Watch Jennifer Hudson delivers a dynamic performance in the new Aretha Franklin biopic ‘Respect.’
Also worth catching: ‘CODA,’ ‘Homeroom’ and a Polish fable
August doesn’t typically bring out the best in movies. But this has hardly been a typical year.
Amid a couple of clunkers this week, there are some real goodies, including a rom-com that really gets its game on, a biopic on a legendary diva that’s worth its longish running time and a Sundance award winner that’s a heartwarming family drama in the best way possible.
Here’s our rundown.
“FREE GUY” » Shawn Levy’s metaphysical rom-com might just be the best summer blockbuster of 2021. Not only is it outrageously fun and original, it’s also sexy, meaningful and meta — in the best way possible. It also marks a return to form for Ryan Reynolds after the dreadful “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.” Reynolds excels at being charming and goofy, and he’s absolutely adorable as the chipper Guy, a bit player saddled with a “Groundhog Day’s” existence in “Free City,” a violent video game that’s become a pop cul- ture phenomenon. Underneath Guy’s sunny disposition lies a nascent desire to land breakout roles in the game of life and love. With the assistance of Molotovgirl (“Killing Eve’s” Jodie Comer, killin’ it again), a shrewd player with ulterior motives, Guy decides to level things up. Levy and screenwriters Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn keep things rowdy and loose and stuff the film with unbeatable cameos. Along the way, they accomplish the unimaginable, reinventing the rom-com with a film that’ll appeal to both gamers and non-gamers alike. If you see just one blockbuster in a theater this summer or fall let this be it. DETAILS » ★★★ out of 4; in theaters Friday.
“RESPECT” » How do you bundle up the triumphs and tragedies of the Queen of Soul in one movie? No easy task, but filmmaker Liesl Tommy, in her feature debut, wisely ditches the standard birth-to-death biopic sketchbook in favor of exploring what moved the spirit of Aretha Franklin along with the obstacles she had to overcome. Jennifer Hudson excels as Franklin, giving a more measured performance than the one that nabbed her an Oscar in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.” Tracey Scott Wilson’s screenplay gives Hudson a lot to do as it revisits the toxic men in Franklin’s life. Tommy, whose credits include directing plays at California Shakespeare Theater, conveys the horrible acts without being explicit, and that’s
a wise choice. But “Respect” is at its best when it takes us into the recording studios and the Baptist church, sacred spaces for Aretha. Terrific performances also come from Marlon Wayans as Aretha’s abusive manager-husband and Forest Whitaker as her overbearing preacher daddy.
DETAILS » ★★★; in theaters Friday.
“CODA” » In this season’s most heartwarming family drama, 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones in a star-making performance) faces a painfully hard choice: Stay at home once she graduates from high school so she can help her deaf parents operate their scrappy Gloucester fishing business or pursue her passion for singing.
It sounds like a simple plot and it is. But there is nothing about “CODA” — the title is the acronym for Children of Deaf Adults — that’s ordinary or trite. Directorscreenwriter Sian Heder’s crowd-pleaser swept Sundance this year — collecting the grand jury prize, along with the audience awards for best U.S. director and best drama. And justly so. Heder’s delicate but realistic writing and compassionate directing avoids cliches. She creates full characters in Ruby’s parents (Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur) and her independentminded brother (Daniel Durant). Another surprise is Eugenio Derbez as Ruby’s fussy choir director and mentor. Just be prepared to bawl your eyes out. DETAILS » ★★★; available
Friday in select theaters and on Apple TV+.
“HOMEROOM” » In his third entry in a trio of Oakland documentaries, Oakland filmmaker Peter Nicks uncovers hard-earned hope by following Oakland High School seniors as they confront an unprecedented year and confusing time. The award-winning filmmaker of “The Waiting Room” (about Highland Hospital’s ER) and “The Force” (Oakland Police Department) has made a kinetic time capsule that captures the volatility of a period defined by the pandemic and social unrest, but also shows how it failed to douse the aspirations and passions of the 2020 Oakland High School graduating class.
DETAILS » ★★★; available
today on Hulu, opens today at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater and the Kabuki in San Francisco.
“NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN” » In this surreal indie that was Poland’s Oscar entry for best international feature, enigmatic masseur Zhenia (Alec Utgoff) mysteriously emerges from a forest and then lays his magical digits on the spiritually malnourished torsos of unhappy wealthy residents in a gated community in Poland. His mystical New Age-like methods have the power to rejuvenate, seduce and even vex. Zhenia’s entrance into this carefully manicured landscape allows directorsscreenwriters Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert ample opportunity to address the chasms that exist between the rich and the poor and illustrate how immigrants are often viewed dismissively as “the help.” In the lead, Utgoff gives off a distinctive, alluring presence that’s in sync with the film’s otherworldly vibe. DETAILS » ★★★; opens Friday — live and streaming — at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, www. roxie.com; available Friday for streaming via the Smith Rafael Film Center, rafaelfilm.cafilm.org.
“ANNETTE” » Overheated and way too full of itself, this ambitious but lame rock opera gets old fast. Adam Driver taps into his dark side (again) as enfant terrible comedian Henry McHenry, a creep adored and hated for his edgy antics on and off the stage. His vulnerable but sexy side comes out when he meets opera sensation Ann (Marion Cotillard), a dear heart with a decent soul and a bad taste in men. The first half hour or so of “Annette” is sensual, quirky and gorgeous to behold, but then Ron Mael and Russell Mael of the band Sparks and coscreenwriter-director Leos Carax muck things up with artistic pretensions and gimmicks galore, as well as a biblical-like warning that gets jackhammered into our heads — that whatever man can create, his ego can then destroy. A good warning indeed.
DETAILS » ★★; now playing in select theaters; available Aug. 20 on Amazon Prime.
“RAGING FIRE” » Although it sticks to the hard-boiled blueprint of Hong Kong rogue cop actioners, director Benny Chan’s final feature (he died of cancer in 2020) plays to the genre’s strengths. There are precisely choreographed fistfights and crazy car/motorcycle chases sprinkled into a classic storyline about a principled cop (Donnie Yen) squaring off with former colleagues who he helped send to the big house. As a ringleader recently released from prison, Nicholas Tse brings the appropriate bad-boy menace to counter Yen’s do-gooding nature, and they make great adversaries. “Raging Fire” isn’t out to redefine the genre, but it serves up satisfying and energetic escapism along with a sad reminder of all the classic action scenes that Chan delivered over the years. DETAILS » ★★★; opens Friday at select theaters.