Donna Summer ruled the music charts in the 1970s, turning out hit after hit. She and her longtime producer, Giorgio Moroder, had perfected the formula for dance music of that era. In November 1979, they came out with “On the Radio”. The track was written for the Jodie Foster movie Foxes. It’s used throughout, sometimes with Donna’s vocals, other times with just the gorgeous melody providing the film’s score. In the song, her ex-boyfriend writes her a letter, but he loses it before it can be delivered. Luckily, someone finds it and reads it on the radio. Sure, why not. Donna instantly knows it’s from her ex. She’s been pining for him ever since they broke up and this opens up the door for a reconciliation. That’s the power of the radio. The lyrics aren’t really the important part here. It’s more about the feelings that Donna conveys. The song starts off slow like a ballad. Her voice is relaxed and subdued, pulling you in. Then the beat drops and you’re elated as her soaring vocals take you to the dance floor. It’s a fantastic mix of emotions. “Radio” went on to become Donna’s tenth top ten single on the Billboard 100, further cementing her status as the Queen of Disco. “Whoa, oh, oh…”
I remember going to see Interview with the Vampire twice
in the theater in 1994. That was a big deal to a 15-year-old without a lot of
money to spend, but there was something about it that compelled me to go back.
The film was actually on my radar long before it hit the theaters. Back then
there wasn’t a lot of gay content in mainstream movies, so when something even
remotely homo-adjacent came out I was on it. I read an interview that Tom
Cruise did with Vanity Fair where he talked about Interview being
homoerotic. The reporter also referred to Cruise’s character, Lestat, as a
“bisexual bitch god”. That sold me immediately. I went in for the gay parts,
but actually ended up loving the movie as a whole. It was beautiful, gothic,
and exciting. Plus, I was invested in the well-written characters. The other
day, I watched the film for the first time in awhile and enjoyed it all over
again. Unsurprisingly, this vampire story still holds up 25 years later.
Backing up for a minute, Interview is based on Anne
Rice’s wildly popular novel of the same name that came out in 1976. I read it
years later, after seeing the movie, and loved it too. In the book, Louis
recounts his suspenseful story of living as a vampire for the last 200 years.
Rice quickly sold the movie rights, but the property languished in development
hell for years. At one point, John Travolta was set to play the part of the
interviewer. That would have been a different take. With a different
Scientologist. Finally, in the 90s, the movie was greenlit with Cruise attached
to play Lestat. Rice wasn’t having it. She thought Mr. Top Gun was
completely wrong for the part and told anyone that would listen. Before this,
Cruise always played the hero and Lestat is way on the other side of the
spectrum. He’s ferocious and manipulative. Hello, bitch god. Cruise dove head
first into the role, though, with platinum blonde hair, a lithe body, grand
mannerisms, and a haughty affected accent. He truly became Lestat and made you
forget about his good guy movie star persona for a moment. After seeing a cut
of the film, Rice ate her words and praised his performance. Sidenote, when
Cruise made Collateral, a decade later, there was so much hype about him
playing a villain for the first time. Um, not the first time, people. Then
there’s Brad Pitt as Louis. He has famously spoken about how miserable he was
while making the film, mainly because of the long months of shooting in the
dark and the painful contacts he had to wear to get those vampire eyes. The
misery shows in his performance. But that’s a good thing since Louis is the
Debbie Downer of vampires. He literally whines through the entire movie about
not wanting to kill people. The guilt eats him up. Dude, did you not know what
keeps the undead…undead? Kirsten Dunst rounds out the cast as Claudia, the
little girl turned vampire. She’s amazing as a precocious bloodsucker and
earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work.
Going back to the gay content, there’s a good deal of it
throughout the film. Some is overt while other moments are more subtextual.
Lestat desperately wants Louis, but we never see them actually getting it on.
The scene where he turns Louis, leaping on him and thoroughly sucking on his
neck, is quite sensual though. Also, the two sort of become a couple after they
turn and raise Claudia as their own. Like a gayer 1800s version of My Two Dads.
Later in the movie, Louis and Armand (Antonio Banderas doing his best Dracula
impersonation) have an almost kiss. They get so close. You just want them to go
for it already, but this was 1994. The camp factor is pretty strong as well.
