Fire Sagas and Sorkin-Paloozas
(Illustration by Nathan Graber-Lipperman)
So much to watch, so little time. Jake Graber-Lipperman writes a bi-weekly newsletter with his takes on what’s streaming and whether it’s worth the plunge. To read his last letter on Marley & Me and Bad Education, click here.
As a man of high culture and the resident culture sommelier on my little brother’s internet website, I recognize my duty to share with you the culture I’ve been consuming so that one day you too can become as high-cultured as me. Welcome to MacGuffins and White Russians!
Barely multi-cultural culture
I can only remember two words from the entire song. Rest assured, “Volcano Man” registers as a certified bump.
Of the four movies I watched over July 4th weekend, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (available to stream on Netflix) was the best one that featured murderous elves. In fact, I think it might have been the best movie featuring murderous elves since the 2013 masterpiece Thor: The Dark World, in which Christopher Eccleston’s nuanced portrayal of Malekith the Dark Elf earned the Brit an Oscar and catapulted the character into the pantheon of elven villains from Marvel Phase Two.
But we’re not here to talk about Alan Taylor’s MCU gem. We’re here to talk about a movie that somehow exists. Ten years ago, it would be inconceivable that this movie would be made. Nevertheless, I’m unsurprised the good folks at Netflix greenlit Eurovision Song Contest, a two hour commercial for the film’s eponymous singing competition which Americans will forget exists the moment the credits roll.
I struggle to stay fully invested in Netflix’s original films. More often than not, they feel like four different films mashed up into one. Eurovision Song Contest contains hints of past Will Ferrell films, in which the comedian plays a bratty man-child who does the right thing in the end and makes everyone proud (see Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights). But the film also contains jarring segments straight out of Pitch Perfect or Mamma Mia!, moments impossible to understand for non-Eurovision connoisseurs, and a most surface-level exploration of Icelandic small-town culture. Since half the beats in the script were likely decided by algorithm to appease various niches of Netflix subscribers, the film never coalesces into a coherent feature, instead resigning to the sum of its less-than-stellar parts.
There’s definitely talent behind the film. Will Ferrell reigned supreme as the king of comedy for the first decade of the 2000’s, and Rachel McAdams proved her mettle in Wedding Crashers and Mean Girls. But the duo’s bizarre portrayal of Icelandic singers forces you to constantly ask yourself, “Is this offensive?” Given the current cultural climate, these questions are popping up more and more in my mind. Smart comedy knows how and when to push boundaries. I’m not here to make any sort of statement on what should and shouldn’t be said in a funny movie. In unfunny movies, however, I’d err on the side of caution and avoid stereotyping an entire country.
In a time when new content is hard to come by, I still might offer up Eurovision Song Contest with the most lukewarm of recommendations. The elf bit pays off (as it obviously is being set up to do), Dan Stevens enchants as a lion-hearted Russian singer, and the music straight bumps. I’ll chalk this one up as a draw. Blame it on the pandemic.
Surprise double-feature culture: Aaron-Sorkin-Palooza!
After numbing my brain sufficiently by way of Eurovision Song Contest, I decided to pick a film of decided self-importance. As the serious man I decided to be on Saturday night, an Aaron Sorkin picture, the master of self-important characters, seemed a natural choice.
Sorkin’s debut film as a director, Molly’s Game (available to stream on Netflix), failed to make as much headway as some of his past projects when it came out in 2017. Like many films which pack serious entertainment factor but were lost in the shuffle in the bygone era of theatrical releases, Molly’s Game has found a much deserved second life on Netflix. After hearing enough positive buzz, I figured the film could provide the tonic I needed to rid my mind of “Volcano Man” for at least an evening.
Like the Sorkin-penned The Social Network (available to stream on Netflix) before it, Molly’s Game unfolds with every manner of Sorkinism imaginable. There’s the walk-and-talk as Jessica Chastain’s titular Molly Bloom, the poker queen of both coasts, and Idris Elba, her strapping lawyer, trade barbed witticisms without stopping to catch their breath. There’s the flipping back and forth between legal proceedings in which Molly slowly spills the tea to answer the question “[Movie opens in media res] [Record scratch] I bet you’re wondering how we got here?” And of course, the classic Sorkin character, who’s always one step ahead of every other character in the room, and loves to remind everyone that they are, in fact, one step ahead of everyone else.
