Category Archives: Andrew Rannells

2020 Films, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Comedy, Favorite Film of the Year, James Corden, Jo Ellen Pellman, Keegan-Michael Key, Kerry Washington, LGBTQ+ Comedy, LGBTQ+ Films, Mary Kay Place, Meryl Streep, Musical, Musical Comedy, Nicole Kidman, Ryan Murphy, Tracey Ullman

The Prom-2020

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The Prom-2020

Director Ryan Murphy 

Starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman

Scott’s Review #1,101

Reviewed January 17, 2021

Grade: A

Hollywood legends Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman take on singing and dancing roles in the lovely and timely film, The Prom (2020).

James Corden joins them in a prominent role in a musical based on the popular and recent Broadway production of the same name.

The LGBTQ+ storyline is important and influential, but doesn’t overshadow the fun. The message is perfectly incorporated in the delicious comedy romp.

The Prom reminds me of John Waters’ Hairspray from 1988 or even the fun remake from 2007. Instead of racism, the topic is now homophobia, with a few characters rebuffing the lifestyle.

Most of the performances are over-the-top, but the film works on all levels. The one-liners are crackling and polished, especially by Streep and Corden.

Director Ryan Murphy has become a favorite of mine for creating both extremely dark and light-hearted projects alike that usually slant towards LGBTQ+ recognition and inclusion.

His treasured FX series American Horror Story (2011-present) and miniseries The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story are excellent examples of this.

I drool with anticipation over what his next offering might be.

High school student, Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman), wants to bring a female date to the upcoming prom. Chaos has erupted after the head of the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association), Mrs. Green (Kerry Washington), has canceled the prom.

The setting is Indiana, where same-sex couples face conflicts with the town’s traditional beliefs and values. Little does she know that her daughter, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose), is Emma’s secret girlfriend. The school principal, Tom Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key), supports Emma and has leaked the story to social media outlets.

Meanwhile, in sophisticated New York City, snooty broadway stars Dee Dee Allen (Streep), Barry Glickman (Corden) are devastated when their new musical flops.

They join forces with struggling performers Angie Dickinson (Kidman) and Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) and take a bus trip with the cast of Godspell to champion Emma’s cause and drum up sympathy from their fans and critics.

The rest of the film, as one might expect, features bursts of song and dance, teaching the stuffy residents of small-town Indiana to accept and even embrace Emma and her LGBTQ+ brethren.

Amid a flurry of misunderstandings, mainly between newly dating Tom and Dee Dee, Emma and Alyssa, and Alyssa and her mother, a lavish prom is funded for the town, high school students, straight and gay, to flock to and co-mingle in unity.

While The Prom (2020) is sheer fantasy and real life doesn’t usually work out so perfectly, the sentiment is meaningful, and the film takes a progressive stance.

2020 Films, Andrew Rannells, Brian Hutchison, Charlie Carver, Drama, Jim Parsons, Joe Mantello, LGBTQ+ Drama, LGBTQ+ Films, Matt Bomer, Michael Benjamin Washington, Robin de Jesús, Ryan Murphy, Tuc Watkins, Zachary Quinto

The Boys in the Band-2020

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The Boys in the Band-2020

Director Joe Mantello

Starring Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer

Scott’s Review #1,073

Reviewed October 21, 2020

Grade: A-

One may ask oneself why bother checking out the 2020 version of the legendary (and dark!) 1970 stage turned cinematic rendition of the sniping and vicious gay drama The Boys in the Band?

Primarily because of the terrific cast, a cast featuring the troupe who starred in the recent 2018 stage revival. But more than that, the film feels surprisingly modern and relevant, providing a message of hope that the original did not contain.

Crucial and historical to point out is that every principal actor is openly gay, and their characters are gay or bisexual. My, how much progress has been made for actors when not too long ago an “out” actor risked both reputation and career for the price of his truth.

This is monumental.

The remake wisely keeps to the crucial period of 1968, and really, how could a modern setting work at all? Being gay in 1968 is nothing like being gay in 2020; I don’t care if it is the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

To bring this film to any other time would diminish its power and importance. If anything, it makes one proud of how far the LGBTQ+ community has come, though there are further advancements left to make.

