My Top Three This Week
Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Hot August nights leading into September - my favorite month Lots of good things coming our way -entertainment wise and some bad news too. HBO Max will be leaving us along with some of the very talented folks that brought us some of our favorite content. There is talk of them joining Discovery Plus but their styles do not match in my opinion. Some new movies and series are streaming and I am excitedly anticipating them. A few have already come out and these are my picks.
1) The Bear a Hulu Original series now streaming is a great insider's peak into the restaurant business through a small sandwich place in Chicago. A young chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White -Shameless) has returned home to Chicago to take over his deceased brother's sandwich shop and try to save it from closing. Estrangement from his sister Sugar (Abby Elliot) , financial mismanagement and staff issues make this a very difficult road. We are rooting for him all the way, because White has captured this very talented tortured chef in a way only he can. He is helped by a great supporting cast including, Elliot, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie and Sydney played by Ayo Edebiri one of my favs in the cast. Great story and a high recommend.
2) Uncoupled , a Netflix Original series from the creator of Emily in Paris and Modern Family we have the gay version of Sex and the City starring Neil Patrick Harris as Michael a very successful New York Real Estate Agent on the night of a surprise 50th birthday party for his boyfriend of 17 years Colin (Tuc Watkins). The surprise turns out to be for Michael. Colin has moved their designer towels and all. Once the shock wears off , and with the encouragement of his best friends Suzanne (Tisha Campbell), Stanley (Brooks Ashmanskas) and Billy (Emerson Brooks) he starts to dip in the gay dating pond. It is so much deeper than he remembers with even more drop offs in the deep end. This is where the comedy takes it heart. If you are looking for a SATC show this really isn't it. I think it starts to really find its rhythm by the final episodes of this season and I want to see how it goes. I am going to take some time to warm up to Billy and Stanley but Tisha Campbell is fantastic and such a natural actress. I am also tuning in for a special treat. A wealthy client Claire played by my favorite Marcia Gay Harden has become a new friend to Michael and I cannot wait to see that friendship blossom.
3) Cha Cha Real Smooth streaming on Apple TV+ is a very poignant story of young heartbreak, navigating a life in the adult world. Told with real love for the characters in the story , this movie is starting off a great career for Cooper Raiff who directed, wrote and starred in this story of a young Andrew who has left school with no real idea of what he wants to do next. Well, a job as a party starter for Bar Mitzvahs lands in his lap when the parents see this charismatic young man work his magic on some very shy kids, getting them to dance and mingle including a young autistic girl. The young autistic girl's mother Domino ( Dakota Johnson ) intrigues him and he finds himself helpless to her charms as he becomes closer to her daughter Lola. This becomes more entangled because she is married and confused and he is falling for her in a big way. Raiff is a very natural actor and the fact that he utilizes an autistic actress in the role of Lola gains big points. A shout out to Leslie Mann and Brad Garrett and his mom and stepdad. I see big things for Raiff in the future.