When the credits rolled after a surprisingly breezy two hour plus runtime, Netflix offered me suggestions to keep watching. Naturally, The Social Network popped up in my recommendations. Why not? Two hours and one mile-a-minute-script later, I had completed a Sorkin biathlon, feeling a little out of breath after having spent the better part of an evening with Molly Bloom and Mark Zuckerberg.
The similarities between the films' protagonists become especially noticeable when watched back-to-back. Molly and Mark both want the recognition and acceptance of the upper crust of society; in Molly’s case, the rich degenerates of Los Angeles and New York, and in Mark’s, the Final Clubs of Harvard. For both characters, once the goal is in sight, they aren’t afraid to burn bridges and stomp out the opposition to get to their destination.
Stomp may be a bit of a weak verb. Both characters wield superior intellect as their weapons and absolutely embarrass those who cross them. Like Mark Zuckerberg before her, Molly has her own Winklevii in the form of Dean Keith, a delightfully douched performance by douche legend Jeremy Strong, who runs a nice underground poker game going with the muckety-mucks of Hollywood. Molly quickly realizes the great business opportunity of stealing the game from her boss, and hijacks his operation to turn poker night into a glorious man cave fantasy for the degenerate one percenter.
Roles like this are rarely reserved for women in film. When I think of smartest-in-the room-characters, I tend to first think of Mark Zuckerberg and Robert Downey Jr.-esque characters like Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes. Chastain’s performance as Molly offers up a more prudent version of this character. Molly is always the smartest person in the room. But as a woman operating in a man’s playground, she can’t ever let the men feel inferior to her without tarnishing the allure of her poker game.
Chastain crushes this duality, traversing from the slopes to the penthouse to the courtroom, rarely asserting her dominance while never relinquishing her grasp of her domain. It’s an impressive feat; Molly whisks the audience through Sorkin’s tight screenplay with a greater show of restraint than the writer's typical male protagonists, all the while remaining a figure you admire and fear all at once.
Both Molly’s Game and The Social Network are prime entertainment, albeit a little repetitive. Given the standing of the latter as a must-see film of the decade, I’d recommend the former to any fans of Sorkin’s gripping writing. The films are masterclass movie-making that offer up the excitement of the MCU without the explosions or dark elves.
Relevant Culture
Following Nathan’s glowing recommendation of Spike Lee’s classic Do the Right Thing (available to rent from Amazon starting at $3.99), I finally watched the film. I don’t have too much to say besides that Do the Right Thing more than warrants its place on the list of greatest films of all time. Rarely have I watched a film that immerses you so fully into a time and place, chock full of vibrant characters filling the Brooklyn streets. Rarely do you also watch a thirty-year-old movie that sadly still feels relevant to the current political climate we find ourselves in this summer.
Radio Raheem from Do the Right Thing
The tragedy of Do the Right Thing plays even more poignantly today in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and so many other black Americans at the hands of police brutality and racial targeting. Lee’s film captures a moment in time in which people didn’t bring these issues to the mainstream. Fittingly, Driving Miss Daisy, a film with a much rosier view of racial harmony in America, took home the Oscar for Best Picture in 1990 over Do the Right Thing, perhaps the biggest miss in the Academy’s history (Do the Right Thing was not nominated; Danny Aiello, an older white actor, received the film's only acting nod among a predominantly minority cast). We haven’t come far; just last year, Green Book took home the Oscar, and little has happened to bend the moral arc of the universe towards racial justice over the last three decades.
One day, I more than hope Do the Right Thing becomes a relic of the past. Sadly, I find it highly unlikely Americans will follow Da Mayor’s advice any time soon.
Did I miss out on any must-watch culture you’ve been consuming? As a man of high culture, I find it unlikely, but not impossible. Leave a comment here and sign up to receive my letters delivered directly to your inbox!