Alas, the Vietnam era is safely intact, during a time when a strip of gay bars and a group of gay friends were the only things to keep a gay man from going crazy, regardless of how abusive they were.

This will hopefully teach young gay viewers, or anyone else, what being a gay male was like over 50 years ago. When the rest of the world was deemed “normal” and you were cast aside as either a sexual deviant or a head case, this is powerful.

Self-hatred, denial, or the closet were commonalities.

The Boys in the Band has no females save for a blink and you’ll miss it moment featuring a snooty neighbor.

Important to realize is that the film is a pre-A.I.D.S epidemic in a time of carefree love and endless hookups, where booze and drugs were a necessary escape and usual was to feel out of sorts regularly.

A few characters are effeminate. One is presumably bisexual and closeted, and one is masculine and recently divorced from a woman, now cohabiting with a male lover; one is black, and one is an escort. Each character comes from a different walk of life, yet they are bonded.

The running of the gamut of unique types and personalities is part of why I love this story.

The events commence one evening when Michael (Jim Parsons) throws a birthday party for friend Harold (Zachary Quinto) at his apartment. They are joined by other friends, Donald (Matt Bomer), Hank (Tuc Watkins), Larry (Andrew Rannells), Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington), and Emory (Robin de Jesús).

Guests include Cowboy (Charlie Carver), a “birthday present” for Harold, and Alan (Brian Hutchison), a college friend of Michael’s.

As the booze flows, the talk gets vicious and the claws come out.

The men, prompted by a drunken Michael, play a daring game of “telephone”. Each guest is dared to call the one person he truly believes he has loved. With each call, past scars and present anxieties are revealed in a torturous fashion.

This is when the film gets interesting.

Bernard and Emory bear the brunt as their phone calls take a tremendous toll on each other.

Parsons and Quinto are the standouts. As the lead, the character of Michael seems stable at first. He is stylish, well-dressed, and lives in a reputable apartment. Though unemployed, he once traveled the world.

Parsons slowly unleashes the vicious fury contained within Michael, the more he drinks. He enjoys hurting others just as he has been injured.

The catalyst for his character is Alan. Are they in love? Is Michael in love with Alan? Alan takes a fancy to masculine Hank.

Quinto, as Harold the self-professed “ugly, pockmarked Jew fairy”, is becoming increasingly morose about losing his youthful looks and his ability to attract cute young men.

The catalyst to his character is Cowboy, who has those qualities that Harold lacks.

Strangely, Harold and Michael are best friends, both loving and hating each other. After brutalizing each other with words, Harold exits the apartment, announcing he will call Michael tomorrow. They’ve been through this before and probably will again.

No, The Boys in the Band circa 2020 is not quite on par with The Boys in the Band circa 1970, but this is merely because brilliance is a tough act to replicate.

The modern telling is an absolute joy and will hopefully recruit fresh audiences to the perils and brutality of being gay in another time.

Thanks to Ryan Murphy for adapting this project to Netflix as part of his United States $300 million deal with the streaming platform.

2016 Films, Andrew Rannells, Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Comedy, Elon Musk, Gene Simmons, James Franco, John Hamburg, Jonah Hill, Keegan-Michael Key, Lowest Rated Films, Megan Mullally, Paul Stanley, Romantic Comedy, Shawn Levy, Zoey Deutch

Why Him?-2016

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Why Him? -2016

Director John Hamburg

Starring John Franco, Bryan Cranston

Scott’s Review #704

Reviewed December 6, 2017

Grade: D

Why Him? (2016) is epic film drivel starring quite capable actors in a mish-mash of dull, predictable stories, obnoxious characters, and a need to attempt to go raunchier and raunchier for a cheap laugh.

Why there is a market for films like this is beyond me as no thinking is required (maybe the film will please those fans!), but the film scores slightly higher than a solid “F” based solely on a few chuckles uttered thanks to the only dim bright spots in this mess, Bryan Cranston and Megan Mullally.

