"The Ugly Stepsister" Has Her Day

I'm so glad that body horror movies are coming back into vogue, and that we're getting some really interesting female body horror movies specifically.  "The Ugly Stepsister," the first film from Norwegian writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt, is everything I want from this kind of movie.  It's a subversion of a familiar fairy tale narrative that takes the opportunity to aim a few blows at terrible female beauty standards, toxic family dynamics, and false idols.  Also, the performances are very effective and the gore is really gross.  

"The Ugly Stepsisters" is built around one very good idea: "Cinderella" from the point of view of the stepsisters is a horror story.  Blichfeldt uses the original Brothers Grimm version of "Cinderella," with all the gruesome bits about how to get a foot to fit into a tiny glass shoe, as her starting point.  Plain Elvira (Lea Myren) is the older daughter of the ambitious Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), who marries a man named Otto (Ralph Carlsson) for his money.  Alas, Otto drops dead almost immediately, leaving Rebekka with debts instead of riches, and a new stepdaughter, the beautiful Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss).  After learning that the local prince (Isac Calmroth) wants a bride, Elvira and Agnes become rivals for his attention.

Watching Elvira destroy herself in the pursuit of beauty and the false hope of a happy ending is like watching a magnificently orchestrated car crash.  The physical horrors of the barbaric beauty treatments that Rebekka pushes on her are bad enough, but the real damage is caused by Elvira's growing resentment toward the effortless physical perfection of Agnes and an increasingly anxious fixation on besting her.  While the original "Cinderella" story plays out it full over the course of the film, here it's on the margins of Elvira's miserable tale of endless suffering and disappointment.  Its perfect fairy-tale moments linger just out of her grasp as a half-hallucinatory ideal that she desperately wants to attain.  Instead, she has to contend with months of starving herself, a beautician that wields a chisel and hammer, and dancing instruction that doubles as ritual humiliation.  And the film makes it clear that through her choices, she brings much of her misfortune on herself.  

Some interesting shadings are also added to the other characters for some additional nuance.  Agnes is neither pure nor good - she doesn't love the prince and only wants him to get herself out of a bad situation.  She antagonizes Rebekka and Elvira as much as they antagonize her.  Elvira's younger sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) is too young for marriage, and she has no interest in the prince or her mother's machinations.  She's a lone voice of reason in the film that Elvira chooses to ignore.  Rebekka is the terrible stepmother we all expect, but more self-interested than malicious.  Her choices are few and she has to be pragmatic.  Then there's the prince, who Elvira has fallen in love with via a volume of his published poems.  A chance encounter with him early in the film reveals that he's a venal boor, but Elvira is so lovesick that this doesn't dissuade her at all.     

For lovers of body horror, there are several impressive sequences of squirm-inducing nastiness.  One involves self-mutilation.  Another involves tapeworms.  The worst for me, however, was a brutal cosmetic surgery procedure that went from zero to off the charts terrifying in seconds.  Due to the themes and the genre, there are some similarities to last year's "The Substance," but "The Ugly Stepsister" is playing with different tropes and ideas.  I found the production very impressive.  The film  was made on a modest budget, but it never feels like any corners are being cut due to skillful filmmaking.  The performers also deserve no small amount of credit.  Lea Myren does much of the heavy lifting in Elvira's transformations from unfortunate frump to rising ingenue to damaged monster.

I've always had a fondness for dark fairy tale films, and this is definitely one of the darkest and most satisfying.  It reminds me of something I might have stumbled across in the '80s, especially the way the gore is so stylized and achieved mostly with practical effects work.  They manage to make eyelashes in this movie sinister, and it's fantastic.  In short, horror fans, this is not one to miss.

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And What Didn't Make My Top Ten Episodes of 2024-2025

Minor spoilers ahead.

Last year's edition of this post got really out of hand, which is understandable considering that it was my first attempt.  This time around I'm going to focus on spotlighting some of the other highlights of my TV watching year instead of trying to be comprehensive.

