GUILTY PLEASURES

 

Among the great movie watching pleasures is the successful putting together of a double feature night; two films, ideally starring the same actor or actress, in two entirely different idioms, so that the lesser of the two screeners (the “B” movie) is the opposite of whatever it is about the “A” movie that got the double feature night started in the first place.

It really adds to the fun if the two films are not only opposites in all the obvious ways… such as one being a comedy and the other being a drama… but if at least one of the films is of far greater stature than the other and much more well known. And, if by any chance that “B” movie is one that heretofore was completely unknown to anyone in the home audience… and it comes through as a nice surprise piece of entertainment… well, a doubling of one’s pleasure is more than assured.

There are a couple of tricks that help to make this work. First, know your “A” movie. It is one you must believe is sure-fire, bound-to-please, and worthy of seeing again… and again. Second, run it last. Seems obvious, “save the best for last” and all that, but it is important that you have the top movie as a closer for your evening just in case your heretofore unknown “B” movie is something less than a happy surprise.

I am not going to spoil your fun by creating a list of such “A” movie/ “B” movie combos, but I will share with you one recently screened at the Casa de Rosenzweig as it all proved to be too good not to share.

To begin with, Charlize Theron was the star of the evening. There is a veritable plethora of films from which to select an “A” contender from her oeuvre, including three films where she was nominated for an Oscar. The one I picked… my favorite among the films featuring this star… is one of her very best, Atomic Blonde.

Knowing I had this very terrific 2017 action-thriller “in the bank” as my “A” closer, I moved down the list of films starring Ms. Theron that I did not know. Long Shot, a 2019 romantic comedy in which this beautiful leading lady is paired with Seth Rogen was the pick and it was a lucky one.

Rogen and Theron are a most unlikely romantic duo but the premise as to how/why they might be together works and the surprising chemistry between them is palpable. (It should be noted that a lack of chemistry between Theron and anyone with a pulse is all but impossible to imagine so what she had going on with Mr. Rogen was not really that much of a surprise.)

But I digress: The movie is a hoot, and you should see it, with or without it being part of a double feature evening.

As to the pleasure of watching something designed to be seen back-to-back- to-back, there is the television series. I am one of those men who has had to admit to liking the work of writer/producer Shonda Rhimes. Well, some of it, anyway. The Kerry Washington vehicle, Scandal, remains near the top of any guilty pleasure list I assemble; marry that success with the megahit Grey’s Anatomy and you have the makings of a Shondaland empire which can put forward something such as streaming giant, Bridgerton.

19^th century bodice rippers are not normally my cup of tea. Proof of that is Bridgerton has been streaming since 2020 and I am only now, mid-2024,  getting around to the Netflix blockbuster. What can I say? I thought I should tune in before the entire economic model for this kind of series collapsed and, surprise, surprise, it did not disappoint… on any level… both good and bad.

There is plenty here to scoff at. Cliches in abundance, excesses so over the top that one begins to wonder if there is a top at all, or if the silly soapiness will just go onward and upward into space and beyond. Bridgerton provides an ample supply of things at which to aim one’s pop gun… there are far too many fish in this barrel to have it resemble anything like sport for any critic of the cinematic arts.

Okay… enough.

Bridgerton is also entertaining. It is lush and over-the-top luxurious. It is sexy and it is well made. Ms. Rhimes knows her stuff… and, not unlike the proverbial sister Kate, she knows it good. She also just might be doing something better than good while she is at it being as how she single-handedly has done more for diversity in Hollywood, on screen and behind the scenes, than a generation of NAACP super activists… hell, maybe two generations… combined.

Bridgerton is not Outlander terrific… and other than the abundance of sex scenes it does not seem to even wish to hold the very good Scottish period drama up as something to emulate. With Bridgerton, it would appear, Ms. Rhimes is content to stay within her niche … a tale of manners and mores with a tongue very much in cheek (plus just about every other place you can imagine).

There are just too many reasons to watch this… even if it is only to sneer at the rest of us. And I am okay with that, as I believe that during these times of inordinate trials and tribulations, one should take their pleasures where they can find them.

 

Barney Rosenzweig