice issues. Most of the feature-length films are those that have already been released in theaters or have premiered at other events, but the Athena Film Festival has such a unique focus that it’s worth supporting for people who haven’t seen these movies yet, want to see the movies again, and/or are interested in checking out the panel discussions or short films. In most cases, the directors of feature-length films are doing Q&As online as part of the festival.
The opening-night film is the U.S. premiere of director Tracey Deer’s “Beans,” which tells the story of a 12-year-old Mohawk Indian girl and her family’s involvement in Canada’s 1990 Oka crisis, which was a 78-day standoff in Quebec between Mohawk communities and the Canadian government. “Beans” came in third place for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award. In addition, there are discussion panels and creative workshops.
Here is the programming lineup of feature-length movies at the 2021 Athena Film Festival. More information can be found at the official festival website. (All descriptions listed below are courtesy of the festival.)
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Ammonite
Director: Francis Lee
Writer: Francis Lee
In the 1840s, acclaimed self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning (played by Kate Winslet) works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother (played by Gemma Jones). When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison played by James McArdle), arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte (played by Saoirse Ronan), who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They are two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realization that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.
Beans
Director: Tracey Deer
Writer: Tracey Deer
Twelve-year-old Beans (played by Kiawentiio) is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and delinquent adolescence; forced to grow up fast to become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Indigenous uprising known as The Oka Crisis, which tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.
My Name Is Baghdad
Director: Caru Alves de Souza
Writer: Caru Alves de Souza, Josefina Trotta
Baghdad (played by Grace Orsato) is a 17-year-old female skater, who lives in Freguesia do Ó, a working-class neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Baghdad skateboards with a group of male friends and spends a lot of time with her family and with her mother’s friends. Together, the women around her form a network of people who are out of the ordinary. When Baghdad meets a group of female skateboarders, her life suddenly changes.
Test Pattern
Director: Shatara Michelle Ford
Writers: Shatara Michelle Ford
“Test Pattern” is part psychological horror, part realist drama set against the backdrop of national discussions around inequitable health care & policing, the #MeToo movement, and race in America. The film follows an interracial couple (played by Brittany S. Hall and Will Brill) whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit. The film analyzes the effects of the systemic factors and social conditioning women face when navigating sex and consent within the American patriarchy, along with exploring institutional racism from a Black female point of view.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
The 8th
Director: Aideen Kane
“The 8th” traces Ireland’s campaign to remove the 8th Amendment: a constitutional ban on abortion. It shows a country’s transformation from a conservative state in thrall to the Catholic church to a more liberal secular society. “The 8th” includes voices from both sides of the debate, but its primary focus is on the dynamic female leaders of the pro-choice campaign. The film follows the veteran campaigner Ailbhe Smyth and self-described glitter-activist Andrea Horan as they chart a bold strategy of grassroots activism and engineer the impossible. This dramatic story is underscored by a vivid exploration of the wrenching failures that led to this defining moment in Irish history. An urgent narrative, a cautionary tale and a roadmap for progressive reforms in a modern era where authoritarianism is on the rise, “The 8th” shows a country forging a new progressive path at a time when reproductive rights are threatened around the world.
https://vimeo.com/458043180
Ahead of the Curve
Director: Jen Rainin
“Ahead of the Curve” is the story of one of the most influential women in lesbian history you’ve never heard of and the impact her work continues to have today. Growing up, Franco Stevens never saw any representation of queer women—she didn’t even know it was possible for a woman to be gay. When she realized she was a lesbian, it changed the course of her life. In 1990, Franco created a safe place for lesbians in the form of Curve magazine. Her approach to threats and erasure in the ‘90s was to lift all kinds of lesbians up and make them beautifully visible. The magazine helped build a foundation for many intersectional movements being led by today’s activists in the face of accelerating threats to the LGBTQ community. Decades later, as her legacy faces extinction and she reassesses her life after a disabling injury, she sets out to understand visibility work being led by an intersection of queer women today. Featuring Andrea Pino-Silva, Kim Katrin, Denice Frohman, Amber Hikes, Jewelle Gomez, Melissa Etheridge, and Lea DeLaria, and a score composed by the legendary Meshell Ndegeocello, “Ahead of the Curve” celebrates the legacy of a movement while considering the agenda of its future.
