ALL THINGS BEING SEQUEL
The Equalizer and Mamma Mia! try to recapture magic, Chris Lackner writes.
MOVIES
Big releases on July 20: The Equalizer 2; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Big picture: The tag line is “Discover how it all began.” Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again gives us even more “love rectangles,” song-and-dance numbers, island frolic and unlikely family reunions. Ten years after the events in the original movie, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is pregnant and running her mom’s (Meryl Streep) quirky Greek island villa. Her “three dads” return (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård); her estranged grandma pays a visit — and we’re also treated to a flashback story of how Sophie’s mother Donna (Lily James filling the formidable shoes of a young Meryl Streep) fell in love with the island, three men and raised a baby on her own. (Dull, dull, dull.) Meanwhile, Denzel Washington signs up for his first sequel: The Equalizer 2. Vigilante-justice aficionado Robert McCall is like Batman meets the Punisher meets Denzel’s smooth, steady charisma — only with no gadgets, smaller guns and a lot of old-man hats. When a loved one is hurt, things get personal as The Equalizer goes to war with a criminal empire. Forecast: You could be among the significant number within the movie-going community that would have preferred to watch Mamma Mia: The Equalizer. (Britney Spears isn’t doing too much beyond a new Las Vegas residency in 2019: I predict a family-drama musical called Oops! … I Did It Again.)
TV
Big events: Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (HBO, July 16); Father of the Year (Netflix, July 20); Trial & Error: Lady Killer (NBC, July 19).
Big picture: Well received at the Sundance Film Festival, this Robin Williams documentary explores the darker and lighter sides of the beloved late comedian.
This one is packed with great behind-the-scenes footage and illuminating points from the comic like “standup is survival,” and, “you’re only given a little spark of madness.” We see a man comfortable onstage, but constantly struggling, away from a stage or camera. Meanwhile, Father of the Year is an Adam Sandler movie (from his Happy Madison production company) without Adam Sandler. His ex- SNL buddy David Spade plays an unshaven, scrawny, mullet-sporting trailer park dad.
He looks like Brad Pitt circa Legends of the Fall (1994) if you sucked out all the handsome, muscles and virility. Spade even talks in a Sandler man-baby voice; imagine an old, washedup version of Sandler character Billy Madison — minus the silver spoon. This Father of the Year tries to make up for ruining his son’s chances at success and digs a deeper hole. And, finally, the second summer season of Trial & Error’s comic mockumentary series brings a new crime and a lady killer (Kristin Chenoweth). Forecast: There are two kinds of people in this world. Robin Williams people and David Spade people. You know who you are. You know your pick this week.
MUSIC
Big releases on July 20: Punch Brothers (All Ashore); Lori McKenna (The Tree).
Big picture: Who needs summer folk festivals? Just sit inside with the AC flowing, close your eyes, and listen to these two albums. Veteran folk-country artist and singer-songwriter, Lori McKenna, proves her musical tree is still bearing fruit with early singles like People Get Old Young and Angry Again (I bet Neil Young wishes he had thought of that song title first). McKenna, a two-time Grammy winner has planted the roots for a third win. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn, N.Y., instrumentalist outfit Punch Brothers has always been hard to peg down. Part bluegrass, part folk-country, part chamber music — the quartet is led by mandolin maverick Chris Thile. Hmmm … A Brooklyn experimental group named after a Mark Twain short story. Hipsters unite! Forecast: Music lovers will find their folk. @chrislackner79