Almost every line out of Lestat’s mouth is full of shade. One of my
favorites is aimed at Louis, “You whining coward of a vampire who prowls the
night killing rats and poodles!” Then there’s the coven of vampires in Paris
that are pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires. Very
Victor/Victoria. And, Claudia’s tirade when she discovers she’ll never be able
to grow old or change her little girl appearance, screaming and feverishly
cutting her hair, is standard diva behavior.
Interview ended up doing very
well in ‘94. It was the number one film the weekend it opened and went on to
make over $200 million at the box office. A sequel starring Cruise and Pitt,
based on Rice’s The Vampire Lestat, was talked about but never happened.
It would have interesting to see where the story went. But the memories of the
original are more than enough to sustain me. Repeatedly.
It’s time for the finale. Oddly, this season has felt both
long and short. Ryan Murphy has that effect. I’ve enjoyed 1984, though.
There were some rough spots, but it held my attention. Plus, it had a great 80s
soundtrack. Always a plus. Let’s see how this ends.
Bobby
Were’ in 2019 with AHS veteran Finn Wittrock. He has
ventured into Redwood. Voluntarily. The camp grounds are overgrown and the
stages from the 1989 music festival are still up. Montana arrives on the scene.
She’s surprised to see anyone since they haven’t had visitors in years. Finn
reveals that he’s Jingles’ son, Bobby, and he’s looking for his dad. Didn’t see
that coming. His aunt informed him that Jingles came to Redwood to avenge his
mother’s death and was never heard from again. But Bobby has been receiving
anonymous checks ever since. He thinks it’s his dad. Trevor pops up and he and
Montana graphically show Bobby that they’re ghosts. After he finishes freaking
out, the two tell him that Jingles is dead too, but they haven’t seen him since
1989.
Ghost community
In a flashback, were at the music festival. None of the
talent has shown up. No Debbie Gibson or Belinda Carlisle. Oh, that would have
been a good lineup. Courtney confesses to Margaret that he told Trevor about
the Kojagoogoo massacre causing him to send the concertgoers away. She reacts
by shooting Courtney in the head. It really doesn’t pay to be her assistant.
Margaret confronts Trevor at the camp entrance. He threatens to tell the cops
about all of her evil deeds. In response, she shoots him in the crotch. Oh no,
not the dick! She does this just outside of camp so he can’t come back to life.
Margaret takes off as Montana shows up. She begs Trevor to crawl into camp, but
he can’t make it. Luckily, Brooke happens upon them and helps Trevor get into
camp. He dies and is quickly resurrected. Montana is moved by Brooke’s selfless
act. She decides to be a better person. She and the other ghost folk bond
together as a community. We see Trevor and a counselor trick, stab, and kick Bruce
over the camp line so he won’t come back. Then all the ghosts kill Ramirez.
It’s disgustingly bloody. Or bloody disgusting. In order to prevent him from
being saved by Satan and leaving camp, they’ve been killing him consistently
for 30 years. That’s dedication. Back in 2019, Montana and Trevor wrap up their
story and order Bobby to go. Ramirez will kill him if he finds him there. Of
course, Ramirez has come back to life just then and managed to avoid being slaughtered
by that night’s ghost watchers. He nearly succeeds in killing Bobby, but the
ghosts save the day. Montana tells Bobby to go to the asylum and look for the
medical director. They’ll have answers for him.
Final Girls
At the asylum, Bobby meets the director: Donna. Yay, a black
person survived! She tells Bobby that his father was innocent and Margaret was
the real killer. And we’re back to 89. Donna comes after Margaret, but isn’t
able to kill the bitch. Then Brooke tries to take her out, but Margaret manages
to shoot her. Before she can get away again the ghost gang grabs her. In a
funny, yet gory scene, Margaret is chopped up, thrown in a woodchipper, and
expelled over camp lines. She had it coming. Back in 2019, Bobby remarks that
Donna is the final girl. He also thinks she’s the one who has been sending him
those checks over the years. But she denies it. Someone else made it out of
camp. They trace the checks back to a savings & loan in Oregon. Bobby’s
benefactor is actually Brooke. Eh, that was anti-climatic. Turns out she didn’t
die at Redwood after all. Ray found her and got her across camp lines. Someone
called an ambulance and Brooke was rescued. She wanted to move on from Redwood and
start a new life, so she didn’t tell Donna she was alive. She hoped Bobby could
live beyond the shadow of Redwood, thus all the checks. Did anyone else think
there was more to this story? Like it was actually Satan who saved Brooke? Just
me? Anyways, Brooke and Donna are both final girls. That happens sometimes…the
latest Halloween. Later, Bobby tells Donna that he’s going to Redwood to
find his dad. Real smart.