Okay, so what were the most buzzed about episodes that didn't make the list?  "Through the Valley" was a major turning point for "The Last of Us," but it didn't strike me as a particularly strong episode in and of itself.  "The Price" was more interesting, giving Pedro Pascal a chance to go out on a high note, but not quite high enough to make the final list.  The third season of "The Bear" had several good installments, especially "Napkins" and "Ice Chips," but weren't as good as what I knew the series was capable of.  

The "Oner" episode of "The Studio" was impressive as a technical feat, but the show as a whole was too cringe-based for me to really enjoy, and I abandoned it after five episodes.  I've always had some trouble with comedies - I tracked down the "Pilot's Code" episode of "The Rehearsal" after seeing some of the rapturous response.  I never even cracked a smile, which tells you how out of whack my sense of humor is.  My favorite new comedy of the year was "Nobody Wants This," the Kristen Bell and Adam Brody rom-com.

So, let's move on to some genre shows.  Probably the best surprise I had last year was the latest Shondaland series, "The Residence," a whodunnit starring Uzo Aduba.  I couldn't single out any episode for praise, and the ending was too long, but this was exactly the kind of breezy, lighthearted, big ensemble burst of pure entertainment that I needed at exactly the right time.  Other new shows I really appreciated were "The Day of The Jackal" and "Black Doves," two spy series with very different approaches.  "Jackal" was the more polished, more action-oriented show that was fantastic whenever it was focused on Eddie Redmayne, but came apart whenever he wasn't on screen.  "Black Doves" was more about character, about feelings, and about vibes, with a great cast.  Tons of fun, but not remotely believable as any kind of espionage show.    

Returning shows offered some strong hours.  "House of the Dragon" had a very rough second season, but it still had some highlights, including "The Red Sowing" with the test for dragon riders.  My favorite "Black Mirror" installment of the excellent 2025 batch of episodes was "Common People," which saw the show target the horrors of profit-driven healthcare and subscription creep.  "Doctor Who," had a much stronger year than the last, with "Lux" and "Lucky Day" being my favorites.  The new companion, Belinda Chandra, is a great addition.  However, the most improved series was definitely "Rings of Power," as Sauron became a main character and a fantastic focal point for the show.  "Doomed to Die" and "Shadow and Flame" are both great, though the show is still leaning awfully hard on its audience's nostalgia for the movie trilogy.

I watched a lot of superhero media last year.  "Invincible" had a great third season, and "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry" with the introduction of Powerplex stood out as an especially disturbing high point.  "Agatha All Along" is an MCU show, so it belongs in this category.  After a bumpy start, the second half of the series was all bangers, and the finale "Mother, Maiden, Crone" delivered a twist ending I didn't see coming.  "Penguin" got a lot of good press, but wasn't my kind of show.  However, I suspect that I have its success to thank for a "Daredevil: Born Again" that didn't pull its punches.  Ironically, the "Daredevil" episode I liked best was the bank heist - a remnant of a much lighter, kid friendlier version of the show.

The episode that came closest to making the list, but which I couldn't justify, was the "Night" episode of "The Acolyte."  As far as action goes, this is one of the best "Star Wars" TV offerings bar none.  However, "The Acolyte" is such a mess of a show when it comes to the writing and character dynamics.  I loved it and really wanted more of it, but I just had to let it go.

Speaking of cancellations, I'm bidding a fond farewell to "The Conners," "Star Trek: Lower Decks," "Arcane," "Wolf Hall," and "The Serpent Queen," which all delivered good endings.  "Kaos," "My Lady Jane," "Our Flag Means Death," "Laid," and "Time Bandits" were cancelled before their time, but I think they were worth the watch regardless.  "Interior: Chinatown" hasn't technically been cancelled, but feels more like a miniseries than an ongoing show to me.

Congratulations to John Mulaney for keeping "Everybody's Live With John Mulaney" as weird as it is.  And to Conan O'Brien for a thoroughly watchable Oscars telecast.  

And that's my 2024-2025 in television.

