There’s not a lot to be grateful for in ‘Friendsgiving’
A group of friends spend a messy holiday together in new DVD releases for the week of Oct. 27.
“Friendsgiving”: Reeling from a divorce and an ugly breakup, respectively, Molly (Malin Akerman) and Abby (Kat Dennings) have made plans to spend Thanksgiving together. Things immediately go awry when Abby is drunkenly ejected from a grocery store and Molly invites her new philanthropist flame (Jack Donnelly) to join the party, and they spiral from there. Their friend Lauren (Aisha Tyler) invites more acquaintances to crash and brings magic mushrooms into the mix; Molly’s mom
(Jane Seymour) shows up out of the blue, and she has also invited Molly’s ex (Ryan Hansen); white woman and self-proclaimed shaman Claire (Chelsea Peretti) brings both woo-woo and anger management vibes.
There’s so much talent in “Friendsgiving,” with some performances working (here’s looking at Dennings’ trademark sardonicism and Seymour’s aloofness), some not (Peretti and
Tyler deserve better than these roles). Inconsistency is a theme here, with tonal shifts in writer-director Nicol Paone’s script that don’t quite mesh.
For a holiday about gathering and gratefulness, none of these people seem to want to be in a room together. The film is stuffed with story, but without much heart, it’s all empty calories.
DVD
“My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising”: Animated film based on Kohei Horikoshi’s manga centers on Deku and his cohorts’ quest to save islanders from evil-doers. In Japanese.
“Attack of the Unknown”: While Los Angeles is being invaded by aliens, a SWAT team gets trapped in a county building while holding a dangerous crime boss. Stars Tara Reid, Richard Grieco and Robert LaSardo.
“Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The
Movie”: In this animated film, Ben must leave Earth to save the planet from the evil Vilgax.
“Black Lightning: The Complete Third Season”: The CW’s DC Comics series continues Jefferson Pierce’s (Cress Williams) ongoing battles with the A.S.A.
“The Flintstones: The Complete Series”: Collection features all six seasons of the classic HannaBarbera animated series following everybody’s favorite modern Stone Age family.
“Hidden, Series 2”: The second season of the BBC series picks up nine months after killer Dylan Harris (Rhodri Meilir) has died.
“The Opposite Sex” The 1956 film starring a singer (June Allyson) determined to win back her husband (Leslie Nielsen) has been remastered.
“Waterloo Bridge”: The 1940 film starring a ballerina (Vivien Leigh) who turns to sex work after hearing the inaccurate news of her lover’s (Robert Taylor) death in World War I has been remastered.