Final showdown
Bobby encounters Margaret on his trip back to camp. Why is
she there?! Turns out she died in the woodchipper a second before her bits were
launched over the camp line. She’s been hiding out from the others ever since.
She promises to take Bobby to Jingles. Lies. Instead she tries to kill him.
Jingles appears and kills her instead, saving Bobby. Father and son have a
touching reunion. Aww. But then resurrected Margaret kills Jingles. Damn! Bobby
takes off. Thankfully, Jingles’ mom pops up, kills Margaret, and has a nice
moment with her grandson. The other ghosts arrive to deal with Margaret. I’m
guessing she’ll get the Ramirez treatment. Montana tells Bobby to go, but to
remember them and tell their ghost stories. The 80s will never die. Ok, girl.
At the entrance to Redwood, Jingles, his mom, and his brother wave goodbye to
Bobby as Mike + the Mechanics’ “The Living Years” plays. This had to be the
sweetest ending to an AHS season ever. I was surprisingly moved.
It’s rare to see a current film set in the past that feels
so incredibly authentic to the time period it’s trying to recreate. I
experienced this recently with the new feature Motherless Brooklyn. Instantly,
the audience is fully immersed in the 1950s with the cinematography, production
design, and costumes taking you into that world.
The film, set in New York circa 1957, focuses on Lionel (Edward Norton) a young man working at a detective agency headed by his idol, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). At the start of the movie, we see Frank investigating a secret case that ultimately gets him killed. Lionel takes it upon himself to solve his boss’ murder. Over the course of a few days, he follows clues that lead him down a dark trail through a city filled with complex characters. There’s an extremely corrupt public official (Alec Baldwin), a brilliant engineer with secrets (Willem Dafoe), and an activist (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) fighting for the disenfranchised citizens of New York. They all tie together in a series of twists and turns.
Norton wrote, produced, and directed Brooklyn, a
passion project that has been in the making for 20 years. You can tell that he
has loved and nurtured this film for decades. The writing is intelligent and
the direction is precise. He also delivers on the acting front. Lionel is an emotionally
scarred man with Tourette’s syndrome. He can’t control his ticks or the random offensive
words that come out of his mouth. A lesser actor could have hammed this up and
gone really big. But Norton makes Lionel a fully formed person and not a caricature.
The supporting players also enrich the material. Mbatha-Raw, in particular, is
quiet yet effective in her portrayal of Laura.
The book, of the same name, that Brooklyn was adapted
from came out in the 90s and was set in that decade. Norton made the decision
to change the time period because it worked well with the 50s film noir feel of
the story. It was great choice. This film is on par with the classics that were
actually released in that era.
The other day I heard the disappointing news that BH90210 got canceled. I knew it was a long shot, but I was still holding out hope for a renewal. It was such a fun, enjoyable, nostalgic show that could have gone one for many seasons. I’ve read so many comments about how this should have been a true reboot, picking up where the original series left off. As if that would have ensured its survival. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I wholeheartedly disagree. By the time Beverly Hills 90210 went off the air in 2000, it had run through every possible storyline, character type, and 90s fashion trend. Truthfully, it should have ended around season 7 or 8. So, there was nothing else to add in 2019. However, the idea of a meta-dramedy about the actors making a reboot of their iconic show felt smart and fresh. You could go anywhere with that. They poked fun of themselves and the show in a clever loving way, creating a new world for the fans who adored the old one. It was truly inspired and I’m sad it’s over. But you shouldn’t cry because the party ended. Be happy you were invited at all. In the end, I feel lucky that I got to experience this unique, heartfelt not-so-reboot-reboot of my favorite show.