Belly of the Beast
Director: Erika Cohn
The pastoral farmlands surrounding the Central California Women’s Facility the world’s largest women’s prison, help conceal the reproductive and human rights violations transpiring inside its walls. A courageous young woman who was involuntarily sterilized at the age of 24 while incarcerated at the facility, teams up with a radical lawyer to stop these violations. They spearhead investigations that uncover a series of statewide crimes, primarily targeting women of color, from inadequate access to healthcare to sexual assault to illegal sterilization. Together, with a team of tenacious heroines, both in and out of prison, they take to the courtroom to fight for reparations. But no one believes them. As additional damning evidence is uncovered by the Center for Investigative Reporting, a media frenzy and series of hearings provide hope for some semblance of justice. Yet, doctors and prison officials contend that the procedures were in each person’s best interest and of an overall social benefit. Invoking the weight of the historic stain and legacy of eugenics, “Belly of the Beast” presents a decade-long, infuriating contemporary legal drama.
Coded Bias
Director: Shalini Kantayya
When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software misidentifies women and darker-skinned faces, she is compelled to investigate further. It turns out that artificial intelligence, which was defined by a homogeneous group of men, is not neutral. What Buolamwini learns about widespread bias in algorithms drives her to push the U.S. government to create the first-ever legislation to counter the far-reaching dangers of bias in a technology that is steadily encroaching on our lives. Centering on the voices of women leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected, “Coded Bias” asks two key questions: what is the impact of Artificial Intelligence’s increasing role in governing our liberties? And what are the consequences for people stuck in the crosshairs due to their race, color, and gender?
Denise Ho – Becoming the Song
Director: Sue Williams
“Denise Ho – Becoming the Song” profiles the openly gay Hong Kong singer and human rights activist Denise Ho. Drawing on unprecedented, years-long access, the film explores her remarkable journey from commercial Cantopop superstar to outspoken political activist, an artist who has put her life and career on the line to support the determined struggle of Hong Kong citizens to maintain their identity and freedom. Denise’s story mirrors almost perfectly the last three decades of Hong Kong’s uneasy relationship with China. A top international recording artist in Hong Kong and across China and other Asian nations, the turning point in her career came during the seminal moment of change for Hong Kong, the Umbrella Movement of 2014. Her public support of students who demanded free elections and occupied central Hong Kong for nearly three months had immediate and lasting consequences: she was arrested and then blacklisted by China.
https://vimeo.com/325699154
The Dilemma of Desire
Director: Maria Finitzo
How much do you know about the clitoris? Chances are, not enough. The vast internal structure tasked with sexual pleasure for over half of the population has been largely ignored by a long history of western medical science written by men. With humor and candor in equal measure, “The Dilemma of Desire” follows a quartet of remarkable women whose work in science, academia, industrial design, and art has paved the way for a better understanding of women’s sexual desire, anatomy, and health in an era when women’s rights are once again under fire. Biologist Dr. Stacey Dutton dispels age-old myths about women’s pleasure for her students, while University of Utah academic Dr. Lisa Diamond dismantles outdated notions about women’s arousal. Industrial designer Ti Chang is designing and manufacturing elegant vibrators for women and artist Sophia Wallace has set out to make the world culturally cliterate. Providing the embodiment of their work are the personal stories of five young women claiming agency over their sexuality. In this timely and radical film about female desire, gender politics, and sexuality, filmmaker Maria Finitzo invites us to share intimate conversations with women on a mission to reverse a patriarchal legacy that denies female empowerment through omissions and distortions. The Dilemma of Desire reminds us that true equality will come once we all arrive at a place of understanding and acknowledgement that all human beings are sexual beings, entitled to live their lives fully within the expression of their desire.
