Ma Rainey's Assistant seeks Love and Monsters with Borat in the Clouds - Renegade Home Theater #2

A grand collection of films awaits you on the latest edition of the Renegade Home Theater! Netflix comes in swingin’ with the excellent Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, while Hulu has the deliberately-paced but well-directed fly-on-the-office-wall film, The Assistant. Disney+ once again demonstrates that family-friendly films don’t have to be a drag with Clouds, while Amazon heads in the opposite direction entirely with Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm. Meanwhile, Love and Monsters takes a bow on VOD platforms. Join Jacob, Keona, and special guest Morgan from the Youtube series Vaulting as they chat about those films and more!

---

Here comes a grand collection of movies on the latest edition of the Renegade Home Theater! Netflix comes in swingin' with the excellent Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, while Hulu has the deliberately-paced but well-directed fly-on-the-office-wall film, The Assistant.

---

Starting things off, we have The Assistant, a slower-paced but well-acted and thought-provoking drama directed by documentary filmmaker Kitty Green starring Julia Garner, who delivers a nuanced performance as Jane, the eternally put-upon assistant to a never-seen and seldom-heard bigshot movie producer. While the film clearly alludes to said producer being a Harvey Weinstein analog, as we hear about (but never actually witness) the shenanigans he gets up to with the young women he employs, it never mentions the disgraced producer by name, or the movement which began to unearth all the rotten behavior he engaged in. Rather, Green and Garner let the movie speak for itself, as it shows us the system she’s destined to rage against in her own small, quiet way. There are standout moments and sequences; Patrick Wilson’s cameo is gold, and the scene in which Jane attempts to file a complaint with a clearly disinterested HR rep named Wilcock (played perfectly by Matthew Macfadyen) is stellar. Watch it.

Up next is Amazon’s raucous and raunchy Borat 2: Subsequent Moviefilm, which is the fourth (much shorter) iteration of its title. Sacha Baron Cohen reprises his role as the titular prankster in this hilarious and wonderfully offensive takedown of Western politics and, how shall we say, politically incorrect ideologues. Personally, I don’t mind some extreme satirical humor, so this movie tickled my funny bone. While it may not be deep or particularly authentic in some regards, I’m glad Cohen has the guts to pull off some of this craziness. Moments of self-awareness help to mitigate some of the crass jokes, as well, such as instances of people recognizing Borat as he walks the streets, and a trip to the Halloween store where he finds a mask labeled “Stupid Foreign Reporter” that’s clearly made in Borat’s likeness. There are moments where Cohen crosses lines, but honestly, if you know who Borat is, then you can see what’s coming. Unless your name is Rudy. If you can stomach some gross-out humor, it’s a fun time.

On a completely un-raunchy note, we have Disney+’s Clouds, an inspirational biopic based on the life of Zach Sobiech (Fin Argus), a teenager who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, early on in his life. The film portrays Zach as an incredibly brave young man who knows he has a limited time on this Earth, but decides to do all that he can to make others happy and live his life to its fullest. With the help of his loving family (Neve Campbell and Tom Everett Scott are his parents), best friend Sammy (Sabrina Carpenter), and the love of his life, Amy (Madison Iseman), as well as a really cool teacher who supports him every step of the way (played by Lil Rel Howery), Zach perseveres and ends up recording a song called “Clouds", which proceeds to go viral on the internet and nets him a recording contract under the band name A Firm Handshake. It’s the kind of inspirational story that will touch your heart, with good performances and a solid message for viewers who are also going through hard times in life. While it is bittersweet, Zach’s life and legacy is one of optimism and hope that we can live our lives to their fullest, no matter the circumstances or hardships we face. Well worth your time!

Our penultimate film is Michael Matthews’ Love and Monsters, starring Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, and Michael Rooker. It’s a modestly budgeted apocalyptic sci-fi film in which O’Brien’s Joel must traverse 85 miles of monster-strewn land to find the love of his life, Aimee, played by Henwick. Along the way, Joel runs into helpful strangers (like Rooker’s Clyde Dutton) who aid him in his journey and teach him a few survival pointers so that he can reach Aimee’s compound. Most of humanity is stuck underground, with nature having taken over and many insects and bugs have become giant-sized due to wacky sci-fi plot logic. While the first half of the film feels very slow and Joel comes off as initially insufferable and self-aware to a fault, the second half of the movie picks up and reveals the narrative’s true purpose. I didn’t fall completely in love with this film, but as it stands, it’s a cute apocalyptic romance with a decent character arc for its central hero. A modest recommendation if you like YA apocalypse fiction.

And finally, we have Netflix’s amazing Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a powerful drama featuring Chadwick Boseman’s final on-screen performance and excellent dramatic turns by Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Colman Domingo as her trombone player, Cutler. Under the masterful direction of George C. Wolfe, who not only brings out stellar performances from the film’s cast but also paints a realistic picture of life in Chicago in the year 1927, the film depicts an afternoon recording session with Ma Rainey and her band, with particular focus on Boseman’s turn as Levee, the ambitious young trumpet player who wants to break free of Ma and Cutler and her old guard, form his own musical group, and take the world by storm. Boseman’s performance is positively Oscar-worthy in this film, and Davis more than holds her own as Ma, a woman whose career is in its twilight years, but who still makes enough money for the recording studio that she can shut down the entire session just because she craves a Coca-Cola. Meanwhile, Domingo deserves a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of Cutler, a man whose loyalty to Ma knows no bounds, and special consideration should go to the wonderful Glynn Turman, who plays pianist Toledo, a philosophical and wise man who has seen the evils of slavery and Jim Crow firsthand, and who has one of the best soliloquies I’ve ever seen put to film right in the middle of this movie (it’s his “soup” monologue). This is truly one of my favorite movies of the past year, and it’s a fitting send-off for Boseman, who was taken from us far too soon. Rest in power, my King. Wakanda Forever! Watch it now.

Alright, fellow film freaks, that’s a wrap for this episode of the Home Theater! We’ll catch you on the next one in a couple of weeks or so! Stay safe out there, and thank you to Morgan for being a spectacular guest host on this episode! We’ll definitely be seeing more of him in the future, but for now, check out the latest Vaulting episode above!

-Neoplasmic

Morgan’s alter ego Design by Michael D. Kimpton