***In the event that another network or streaming service picks up BH90210, this will make a great story for season 2.
We’ve reached the penultimate episode. This one felt scattered and too many pointless characters stole the focus. Hopefully, Ryan Murphy & Co. can wrap it up in a satisfying way next week.
Nosey reporter
We begin at a diner near camp. Brooke dreams of the future,
post-killing Margaret. She may go to Australia like Crocodile Dundee. Goals. Donna
tells her she’ll need all her strength if she’s going to be the Final Girl, the
last woman standing, who defeats the killer, in scary movies. Brooke thinks
they can both be final girls, but Donna explains that black people don’t usually
survive horror movies. I hope she’s wrong this time. Their breakfast is interrupted
by Stacey, a National Inquirer reporter. She’s on her way up to Redwood because
she’s writing a book about Jingles & Brooke. She’s also very annoying. Brooke
pretends she’s just a “Brooke-lookalike”, but Stacey isn’t fooled. Later on, she
shows up at their motel room. She’s been doing research on Broke and Donna for
her book. In order to keep her quiet, the twosome agree to give her material
about their time at camp. She just needs to sneak them into Redwood. Donna
thinks Stacey will expose them, but Brooke has a plan to kill her. Right when
she’s about to cut her throat, though, Donna stops her. She reminds her fellow-maybe-final
girl that she’s not evil like Margaret.
Mary Kay
Lucky for Bruce, a Mary Kay lady, driving a very pink car, found him on the highway and saved his life. But it was unlucky for her since he stole her car and killed her. She’ll never make her sales quota now. Bruce arrives at camp just in time to run down ghost Jingles, who was in the middle of a catfight (they rolled down a hill Alexis & Krystal-style) with Ramirez. Jingles ghost disappears leaving Bruce with his serial killer idol. He fans out and offers to help Ramirez find his nemesis. Meanwhile, Jingles comes back to life and encounters the hitchhiker guy from episode 1. Hitchhiker explains how he’s died more times than he can count and he loses a piece of himself each time. Jingles vows that won’t happen to him.
In memoriam
Montana and Trevor are basking in the afterglow, post-ghost-human
sex. Is this Grey’s Anatomy? Trevor wants to stay at camp with her and declares
his love. Seriously? As they leave the cabin, still canoodling, Margaret spots
them. She’s not having the best morning since Courtney told her about the Kojagoogoo
massacre. Poor Court had to dispose of the bodies. Good news: their ghosts are
still around. “Too Shy” will never die. Elsewhere, Xavier takes Ramirez and
Bruce to where Jingles body is buried. They figure his ghost will show up there.
They’re right. Jingles appears and stabs Xavier to death. Before he can do the
same to Ramirez, Margaret pops up and shoots him. That bitch. Later on, Margaret,
Ramirez, and Bruce run into Stacey. She got away from Brooke, only to be murdered
by this psycho trio. Margaret wants them to kill everyone else who’s coming up
for the festival. Then she can turn Redwood into an 80s memoriam mecca and make
money off the tourists. Again, that bitch!
Family reunion
Jingles comes back to life to again. This time he’s strung up
by the vengeful counselors. He pleads with them to let him go so he can kill
Ramirez. He has to save his son. He even throws it out there that Montana
brought Ramirez to Redwood and really lit the serial killer spark in him. So,
this mess is partly her fault. Montana surprisingly feels bad about this. She
heads off into the woods where Trevor finds her. He’s decided to kill himself
in order to stay at camp with her forever. Oh Trevor. Montana, still upset
about Ramirez, rejects him. At the lake, Xavier and the other ghosts are
killing Jingles slowly, preventing him from getting to Ramirez. It’s a real
dick move. They toss him into a boat and set it off. Suddenly, Jingles’ brother,
Bobby, pops up from the beneath the water and drags him into the lake. It’s just
like the last scene in the original Friday the 13th. Totally saw
that coming. But I still jumped. Jingles comes back to life. Again. His mother
and Bobby are having a picnic by the lake. He feels defeated for not being able
to save his son, but his ghost family urges him to focus on being with them. He’ll
find peace here. As the hitchhiker predicted, he’s lost a piece of himself. So,
Jingles decides to stay. On one hand, it was a sweet scene. I’m glad he’s
reunited with his family. On the other, I can’t imagine this being the end for
Jingles.