End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock
Director: Shannon Kring
“End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock” is the incredible story of a small group of indigenous women who risk their lives to stop the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated their ancient burial and prayer sites and threatens their land, water, and very existence. When the population of their peaceful protest camp exceeds 10,000, the women unwittingly find themselves the leaders of a global movement. Featuring exclusive footage including never-before-seen evidence of police brutality surrendered to the filmmakers by a disgraced law enforcement officer, “End of the Line” is both an exploration of the rise of indigenous and feminine power in the areas of social and environmental justice, and a searing and deeply personal story of four brave women. Together, they must face the personal costs of leadership, even as their own lives and identities are left transformed by one of the great political and cultural events of the early 21st century.
How It Feels to Be Free
Director: Yoruba Richen
“How It Feels to Be Free” takes an unprecedented look at the intersection of African American women artists, politics, and entertainment and tells the story of how six trailblazing performers, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Diahann Carroll, Nina Simone, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier changed American culture through their films, fashion, their music and their politics. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen and based on of the book “How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement” by Ruth Feldstein, the film examines the lives of these women and how they used their ground-breaking careers as platforms to advocate for change and reshape representation of Black women on stage and screen. The film includes archival footage of the six women, as well as original interviews from contemporary scholars and entertainers, including Diahann Carroll, Pam Grier, Alicia Keys, Lena Waithe, Halle Berry, Yolonda Ross, Samuel and LaTanya Jackson, and Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley. The first documentary to focus on the crucial role Black female entertainers played in the ongoing struggle over inclusion and representation in American mass media, “How It Feels to Be Free” provides important context for the highly-charged contemporary debate over race and gender in Hollywood and shows how these women laid the path for the renaissance in Black entertainment that we see today.
Jacinta
Director: Jessica Earnshaw
Filmed for over three years, “Jacinta” begins at the Maine Correctional Center where Jacinta, 26, and her mother Rosemary, 46, are incarcerated together, both recovering from drug addiction. As a child, Jacinta became entangled in her mother’s world of drugs and crime and has followed her in and out of the system since she was a teenager. This time, as Jacinta is released from prison, she hopes to maintain her sobriety and reconnect with her own daughter, Caylynn, 10, who lives with her paternal grandparents. Despite her desire to rebuild her life for her daughter, Jacinta continually struggles against the forces that first led to her addiction. With unparalleled access and a gripping vérité approach, director Jessica Earnshaw paints a deeply intimate portrait of mothers and daughters and the effects of trauma over generations.
Julia Scotti: Funny That Way
Director: Susan Sandler
In the comedy boom of the late 1980’s Rick Scotti was a busy guy—appearing in clubs across the country, on bills with Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld, when he came to the deadly realization that nothing felt right. At a time when the words gender dysphoria and gender reassignment surgery were rarely heard, Rick’s true awakening at age forty-seven led to hormonal treatments, surgery, and a new identity as Julia Scotti. And then the doors shut tight. Everyone turned away—former wives, friends, family, comedy world buddies, and most painfully Julia was shut out from any contact with her children. She reinvented herself, spent a decade teaching, and then several years ago, stepped back on stage at an open mic and began her journey back to the world she loves. And just as she returned to comedy, her children reached out to her after 15 years of silence. Shot over a period of five years, “Julia Scotti: Funny That Way” tracks Julia’s triumphant comeback, the rough life on the road, and the complex process of reuniting with her children, as comedy becomes the shared language of identity, healing, and joy.
La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla
Director: Raquel Cepeda
“La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla” is a feature-length documentary about a beloved South Bronx matriarch and former “First Lady” of the Savage Skulls gang struggling to remain visible in a rapidly gentrifying community she helped rebuild in the 1980s. With one foot firmly grounded in the outlaw life and the other as an activist and spiritual advisor, Lorine straddles the complexities of multiple worlds. Employing rich never-before-seen archives of the borough that gifted the world both salsa and hip-hop culture, we will go on a complicated and, at times, surreal journey through five decades of Bronx history and resilience in La Madrina’s own words.
