"Bey is back and I'm sleepin' real good at night."
(That's mostly due to the Trazodone, but new Beyoncé music doesn't hurt, either)
Happy Virgo season, y’all! Talk about feeling uninspired all summer.
Back when network television ruled the programming calendar, summer was a dead zone for TV. (Notably, “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “The O.C.” both had summer episodes back in the day to get viewers hooked when nothing else was on.) Obviously streaming has made us less beholden to the traditional summer dead zone, but damn if I haven’t felt incredibly uninspired by most things in entertainment right now.
I’ve watched a few episodes of “The Bear.” Of “Maggie.” Of the new “A League of Their Own.” “The Bear” made me too tense. I was bored by “Maggie,” or maybe just not in the right mood. The anachronisms in “A League of Their Own” bothered me a bit but I do plan on finishing it at some point. (I stan Abbi Jacobson but she’s also not necessarily a great dramatic actress.) (Here’s my review of her memoir!)
I also had covid in mid-June and largely reverted to watching comfort shows (“The O.C.” and late-night viewings of “The Hills”) and reading trashy thrillers and celebrity memoirs. What can I say—it’s been a slow summer.
“New” things I did watch:
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu). I finally started watching this charming show while season 2 was ongoing, and I quickly caught up. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez’s chemistry is great, and I enjoyed the slightly satirical look at the world of true crime podcasts (of which I am decidedly not a fan!). Each season also had a few standout episodes—particularly the ones that were from the POV of a neighbor who is deaf (which was largely a silent episode) and from the POV of the building’s board president, both of which humanized the previously cartoonish characters. The cameos in season 2 were a bit much (Amy Schumer, ugh), but overall I found this incredibly charming with a bit more depth than it might originally seem.
“Uncoupled,” Darren Star’s latest show (Netflix) starring Neal Patrick Harris. NPH plays a man in his mid-40s whose longtime partner dumps him and he has to readjust to the gay single scene in New York. I’m a fan of both NPH and Darren Star so I did binge this fairly quickly but it fell a bit flat for me, although I can’t quite put my finger on why. (And ofc I did love Marcia Gay Harden.) In relation to other recent Darren Star shows, I liked this more than “Emily in Paris” and less than “Younger.”
“Not Okay” (Hulu) starring Zoey Deutch. Zoey’s Danni Sanders is clinically depressed, working a job she doesn’t love, and obsessed with influencers. To get the attention of one (who works with her), she lies about going to Paris, and then when a terrorist attack happens while she’s supposedly there…she continues the lie. She also proceeds to capitalize off of the trauma of a Black teenager she meets in a support group. Ultimately, I found this to be a somewhat decent satire without a lot of payoff. I think Zoey is a great actress but this was so full of second-hand embarrassment (one of my least favorite emotions) that it was tough to watch. I did like (spoiler alert!) that there wasn’t a happy ending, but the movie was also a little too full of “internet jokes” (Caroline Calloway cameos as herself) to be as scathing as it seemingly wanted to be.
“Vice Principals” (HBO). This show is batshit crazy in the best way. It’s only 2 seasons, 18 episodes total, and my boyfriend and I flew through them. Two vice principals at a Southern high school think they’ve got their shot at the big job when the principal retires. When the school board hires a new woman (who happens to be Black and from Philadelphia), they do everything in their power (and more…) to take her down. It’s unhinged but we loved it, and Busy Philips is also great in a supporting role as the ex-wife of one of the VPs.
The last season of “Grace and Frankie” (Netflix). Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are national treasures. Casting Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston as their ex-husbands was genius. This show has so much heart (and humor!) and it ended perfectly—a tribute to a beautiful, if unexpected, friendship. And look, I didn’t not tear up at the finale. (Prickly, sarcastic beauty exec Brianna will still always be my favorite character, though!)
Season 4 of “Stranger Things.” After the mess of season 3, it took us a few weeks to give season 4 a shot, but wow—what a recovery this was. No one could call this season “tight”—several of the episodes were longer than 2 hours—but I loved the storylines and the acting was incredible. (tbh, I did get a bit sick of that Kate Bush song after a few weeks, though.) Sadie Sink (Max) in particular was stellar this season. And in case there was any doubt, if Vecna had taken over my mind, the song that would wake me up is “Like A Prayer.”
Looking forward to:
“Don’t Worry Darling” (in theaters Sept 23). Talk about mess. In addition to my fingers itching to include a comma between “worry” and “darling” in the movie’s title, the drama between director Olivia Wilde, star Florence Pugh, and other star (and Olivia Wilde’s paramour) Harry Styles is…worrisome. Read more here and here.
“Tell Me Lies” (Hulu, Sept 7). An adaptation of the novel by Carola Lovering, this will take us into the depths of a toxic relationship than spans years. It’ll likely be a tough watch (especially if you have been in an abusive relationship), and the trailer looks like it strays from the book a bit, which I’m really hoping isn’t the case.
“Hocus Pocus 2” (Disney+). This better be campy as hell. That’s all I have to say.
“Wednesday” (Netflix). What a trailer. What a cast!
“Reboot” (Hulu). A comedy about a network rebooting a sitcom with a dysfunctional cast. I love Judy Greer and hope this isn’t a flop.
“The White Lotus” season 2 (HBO). Duh. I will miss Connie Britton and her hair, though.