Another day, another Mariah anniversary. On November 2, 1999
she released her seventh studio album, Rainbow. It followed in the
footsteps of the Butterfly album in terms of leaning towards a more
r&b and hip hop sound. But she still retained the pop and the ballads. Rainbow
would be her last recording with Columbia Records. It produced two #1 hits,
her 14th and 15th. A nice way to exit a record label.
Here are its twelve songs ranked.
12. Did I Do That?
The question should be why did you do that. As in, why did
you make this horribly janky song? She sings about the lousy guy she once dated
and how she regrets the relationship. She should regret the lame lyrics, bad
sample, and adding Mystikal and Master P to the production. Much like that
ex-boyfriend, this song is not worth your time.
11. How Much
In theory, a Mariah/Usher collaboration sounds like a good
idea. In reality, it’s lackluster. Their voices don’t mix well together and the
song never goes anywhere. Not even the Tupac “Me and My Girlfriend” sample can
help it.
10. Against All Odds
A fairly lazy remake. Not much has changed from the original
Phil Collins song except for some unnecessary over-singing. The word “now”
doesn’t need multiple syllables.
9. Thank God I Found You
TGIFY was Mariah’s 15th number one. However, this syrupy
love ballad is one of her weakest. I don’t know why boy band 98 Degrees was
featured. They’re nothing more than backup singers here. The remix with Joe and
Nas is much better.
8. Bliss
One of Mariah’s vocal strengths is her whistle note. It’s
best, though, when it’s used sparingly. So, singing the entire chorus of “on
and on” via whistle is a bit much. She could have used a lower register and
still achieved the sexy mood she was going for.
7. After Tonight
This is a little too similar to “My All” from Butterfly. Both
are ballads that rely on a Spanish guitar. We’ve been down this road before.
But it’s a pretty song with great layered vocals that make it seem like she’s duetting
with herself.
6. Petals
Mariah laments that she’s searched for security with the
wrong people. A marriage to a patriarchal figure that was never going to work
or friends who ended up selling her out. It’s a beautifully sad record. But
there’s hope because she tells us that she’ll recover at the end.
5. X-Girlfriend
A stalker ex-girlfriend won’t leave Mariah and her man alone.
She keeps calling and hanging up and has even been pestering the dude’s mom.
Mariah dismisses her with some signature shade, “Hey x-girlfriend, it’s too bad
when you had him ya’ll thing didn’t work. But he’s all mine now so stop pursuing
him before you get your feelings hurt”. She co-wrote this track with She’kspere
and Kandi Burruss, the team behind TLC’s “No Scrubs”. X has a similar sound,
but manages to stand on its own.
4. Crybaby
Mariah is crying over a breakup and unable to sleep, even
though she has a new guy in bed next to her. Diva problems. This is a cool mix
of r&b, hip hop, and a tiny bit of a jazz on top. Snoop Dogg pops up to
deliver a smooth verse, tying it all together.
3. Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)
Every true steadfast Mariah fan, including myself, has a
story about how her music got them through a difficult time. She often writes
songs about persevering, overcoming an obstacle, and believing in yourself.
CTTA is one of those. She sings about people telling her she doesn’t matter at
all, trying to break her down. But she won’t let them snuff out the light that
she has inside her. It’s a message that resonated with me at the time and
continues to inspire today.
2. Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker is a fun pop song with a dash of hip hop
courtesy of Jay-Z. I especially like his “Want a piece of paper, scribble down
I hate ya” line. Mariah easily built a bridge between the pop and rap worlds in
the 90s. These days it’s commonplace for pop stars to feature a rapper on their
songs. But she was one of the pioneers.