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My Top Ten Episodes of 2024-2025

This has been a very interesting year in television, with a lot of shows shortened or delayed due to the strikes.  A quick reminder before we start that I watch a lot of genre television, I'm notoriously bad with comedies, and I have a neverending "To Watch" list.  I use the Emmy rules for cutoff dates, which means that this list covers everything from the start of June, 2024 to the end of May, 2025.   Entries below are unranked, and I'm limiting myself to one episode per show or miniseries.

I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but please watch your step.

Interview With the Vampire, "Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape" - Let's start with the flashback episode of "Interview" where Louis and Daniel finally compare notes on their last, incredibly messy encounter in 1970s San Francisco, and realize that Armand has been hiding a few things from both of them.  We get to see very different versions of the characters - Louis at a low point, and Daniel pre cynicism - and get new insights on everyone's behavior.  I love a good unreliable narrator story, and you can't be sure anybody's memories are accurate here.

The Diplomat, "Dreadnought" - It was really close between this episode and the immediately preceding one, "Our Lady of Immaculate Deception," because that's where we get Rory Kinnear finally losing his temper and resorting to violence, and more of the ensemble is involved.  However, Allison Janney as the evil vice-president is the undeniable highlight of this season.  Her geopolitics lecture makes for such good television.  Then there's the season ending cliffhanger ending, which is executed so perfectly, I wasn't even mad it was a cliffhanger.  

Adolescence, "Episode 3" - A psychologist played by Erin Doherty interviews a 13 year-old played by Owen Cooper in juvenile detention, and it's one of the most chilling hours of television I've ever seen.  Cooper's performance is riveting, as he shifts from people-pleasing to rageful and destructive, constantly testing, provoking, and finally threatening his interviewer.  Doherty's reactions, and the single-shot construction of the episode also do a lot to sell the intensity here.  The whole of "Adolescence" is excellent, but this episode will haunt me.

Say Nothing, "Do No Harm" - Covers the Price sisters' experiences while incarcerated, with special attention on their participation in hunger strikes in the 1980s.  Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe's performances are front and center the whole way through, as the harrowing particulars of their ordeal are dramatized with unflinching candidness.  There's never any doubt that the sisters deserve to be in prison for their crimes, but the struggle to be there on their own terms, and use their status to continue their fight is highly compelling.

Poker Face, "Sloppy Joseph" - This one made it in just under the wire, but I knew instantly the assassination of Joseph Gerbils had to be here.  Charlie Cale's latest job is being a lunch lady at a fancy prep school, and she finds herself up against the second pint-sized psycho on this list.  This one is eight years old and much funnier.  Eva Jade Halford's gold-star-obsessed Stephanie may be the most memorable villain the show's come up with so far, and I love that she's defeated by the very thing that makes her special - she doesn't think like a child. 

Paradise, "The Day" - Post-apocalyptic media doesn't usually show much of the apocalypse itself, as they tend to be very expensive to realize onscreen.  Well, "Paradise" gave us an excellent version of the end of the world, devoting a whole episode to showing the step-by-step progression of a major environmental disaster spinning out of control, from the POV of characters working at the White House.  And when the time comes to make the hard choices and the impossible calls, it's the performances rather than the CGI that leave an impression. 

The Pitt, "6:00 P.M." - I'm choosing the preparation for the mass casualty event rather than the more intense episodes dealing with it later in the timeline, because this episode is such a marvel of efficiency.  The triage rules are changed, a new patient categorization system is put in place, and the night shift starts work so half a dozen new characters are introduced on top of it all.  We get a ton of information very quickly, but it's all very clear and easy to follow, and it also does a great job of building anticipation for the oncoming storm.

Severance, "Cold Harbor" - It was wonderful to discover how conflicted my feelings were toward Innie and Outie Mark, as it became clear that these two were not going to get along.  The finale caper offers all kinds of excitement, from the appearance of the Choreography and Merriment department, to the fight with Milchick, to the nail-biting reunion sequences with Gemma.  I still don't know which Mark I want to win, but at this point I just need the Eagans to lose, and lose badly.  Extra points for the use of the Michel Legrande track in the closer.