“The Crown” season 5 (Netflix). I’ve enjoyed this show less and less as it gets closer to real-time, and I have a lot of issues with the royal family’s colonization and wealth redistribution, but this show is just so visually appealing.
Going to Rome in two weeks. Maybe I’ll do a little deep dive into some classic movies set in Rome in the coming weeks as I mentally prepare to return to my favorite city. And if you think I’m referring to “Roman Holiday,” think again.
Listening to:
Back to the Beach. Did the MTV NDAs all expire recently? Because I am very much enjoying the BTS look at the show that Kristen Cavalleri and Stephen Colletti are giving us. I will still never understand how their parents agreed to let them all participate. (Although they did say that MTV showed their parents a highly edited version of the pilot before they all formally agreed, which is not surprising but still.) This week’s episode is a recap of the infamous Cabo spring break.
Pod Meets World. What a delight. Danielle Fishel (Topanga), Will Friedle (Eric), and Rider Strong (Shawn) are deep-diving into the classic TGIF show “Boy Meets World.” (Podcasts “aren’t Ben (Savage’s) thing,” they said.) They’ve already had William Daniels (Mr. Feeny) on as a guest, and are not holding back any punches as they discuss being child actors, they pressure they faced on set, and the (allegedly) hostile work environment created by showrunner Mike Jacobs. It’s not all doom and gloom, though—the three of them are genuinely good friends and that dynamic really shines through.
In completely non-breaking news, it’s been muggy as hell in New York, so I’ve gotten into Allie Bennett’s “treadmill strut” workouts (they’re huge on TikTok). Naturally, I made my own Madonna version. (I recommend running to “Girl Gone Wild,” “Ray of Light,” and “I’m Addicted,” if you’re so inclined.)
Listen. I have terrible taste in music, but pop music is finally entering a modern disco era and I am here for it. During March/April 2020, I got into the habit of blasting disco in the mornings to help uplift my mood, and of course we all know how much inspo Madonna has pulled from disco throughout her illustrious career.
RENAISSANCE. I have not stopped listening to this album since its release on July 29. My favorites are still “Alien Superstar,” “Virgo’s Groove,” “Cuff It,” and of course the beautiful Donna Summer-sampled “Summer Renaissance.” And when the “Break My Soul” Queens Remix with Madonna dropped? I think my soul briefly left my body.
Harry’s House. The album that made me a Harry Styles fan. I was listening to this nonstop back in May and throughout a lot of this summer. He’s a beautiful singer/songwriter and I really feel like I understand “The Idea of You” a bit more (the novel in which a mid-40s mom takes her tween daughter to a boy band concert and then starts a torrid relationship with the frontman). (Yes, it’s basically Harry Styles fanfic.) My favorites are “Music For a Sushi Restaurant,” “Cinema,” and “Daydreaming.
Harry’s concert. First, I had a great time at this show with my sister, who traveled to New York for the show and a long weekend! But look. Maybe this is my Boomer complaint of the year, but this concert was too damn short. First of all, this man is only going to four cities in the U.S., so if you are a fan who does not live in New York, Chicago, Austin, or LA, there is an extremely high barrier to seeing him live. And he did not opt out of Ticketmaster’s on-demand pricing, so the ticket prices are truly exorbitant. And then he only performed for 90 minutes! I know that he only has three solo albums, but he could also dig into the 1D archives for some material—and there’s nothing wrong with doing a few covers! I’d like see Harry performing Stevie’s “Stand Back” or Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere” live! He is indeed a great performer and definitely shows appreciation for his fans, but for the price that I paid, I would like no fewer than 2 hours, please and thank you!
Britney’s back. And with Sir Elton, no less! And the more we hear from her about her conservatorship, the more I feel for her. Her family put her through hell.
In other disco news, please enjoy my new favorite playlist full of disco and dance remixes.
Things I’ve had open in browser tabs:
This Maureen Dowd profile on British Vogue EIC Edward Enniful. What a life, and frankly I hope he succeeds Anna.
I would read a grocery list if Ashley C. Ford wrote it, so please read her profile of Megan Thee Stallion right now.
a deep dive into Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s superhero era, written by the woman behind Kardashian Kolloquium
This New Yorker profile of Nora Ephron. That woman was a gift and I miss her writing immensely.
If you have any movie or TV recs (new or otherwise!) drop ’em below please!
Great list! Gonna add Only Murders in the Building and Vice Principals to my list. Like you, I've been pretty uninspired by my tv/movie-watching this summer, but I am looking forward to Wednesday and Don't Worry (,) Darling. The music collab I'm looking forward to is Carly Rae Jepsen and Rufus Wainwright (!!)
I started typing out some Rome movie/tv recs but stopped when I realized they all either starred Matt Damon, Tom Hanks or stanned Catholicism and I'm not sure I'd recommend any of those combinations. I will say the best Italian tv show I've watched is the "My Brilliant Friend" series, which is mainly set in Naples but you do get quite a bit of time in Florence too. They hired mainly Neapolitan actors for the show, it's deeply immersive and the main friendship is compelling as hell (S3 is my favorite -- it deals with 1960/70s cultural upheaval).
Some other recs (travel-related): The entire "Before" trilogy - Before Sunrise (Vienna), Before Sunset (Paris), Before Midnight (Greece). Just binged all three movies this week, maybe one of the best collabs I've ever seen. I just realized in "My Brilliant Friend" and the "Before" trilogy you get to see the characters/actors age over long periods of time and there is something extremely satisfying about a deep character study.