Movie News & Reviews

On Sept. 24, the Tony-award winning musical is moving from the stage to movie theaters nationwide. In a virtual roundtable with cast members Ben Platt, Amandla Stenberg, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Kaitlyn Dover and Danny Pino, as well as writer Steven Levenson and director Stephen Chbosky, The Chronicle explored the process behind this heartwarming film.

Bo Burnham was always funny, smart, self-aware and slightly cynical. He still is. But the growing demands of the internet, and the world, for that matter, may require that more of his content involves “just me and my camera, and you and your screen, the way that the lord intended.” 

Dolly’s characteristic kindness and inclusion reflects what I consider to be the best feature of the movie. I love the typewriter-rhythmed feature track and album of the same name, but what I appreciate most about this film is that it is based on the premise of women banding together.

As cloying as their falling-in-love story may be, it is their staying-in-love story that stands out from other dramas. In a virtual roundtable interview, The Chronicle had the opportunity to speak with Rothe and Shum about their experience portraying this story of heartbreak and hope.

Paris was silent about the abuse and its consequent nightmares for decades, but she used this documentary to publicly bring attention to the issue and reconnect with other survivors from the facility. Each woman holds a sign explaining how Provo traumatized them, each resolute stare and red-taped mouth breaking her silence. “This is Paris” won’t end child abuse. But it will push the conversation. 

In his latest film, “The King of Staten Island,” director Judd Apatow collaborates with Pete Davidson to deliver a brutally honest portrayal of every burnout’s most dreaded question: “What are you going to do with your life?” 

“From the beginning of time, people told stories to each other,” Burnett said. “I think that is with us and will be with us forever. The very basics of storytelling will exist. I think the thing that is ever-changing is the distribution and consumption of those stories.”

Wake up. Shower. Make coffee. Go to work. Take out the trash moments before the garbage truck arrives. It’s a monotony we know all too well, and one that often calls for an escape.

Funnier than the middle-aged men dancing like it’s (still) 1999 or the witty banter between Cassie and Ryan, though, is that the film’s antihero isn’t that villainous. Cassie doesn’t wield an axe or steal muscle cars or kidnap unsuspecting citizens. Her biggest threat — and her greatest power — is that she’s aware of herself.

In addition to skillfully executing the two genres, “Freaky” allows the actors to embrace characters across genders and generations. “Millie is Millie,” Newton explains, regardless of the body she’s in. This is telling of the actors’ comedic talent and range: I never thought I’d see Vince Vaughn wiggle his booty cheerleader-style or ask if he was “petite.” 

It doesn’t carry the macabre atmosphere of rustic "scary house" characteristic of “The Conjuring” or “American Horror Story: Murder House,” but its empty inhumanity makes it even more uninviting than its antiquated counterpart. This domestic asylum captures how horror is not always the work of the supernatural, but one’s own guilt.