Dark Matter, "Jupiter" - By now we've all seen plenty of multiverse media, but the nightmarish scenario that is presented in "Dark Matter" is one I haven't seen anyone try before, at least not in a live-action thriller series like this one.  That's what gave this episode that extra push to land a spot on this list over some other good genre stories.  Showing me something novel is going to get you higher marks, even if "Dark Matter" as a whole was very hit-or-miss.  The payoff was very much the wait for the payoff though, and pure sci-fi geekery.

Andor, "Who Are You?" - Finally, Syril and Dedra were my favorite part of the last season of "Andor," and the end of their relationship came in the midst of the show's biggest action episode to date - the Ghorman Massacre.  The action setpieces are plenty impressive on their own, but watching Syril finally come to some important realizations and make the choices that he was always going to make are absolutely riveting to see play out.  

Honorable Mention 

Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor - I couldn't quite figure out how to include this, as it's great TV but not really an episode of anything, so I'm putting it here.  Conan's acceptance speech in particular cemented this for me as a worthy, timely, and much needed win.  

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Late Night in Peril

I'm writing this post at the end of July, 2025, a few days after the announcement that CBS has decided to cancel "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert."  I don't know when or even if this is going to be posted to the blog.  I try not to post too immediately about big events in the entertainment world, because stories tend to evolve over time as we get more information, and I don't feel comfortable speculating when so much is up in the air.  However, I feel I have to say something.  

No matter how you frame it, this is bad.  Stephen Colbert will be fine, but "The Late Show" will not be going on without him, and the entire late night television ecosystem appears to be in imminent peril.  If you believe what CBS claims (I don't) and "The Late Show" is being canned for purely economic reasons, it means that all of the late night shows aren't making enough money.  Colbert has consistently had the highest late night talk show ratings since 2017.  There were a few signs that this decision was coming, however.  A few months ago CBS also canceled "After Midnight" with Taylor Tomlinson, opting to no longer program the 12:30AM slot.  It's been widely speculated that Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" is next on the chopping block despite Jon Stewart's return bringing their highest ratings in years.  It's been clear that the economics for late night television - really, all network television - haven't been good in a while, and I've been hearing persistent gossip that all the major players are considering similar moves to downsize their schedules.

However, the timing here is clearly being influenced by outside forces.  CBS and Comedy Central are both owned by Paramount Global.  And so we come to the proposed  Paramount Global and Skydance Media merger, an estimated $8 billion deal, which needed federal approval in order to go through.  After multiple delays, it finally got that approval by the FCC six days after "The Late Show" was cancelled.  Paramount has had to stay on the right side of the Trump administration, which has proven to be very vindictive and litigious toward the legacy media companies, pulling funding from NPR and PBS, and bullying ABC into ponying up $15 million over a bogus defamation lawsuit.  Paramount has also paid $16 million over supposedly misleading editing in a "60 Minutes" piece, and forced out executive producer Bill Owens.  Stephen Colbert called this a "big fat bribe" on "The Late Show," three days before the cancellation of his show was announced.  The Trump administration has since decided to sue Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal for libel.    

Stephen Colbert leaving the airwaves - at least temporarily - seems to be a big win for Donald Trump at first glance.  Nearly all of the late night show hosts have been vocally critical of the Trump administration, and haven't been shy about using their platforms to shine a light on their wrongdoings.  While the traditional news media has been depressingly quick to play nice with Trump, and back down from any confrontations, Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart have not hesitated to call Trump out at every step.  While their television audiences have shrunk, all of these shows have Youtube channels with millions of subscribers.  Colbert averages two million viewers a night on CBS, and two million more watch his monologue on Youtube.  And from the reaction from the industry and the viewers so far, nobody is happy with this decision.  And Colbert's fellow late show hosts aren't rattled.  They're mad.  And Colbert's former Comedy Central compadres over at "South Park"?  Really mad.                      