A story told dozens of times before in “slapstick comedy” fare, the premise is tired beyond belief. A good girl meets a bad boy, they fall head over heels in love and must deal with the aftermath of her parent’s meeting, and hating the bad boy.

The main gimmick is the rivalry between boyfriend and girlfriend’s father, like an unfunny Meet the Parents (2000).  A silly and uninteresting plot point about each character’s business success or lack thereof is mixed in as if anyone cares.

As with all films of this ilk, the story is wrapped up in a neat, tidy little bow by the time the credits roll, and all characters live happily ever after in perfect harmony.

In one of his most disappointing roles, James Franco plays Laird Mayhew, the wealthy, eccentric, thirty-something CEO of an upstart video game company.

He is foul-mouthed and comically speaks his mind or absentmindedly shows his ass on a Skype chat with his girlfriend Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) while her parents are linked to the chat at a birthday party.

Stephanie, a college student and girlfriend of Laird, invites her parents, Ned and Barb (Cranston and Mullally), along with their fifteen-year-old Scotty, for the Christmas holidays.

Predictably, Stephanie’s parents are appalled by Laird and want her to have nothing to do with him. When Stephanie arranges for Ned, Barb, and Scotty to stay at Laird’s spacious home, the antics take off as feuds and misunderstandings erupt.

The main problem with Why Him? is that director John Hamburg (famous for mainstream comedies such as Along Came Polly, 2004, and I Love You, Man, 2009) seems determined to push the raunchy comedy elements further with this idiotic film.

He makes Laird as obnoxious and crass as possible yet tries to make the character more “likable” by giving him a clueless quality; therefore, he is not mean-spirited and should be beloved by the audience.

The character does not work. Franco has played terrific roles- specifically in 127 Hours (2010) and  Howl (2010). As a fan of the talented actor, I expected more from him, but alas, some performances are only as good as the written material.

If there is a bright spot worth mentioning, it is with the casting of Cranston and Mullally.

Two actors are undeniably good at physical comedy. They do as much as they can with poorly written, stock-type roles. Cranston’s Ned, a middle-class small business owner from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is both envious and resentful of Laird, perhaps admiring the young man’s business savvy and regretting not being as successful.

Barb is a one-note, ditzy yet lovable wife, a role made slightly better by Mullally’s goofy portrayal. In one of the best scenes, Barb smokes pot and becomes a mess in her bedroom.

The following day, Ned is trapped on the toilet and has an embarrassing experience with Laird’s best friend, Gustav. While these scenes are juvenile, they are made better by the funny actors.

Suffering greatly from a tired and overused storyline that falls flat, unlikable, and dull characters, the film offers nothing of substance or worth.

Why Him? (2016) is entirely plot-driven with no character development or well-written characters.

The film is a complete waste of time. It results from a studio hoping to achieve box office success by churning out a poor comedy with wasted talent that will please only those audiences not expecting much from their films.

2012 Films, Adam McKay, Adam Scott, Andrew Rannells, Ann Dowd, Comedy, Independent, Independent Comedy, Isla Fisher, James Marsden, June Diane Raphael, Kirsten Dunst, Leslye Headland, Lizzy Caplan, Lowest Rated Films, Rebel Wilson, Will Ferrell

Bachelorette-2012

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Bachelorette-2012

Director Leslye Headland

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher

Scott’s Review #22

70227645

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: D

I’m not sure how to pinpoint exactly what is wrong with Bachelorette (2012) except for just about everything.

It tries to be a Bridesmaids (2011) meets Hangover (2009) copycat but fails miserably. What made those films entertaining was that they were funny.

This film attempts many jokes and falls flat almost every time. The set-ups are there, but there is no follow-through.

Almost every character is unlikable and hateful to everyone else and there is nobody to root for.

Worse yet, the film is bland. Dumb comedies are not my favorite genre, but this was lackluster.

I adore Kirsten Dunst, but sadly she picked a dud she’s likely soon to forget. Isla Fisher seems to always be in films like this and the male actors (James Marsden, Adam Scott) have little to do.

The talented cast is wasted and Bachelorette (2012) is not worth seeing.