https://vimeo.com/515802393
Mama Gloria
Director: Luchina Fisher
Meet Mama Gloria. Chicago’s Black transgender icon Gloria Allen, now in her 70s, blazed a trail for trans people like few others before her. Emerging from Chicago’s South Side drag ball culture in the 1960s, Gloria overcame traumatic violence to become a proud leader in her community. Most famously, she pioneered a charm school for young transgender people that served as inspiration for the hit play Charm. Luchina Fisher’s empathic and engaging documentary is not only a portrait of a groundbreaking legend, but also a celebration of unconditional love, the love Gloria received from her own mother and that she now gives to her chosen children. And it is driven by the love the director has for her teenage transgender daughter.
https://vimeo.com/405966332
Picture a Scientist
Director: Sharon Shattuck
“Picture a Scientist” is a feature-length documentary film chronicling the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. A biologist, a chemist and a geologist lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, overcoming brutal harassment, institutional discrimination, and years of subtle slights to revolutionize the culture of science. From cramped laboratories to spectacular field sites, we also encounter scientific luminaries who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.
Through the Night
Director: Loria Limbal
To make ends meet, people in the U.S. are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. “Through the Night” is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a childcare provider—whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center. The film follows a mother who works the overnight shift at a hospital; another holding down three jobs to support her family; and a woman who for two decades has cared for children of parents with nowhere else to turn. Over the span of two years, across working holidays, seven-day work weeks, and around-the-clock shifts, the film reveals the personal cost of rising wealth inequality in the U.S and the close bonds forged between parents, children, and caregivers.
Unapologetic
Director: Ashley O’Shay
“Unapologetic” captures a tense and polarizing moment in Chicago’s fight for the livelihood of its Black residents. The film follows Janaé and Bella, two young abolitionist organizers, as they work within the Movement for Black Lives to seek justice for Rekia Boyd and Laquan McDonald, two young Black people killed by Chicago police. They aim to elevate a progressive platform for criminal justice to a police board led by Lori Lightfoot and a complicit city administration, while also elevating leadership by women and femmes.
Underplayed
Director: Stacey Lee
Filmed over the summer festival season, “Underplayed” presents a portrait of the current status of the gender, ethnic, and sexuality equality issues in dance music.
Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:
The Academy of Country Music®, Dick Clark Productions, and CBS announced today the nominations for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, honoring the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The 56th ACM Awards® will broadcast live from three iconic country music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe on Sunday, April 18 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ upcoming global streaming service.
Kelsea Ballerini and Brothers Osborne appeared live today on “CBS This Morning” to announce this year’s ACM Award nominees for Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Duo of the Year, Group of the Year and Single of the Year. “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Rachel Smith announced additional nominees on ETonline.com.
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris receives six nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Maren Morris receives an additional nod for songwriter of “The Bones,” her first time receiving a nomination both as an artist and songwriter for Song of the Year. Maren Morris is also a nominee for Female Artist of the Year, marking the 5th time she has been nominated in this category, and for Music Video of the Year for the first time. In addition, Morris is a nominee for Group of the Year alongside The Highwomen.
Chris Stapleton receives six nominations, including his third nomination for Entertainer of the Year. In addition, Chris Stapleton is a nominee for Male Artist of the Year, an award he was nominated for five times prior and won twice. Stapleton also receives a nod for Song of the Year as both songwriter and artist, for Album of the Year as artist and producer.
Miranda Lambert continues her streak as the most nominated female artist in Academy history with 68 lifetime nominations. Lambert is a five-time nominee for the 56th ACM Awards, with four nominations for “Bluebird.” “Bluebird” is nominated for Single of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. Lambert received an additional nomination as songwriter. In addition, Lambert receives her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year, a category she’s won nine times.
For the first time in ACM Awards history, four Black artists are nominated for awards in a single year including Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend.
Producer Jay Joyce receives four nominations, including two Album of the Year nominations for Ashley McBryde’s “Never Will” and Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
Every Single of the Year nomination features a female artist, and this was the first nomination in this category for three of the six nominees: Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress, and Gabby Barrett.
Ashley McBryde receives four nominations, including her first for Album of the Year.
Reigning Entertainer of the Year Thomas Rhett receives four nominations, including his second nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Reigning Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs is a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, and first-time nominee for Music Event of the Year for his duet with Eric Church on “Does to Me.” In addition to Music Event of the Year, Eric Church is also a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton are both nominees for Entertainer of the Year. A win for either artist in that category will also clinch the coveted Triple Crown Award, which consists of an Entertainer of the Year win, plus wins in an act’s respective New Artist (male, female, or duo or group) and Artist (male, female, duo or group) categories.