There's already speculation about where Stephen Colbert is going to go after "The Late Show."  Will Netflix or Apple TV+ offer him a deal?  Will he start a podcast or his own Youtube channel?  Will he retire the way that his "Late Show" predecessor David Letterman did?  Would he consider a political career?  Because of the impending cancellation, Colbert is getting more attention and goodwill than ever, and the ratings for his final shows are going to be through the roof.  He's got ten months left on the air, and I for one do not intend to stop watching now.    

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"Mountainhead" and "Predator: Killer of Killers"

The new Apple TV+ feature "Mountainhead" is about how tech billionaires have become the villains of modern society.  We've had plenty of films about how the rich are awful and disconnected from the rest of humanity, but "Mountainhead" is specifically about the behavior of those reprobates on the very, very top.  Randall (Steve Carell), Souper (Jason Schwartzman), Ven (Cory Michael Smith), and Jeff (Ramy Yousef) are four ultra-wealthy tech CEOs who have convened at the newly finished mountain retreat of Souper, dubbed Mountainhead, for a weekend of playing poker and manly bonding.  This happens right as Ven's social media platform is sparking social unrest around the world due to its new AI tools being used to generate large volumes of misinformation.     

The four CEOs are not based on specific people, but you can definitely tell who's supposed to be the Elon Musk and the Warren Buffet and the rising star and the low man on the totem pole.  As the apocalypse looms large, the four of them are revealed to be selfish, self-absorbed, and toxic in the extreme.  They're obsessed with status, which they measure by net worth, and fixated on how to make deals and save their own skins to the detriment of everyone else.  They have absolutely no regard for other people, and discuss the unfolding global disaster in the most callous terms possible.  The first half of the film where we watch them as they watch the world catch fire is marked by creeping dread and moments of pitch black humor.  The second half of the film is less successful because the scope narrows and the tone shifts to much broader, absurdist, and slapstick comedy.  It didn't really work for me, though there were some good individual moments.  

"Mountainhead" was written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, the showrunner of "Succession."  I'm generally not a fan of shows about terrible people doing terrible things, but two hours is usually fine.  I found the "Mountainhead" quartet well-observed in their immature frat-boy preoccupations, and I'm glad that there were references to topics like accelerationism and transhumanism that the Silicon Valley set get all worked up about.  However, as a comedy I wanted the plot to get more extreme, more cringey, more absurd, or more anything.  The first half was a great setup, but then it felt like Armstrong got preoccupied with undercutting his characters' egos, and showing how they really were a pack of ineffectual twits in a real crisis, and wound up removing the possibility of anything too dark or too politically incendiary.  Recent events have shown that tech gurus can do some real damage, and the last thing I want in a satire about tech gurus right now is something that plays it too safe. 

Now for something completely different.  Animated movies based on primarily live-action IP have a very mixed track record, and for every "Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse" there's been a "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim."  The new "Predator: Killer of Killers" anthology feature, however, is one of the good ones.  Dan Trachtenberg, the director of "Prey," returns for a collection of very violent animated tales of alien Predators doing battle with different human warriors throughout history.  The first features a Viking warrior named Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) and her son Anders (Damien Haas) tracking down a rival clan leader, Zoran (Andrew Morgado).  The second is about two brothers, Kenji and Kiyoshi (Louis Ozawa), and their rivalry in feudal Japan.  The third is about a WWII airplane mechanic, Torres (Rick Gonzalez), who tries to warn his squadron of a Predator attack over the Atlantic.    

I'm not a big fan of the Unreal Engine-produced animation, which resembles the style of Netflix's "Arcane" and the recent "Flow" animated feature.  The characters aren't very expressive, and the visuals tend to look murky and unfinished.  However, it's a good style for action scenes, and "Killer of Killers" is pretty much wall to wall action sequences.  There are elements that just look better in animation than live action, including over-the-top violence, crazy science-fiction weaponry, and plenty of stylized blood and gore, with all kinds of creative kills on display.  The three main characters are never given much depth, but there's actually more of a cohesive story here than I was expecting, and everything ties together in a satisfying way.  "Killer of Killers" is easily better than three of the five live action "Predator" movies, just on a script level.  Based on pure action, it might even be the best one.          

Trachtenberg has another "Predator" movie coming out in a few months, the live action theatrical feature "Predator: Badlands."  There's been no indication that its story is tied into "Killer of Killers" in any meaningful way, but I expect that it won't be entirely  standalone either.  And based on Trachtenberg's work with this series so far, I'm looking forward to it.  

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A Peek "Inside No. 9"

I watched the first two series of "Inside No. 9," the British anthology series written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, members of "The League of Gentlemen" comedy troupe.  I haven't seen any of their prior work that I'm aware of.  I plan to keep watching, but wanted to take the time to put down some initial impressions while I'm still early in the show's run.  "Inside No. 9" is a rarity, a long-running anthology program of thirty minute episodes where none of the stories have anything to do with each other except taking place in a location marked as "No. 9" in some way.  Shearsmith and Pemberton, both comedians, usually have roles in every episode, which range from the dramatic to the farcical.  Most of the stories are some type of black comedy with a twist at the end.  

I was a little tripped up by the first episode, "Sardines," which involves a group of partygoers playing a game of Sardines and revealing all sorts of lurid secrets in the process.  The dialogue is dense, the plot unfolds very quickly, and I had to rewatch the ending twice to untangle one of the big reveals.  Then, in the next episode, "A Quiet Night In," there is no dialogue at all.  This installment is a slapstick comedy about two hapless burglars trying to steal a painting from the home of a feuding couple.  Other episodes take place in a train car, a theater dressing room, and a 17th century barn, but the action is always kept fairly small scale.  This is wonderful for the more intimate dramatic episodes, but neither of the two horror episodes worked for me at all.  It could be a cultural thing.

It took a few episodes for me to get used to the format and the style of the humor, but I like "Inside No. 9" for its sense of scrappiness and unpredictability.  Budgets are obviously low, but there's a lot of creative ingenuity on display, and a taste for experimentation with the format.  The episodes I've enjoyed the most so far are the ones that have managed to surprise me, like "Cold Comfort," which takes place in a crisis hotline call center and is primarily filmed with stationary security cameras, and "The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge," which is the funniest take on a witch trial I've ever seen.  It's often not clear which genre an episode belongs in until it plays out completely, so part of the fun is trying to guess what the turn is going to be.  Will the domestic dramedy end in an ironic murder, a poignant reveal that the main character has been dead the whole time, or a wry subversion after someone finally admits a lie or deceit?  

So far the casts have been very good.  Shearsmith and Pemberton have turned in some strong performances, and have been joined by familiar British talent like Gemma Arterton, Jessica Gunning, and Jack Whitehall.  These episodes are old enough that I was happy to find a few departed stars like Helen McCrory and David Warner gamely playing ridiculous characters.  However, "Inside No. 9" also makes room for unexpectedly touching episodes like "The 12 Days of Christine," featuring Sheridan Smith as a woman who seems to be unstuck in time.  By the time the final reveal rolled around, I'd completely forgotten I was watching an "Inside No. 9" episode.

So far the ratio of good and middling-to-bad episodes isn't great, but I'm heartened by the fact that "Inside No. 9" has improved over the two series I've seen, with the stories getting more complex and ambitious.  Or maybe I'm just getting used to Shearsmith and Pemberton's writing.  The highs have been very high, and I like that there seems to be a determination to parody or pay homage to so many different kinds of British media, from Shakespeare troupe hijinks to "Witchfinder General."

I'm glad to have seven more series to look forward to, and will do my best not to binge them too quickly.  However, I can already tell I'm going to have a heck of a time writing up the Top Ten episodes list when I'm done.  

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"A Nice Indian Boy" and "The Wedding Banquet"

It's that time of year when I try to cover a romance movie or two, and the only decent ones lately seem to be Asian LGBT romances.  So let's get to it.