Ingrid Andress receives three nominations, including her second nomination for New Female Artist of the Year and her first nomination for Single of the Year, with an additional nomination as producer.
HARDY receives three nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson are also nominated alongside HARDY for Music Event of the Year for “One Beer,” marking Devin Dawson’s first nomination in the category and Lauren Alaina’s second.
Producer Dann Huff receives three nominations, including his 11th nomination for Producer of the Year.
Reigning Group of the Year, Old Dominion, receives two nominations, including their 6th nomination in the Group of the Year category. Band member Matthew Ramsey receives an additional nomination as songwriter for “Some People Do.”
Carly Pearce receives three nominations, including her first for Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her collaboration with Lee Brice on “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and her first for Female Artist of the Year.
55th ACM Awards host Keith Urban is a double nominee in the Music Event of the Year Category for his collaboration with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, and Chris Tomlin in “Be A Light” and for his duet with P!nk in “One Too Many.” Urban receives an additional nomination for Producer of “One Too Many.” P!nk’s nomination in this category also marks the singer’s first ACM Award nomination.
Gabby Barrett receives two nominations, including her second nod as New Female Artist of the Year and first for Single of the Year.
Brothers Osborne receives two nominations, including their first for Album of the Year. Dierks Bentley receives two nominations, including his sixth nod for Video of the Year and seventh nod for Male of the Year.
Kane Brown earns his first ever nominations in the Album of the Year category for “Mixtape Vol. 1” and Video of the Year for “Worldwide Beautiful.”
Luke Bryan receives two nominations, including his ninth nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Producer busbee receives two posthumous nominations for Music Event and Single of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
Jimmie Allen received his second nod for New Male Artist of the Year.
On the heels of her history-making performance from the 55th ACM Awards in 2020,
Mickey Guyton receives her second New Female Artist of the Year nomination.
John Legend receives his first-ever ACM Awards nomination for Video of the Year for his duet with Carrie Underwood on “Hallelujah,” while Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton received a nomination for Music Event of the Year for their duet, “Nobody But You,” marking Gwen Stefani’s first ACM Award nomination.
Overall, this year’s nominations include 14 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations: Tenille Arts, Spencer Cullum, Travis Denning, Kris Donegan, Alicia Enstrom, Jason Hall, Gena Johnson, John Legend, P!nk, Steve Mackey, Gwen Stefani, Benmont Tench, Chris Tomlin and Kristin Wilkinson.
Following is the full list of nominees for the Main Awards and Studio Recording Awards categories.
MAIN AWARDS
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Luke Bryan Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ashley McBryde Maren Morris Carly Pearce
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Dierks Bentley Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton
DUO OF THE YEAR Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR Lady A Little Big Town Old Dominion The Cadillac Three The Highwomen
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ingrid Andress Tenille Arts Gabby Barrett Mickey Guyton Caylee Hammack
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Jimmie Allen Travis Denning HARDY Cody Johnson Parker McCollum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Born Here Live Here Die Here – Luke Bryan Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Mixtape Vol. 1 – Kane Brown Producers: Andrew Goldstein, Charlie Handsome, Dann Huff, Lindsay Rimes Record Label: RCA Nashville
Never Will – Ashley McBryde Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Producers: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb Record Label: Mercury Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville
I Hope – Gabby Barrett Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice Producers: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
More Hearts Than Mine – Ingrid Andress Producers: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
The Bones – Maren Morris Producer: Greg Kurstin Record Label: Columbia Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Songwriter(s): Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby Publishers: Emileson Songs; Little Louder Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs of Universal, INC; Sony ATV Tree Publishing; Wrucke for You Publishing
One Night Standards – Ashley McBryde Songwriter(s): Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally Publishers: Canned Biscuit Songs; Smackworks Music; Smack Blue, LLC; Smackstreet Music; Tempo Investments; Warner Geo Met Ric Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
Some People Do – Old Dominion Songwriter(s): Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Thomas Rhett, Shane McAnally Publishers: Carrot Seed Songs; EMI Blackwood Music INC; Smackville Music; Songs of ROC Nation; Teremitry Rhythm House Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp; Smack Hits; Tempo Investments; Warner Gro Met Ric Music
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Songwriter(s): Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Straight Six Music; WC Music Corp
The Bones – Maren Morris Songwriter(s): Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz Publishers: Big Machine Music, LLC; Extraordinary Alien Publishing; International Dog Music; Oh Denise Publishing; Round Hill Songs; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Better Than We Found It – Maren Morris Director: Gabrielle Woodland Producers: Sarah Kunin, Jennifer Pepke
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: Heather Levenstone
Gone – Dierks Bentley Directors: Wes Edwards, Ed Pryor, Travis Nicholson, Running Bear and Sam Siske, with animation by Skylar Wilson Producer: David Garcia
Hallelujah – Carrie Underwood and John Legend Director: Randee St. Nicholas Producer: Greg Wells
Worldwide Beautiful – Kane Brown Director: Alex Alvga Producer: Christen Pinkston
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award) Ashley Gorley Michael Hardy Hillary Lindsey Shane McAnally Josh Osborne
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
Does To Me – Luke Combs featuring Eric Church Producer: Scott Moffatt Record Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice Producer: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
Nobody But You – Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
One Beer – HARDY featuring Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson Producers: Derek Wells, Joey Moi Record Label: Big Loud Records
One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk Producers: Cutfather, Dan McCarroll, Keith Urban, PhD Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jarrod Travis Cure Mark Hill Tony Lucido Steve Mackey Glenn Worf
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR Fred Eltringham Evan Hutchings Derek Mixon Jerry Roe Aaron Sterling
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR J.T. Corenflos Kris Donegan Jedd Hughes Ilya Toshinskiy Derek Wells
PIANO/KEYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Dave Cohen David Dorn Charlie Judge Mike Rojas Benmont Tench
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) Alicia Enstrom Jim Hoke Danny Rader Mickey Raphael Ilya Toshinskiy Kristin Wilkinson
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR Spencer Cullum Dan Dugmore Mike Johnson Russ Pahl Justin Schipper
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Jeff Balding Jason Hall Gena Johnson Vance Powell F. Reid Shippen
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Buddy Cannon Dave Cobb Dann Huff Jay Joyce Joey Moi
IMPORTANT NOTES: Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination, which factors into their official count.
Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Music Event of the Year.
The 2019 Industry Awards and the 2019 and 2020 Studio Recording Awards will be presented to recipients at ACM Honors™, a special event held annually in August at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
The 56th ACM Awards®, honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in Country Music, will feature exciting performances, unprecedented collaborations, surprising moments and more to be announced in the coming months.
The health and safety of the artists, fans, industry, staff and partners involved in the ACM Awards is the number one priority. All guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials will be closely followed and implemented during the production along with additional safety measures to be instated by Dick Clark Productions and the Academy of Country Music.
For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards™
The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE on Sunday, April 18, 2021 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ upcoming global streaming service. R.A. Clark, Amy Thurlow, Barry Adelman, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.
NOMINATION FAST FACTS
56TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™ NOMINEES
**Awards presented in 2021 are for works produced in the calendar year 2020**
TOP ARTIST NOMINEE FAST FACTS
This year’s leading nominees are Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris, each with SIX ACM Award nominations.
Maren Morris receives SIX nominations, including her first for Song of the Year with an additional nomination as songwriter, and her first for Video of the Year.
Miranda Lambert, the most nominated female artist in ACM history, receives FIVE nominations, including her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year.
Ashley McBryde receives FOUR nominations, including her first for Album of the Year. Reigning Entertainer of the Year Thomas Rhett receives FOUR nominations, including his second nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Carly Pearce receives THREE nominations, including her first for Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her collaboration with Lee Brice on “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and her first for Female Artist of the Year.
Ingrid Andress receives THREE nominations, including her second nomination for New Female Artist of the Year and her first nomination for Single of the Year, receiving an additional nomination as producer.
HARDY receives THREE nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year.