"A Nice Indian Boy" is my first Roshan Sethi film.  It's a sweet, very modest little romantic comedy about an Indian-American doctor named Naveen (Karan Soni) whose romance with a photographer, Jay (Jonathan Groff), is hampered by his anxieties over how his traditional parents, Megha (Zarna Garg) and Archit (Harish Patel) will react.  There are also tensions with his sister Arundhati (Sunita Mani), who recently got married, and is upset that Naveen gets more freedom with his life choices than she does.   

Even if you aren't at all familiar with any of the Indian customs or traditions in this film, "A Nice Indian Boy" follows the template of a typical cross-cultural romantic comedy so exactly, I can't imagine anyone will be confused for a moment.  The immigrant family dynamic is instantly relatable.  The communication and trust issues in Naveen and Jay's relationship are instantly recognizable.  Jay is clearly an impossible ideal boyfriend - a white American guy who was raised by Indian foster parents, so he not only speaks Hindi, but is in many ways more Indian than Naveen is.  Sure, he has just enough minor negative traits to put Naveen's parents on the defensive at first, but is there any question that they'll eventually accept him with open arms?

"A Nice Indian Boy" is very predictable and follows the template of a typical heterosexual screen romance awfully closely, but I feel pretty lenient towards it because framing an Indian LGBT relationship in these terms to help normalize it is surely part of the point.  Also, it's very apparent that the budget was tiny, and this was a personal passion project.  The aim here is to present a pleasant fantasy romance where Jonathan Groff sings "Tujhe Dehka To Yeh Jana Sanam" to Karan Soni, and everything ends with a big Indian wedding.  Sure, I could ask uncomfortable questions like why nobody questions why Arundhati keeps showing up to family dinners and events without her husband, but in the end it doesn't matter.  The performances are good, with  Zarna Garg and Harish Patel getting some especially lovely moments together as the deeply concerned parents, who get to affirm their own love story in the process of sorting out their messy relationships with their children.  It's very broad, very inviting, and very approachable for everybody.

 

On to the remake of "The Wedding Banquet," which immediately distinguishes itself as more progressive and more directly targeting the LGBT audience than the 1993 original directed by Ang Lee.  Instead of a gay man marrying a straight woman in a sham marriage, this time both of the participants in the sham marriage are LGBT.  Seattle based Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-Chan) live in the garage apartment of a house occupied by Chris's best friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and her partner Lee (Lily Gladstone), who are trying to get pregnant by IVF.  Min, the estranged grandchild of a rich Korean industrialist, is called home by his grandmother Ja Young (Young Yuh-jung) to join the family company.  Min wants to stay in Seattle and proposes to Chris, but Chris isn't ready to commit.  So, Min decides to wed Angela in a sham marriage and pay for the IVF treatments in return.

James Schamus returns to co-write the new version with director Andrew Ahn, which makes the case that even with all the gains that the LGBT community has made over the past thirty years, romantic and parent-child relationships can still be very difficult.  Angela has trouble connecting to her mother May (Joan Chen), who has made her whole identity about being a supportive PFLAG mom.  She's also not sure about becoming a mother herself, which causes friction with Lee.  Meanwhile, in a nice subversion, it turns out that Ja-Young is not only aware that Min is gay, she ends up helping with the ruse for his sake.  Young Yuh-jung's performance is the best thing about the movie.  After a meandering first act, everything snaps into focus when Ja Young shows up, immediately figures out what is going on, and calls out all of these youngsters for being a pack of idiots.  I adore every second she is onscreen.

The 2025 "Wedding Banquet" is generally messier and more sprawling than the 1993 version, juggling more characters and storylines and issues.  It's not as cohesive, and definitely not as funny, but there are some good farcical moments, and a few memorable zingers.  I like that we get a Korean wedding this time around, instead of a Chinese one.  And in the end, the movie's also got plenty of heart, which is what matters most.   

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