Luke Bryan receives TWO nominations, including his ninth nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Kane Brown receives TWO nominations, including his first for Video of the Year and Album of the Year.
PRODUCER NOMINEE FAST FACTS
Producer Jay Joyce receives FOUR nominations, including two Album of the Year nominations for Ashley McBryde’s “Never Will” and Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
Producer Dann Huff receives THREE nominations, including his 11th nomination for Producer of the Year.
Producer busbee receives TWO posthumous nominations for Music Event and Single of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
MORE
For the first time in ACM Awards history, four Black artists are nominated for Awards in a single year including Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend.
For the first time in history, every Single of the Year nomination features a female artist, and this was the first nomination in this category for three of the six nominees. Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress and Gabby Barrett.
Chris Stapleton receives SIX nominations, including his third nomination for Entertainer of the Year. In addition, Stapleton is a nominee for Male Artist of the Year, an Award he was nominated for five times prior and won twice. Stapleton also receives a nod for Song of the Year as both songwriter and artist, for Album of the Year as artist and producer, and for Music Video of the Year.
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris receives SIX nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Morris receives an additional nod for songwriter of “The Bones,” her first time receiving a nomination for Song of the Year both as an artist and songwriter. Morris is also a nominee for Female Artist of the Year, marking the fifth time she has been nominated in this category, and a first-time nominee for Music Video of the Year. In addition, Morris is nominated for Group of the Year alongside The Highwomen.
Miranda Lambert continues her streak as the most nominated female artist in Academy history with 68 lifetime nominations. Lambert receives FIVE total nominations for the 56th ACM Awards, with four nominations for “Bluebird.” “Bluebird” is nominated for Single of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. Lambert receives an additional nomination as songwriter. In addition, Lambert receives her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year, a category she previously won nine times prior.
55th ACM Awards host Keith Urban is a double nominee in the Music Event of the Year Category for his collaboration with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, and Chris Tomlin in “Be A Light,” and for his duet with P!NK in “One Too Many.” Urban receives an additional nomination for Producer of “One Too Many.” P!NK’s nomination in this category mark’s the singer’s first ACM Award nomination.
Reigning Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs is a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, and receives his first nomination for Music Event of the Year for his duet with Eric Church on “Does to Me.” In addition to Music Event of the Year, Eric Church receives nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
HARDY receives THREE nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson are nominees alongside HARDY for Music Event of the Year for “One Beer,” marking Dawson’s first nomination in the category and Alaina’s second.
Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton are both nominees for Entertainer of the Year. A win for either artist in that category will also clinch the coveted Triple Crown Award. Reigning Group of the Year, Old Dominion, receives TWO nominations, including their sixth nomination in the Group of the Year category. Band member Matthew Ramsey receives an additional nomination as songwriter for “Some People Do.”
Lady A receives a nomination for Group of the Year, with singer Hillary Scott receiving an additional nomination for Music Event of the Year with “Be A Light.”
Gabby Barrett receives TWO nominations, including her second nod as New Female Artist of the Year and first for Single of the Year.
Dierks Bentley receives TWO nominations, including his sixth nod for Video of the Year and seventh nod for Male of the Year.
Brothers Osborne receives TWO nominations, including their first for Album of the Year.
On the heels of her history-making performance from the 55th ACM Awards in 2020, Mickey Guytonreceives her second New Female Artist of the Year nomination. Jimmie Allen receives his second nod for New Male Artist of the Year.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton received a nomination for Music Event of the Year for their duet, “Nobody But You,” marking Stefani’s first ACM Award nomination.
John Legend received his first-ever ACM Awards nomination for Video of the Year for his duet with Carrie Underwood on “Hallelujah.”
Brooks & Dunn continue their streak as the most nominated Duo in Academy history with 64 lifetime nominations.
The Cadillac Three receives their first nomination for Group of the Year.
Nominations include 14 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations. Tenille Arts, Spencer Cullum, Travis Denning, Kris Donegan, Alicia Enstrom, Jason Hall, Gena Johnson, John Legend, P!nk, Steve Mackey, Gwen Stefani, Benmont Tench, Chris Tomlin and Kristin Wilkinson.