1. Heartbreaker (Remix)
As much as I love the original, the remix of Heartbreaker
took the song to the next level. Mariah recruited Da Brat and Missy Elliott to
add a new flavor. Brat kicks things off with her line, “Guess who’s back in the
motherfucking house, with two big tig ol’ bitties for your mouth”. And Missy
raps/sings about how she has “that good thang”. All this is done over a sample
of Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun”. Once again Mariah takes elements of hip hop and
makes it her own. That’s why she’s often imitated, but never duplicated.
Is November 1st too early to start listening to Christmas
music? Apparently, Columbia Records didn’t think so when they released Mariah
Carey’s Merry Christmas on this day 25 years ago. They didn’t even let
people have Thanksgiving dinner before hitting them with the jingle bells.
Mariah was apprehensive about doing the project at all. Back then a Christmas
album was something older artists did at the end of their careers. At the time,
she was 24 and had only racked up four years in the music business. Releasing MC
turned out to be a smart move in the end since it went on to become one of the
best-selling Christmas albums of all-time. So, put on your Santa hat and slide
down this ranking of the album’s ten songs.
10. Jesus Born on this Day
I can’t get behind a children’s choir. I get the sentiment and why someone thought it would be cute, but their little voices make this track sound cheesy. This isn’t Barney’s Christmas album.
9. Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child
Mariah goes for a more traditional gospel feel with this one.
The results are boring. It’s the song you would fall asleep to in the middle of
a church service.
8. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
Eh. Santa didn’t need come to town this time.
7. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
This is a perfectly fine cover, but the song is so associated
with singer Darlene Love that nobody else should attempt it. Not even Mariah.
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)
Short and sweet, but still very pretty. Hark, indeed.
5. Silent Night
A beautiful traditional track. It’s the song you put on while
sitting by a cozy fire.
4. Joy to the World
A rousing rendition that actually exudes joy. Even better is
the live performance from 1994, where Mariah really breaks it down with an
enthusiastic choir. Feel, feel feel it!
3. Miss You Most at Christmas Time
The second-best original song on the album. It finds Mariah
pining for her guy during the holiday season. Typically, Christmas music
focuses on the happier, joyous side of life. But I like a sadder song too. The holidays
can be a melancholy reflective time for some. Why not wallow in you egg nog for
a little bit.
2. O Holy Night
I’m not one for traditional religious Christmas music, but
this version of OHN has always won me over. Her vocal here is gorgeous. Deep,
rich, and moving. The backup singers add to the fullness of the track. And the
high note near the end always makes me happy.
1. All I Want for Christmas is You
The moment you hear the first music box-like notes on that
keyboard, you know Christmas is coming. Literally. Then Mariah’s kinda-a
capella vocal comes in, followed by those loud booms. It really sound s like
something that came out of the 60s/Phil Specotr/wall of sound era. At the same
time, it’s fresh and modern. So, the song can appeal to anyone. That’s why it
has lasted so long and is still relevant. Last year it made it to the #3 spot
on the Billboard 100. Hopefully it goes to #1 for this year’s anniversary. That
would be quite festive.
This episode gave us some character backstories, a couple of
AHS veterans, and an 80s pop group massacre. Fun.
Camp Golden Star
The opener is a flashback to 1948 at Camp Golden Star. We’ll
learn later that this was the precursor to Redwood. Oh, AHS regular, Lily
Rabe is there. I always liked her, especially in the Coven season. This time
she’s playing Jingles’ mother. She works at the camp and also lives there with
her sons Bobby (the favorite) and Benjamin (aka Jingles, the not-so-favorite). Btw,
great casting with the kid who plays preteen Jingles. One day at the lake, Bobby
is killed in a boating accident. Mother Jingles loses her shit and curses
Benjamin, for not looking after his brother, and the counselors who also weren’t
keeping an eye on her son. They were too busy having sex. Wait, is Bobby Jason
Voorhies?
At the roller rink
After rescuing Brooke from execution, Donna takes her to a
motel and helps her come down from the drug she gave her to make it appear like
she was dead. Brooke recovers and hears about the music festival Margaret is
throwing at Redwood. She vows revenge for the years that bitch took from her. Donna
takes her to a roller rink to cheer her up. Cue the fun skating montage. It’s
totally rad. Oh and then AHS regular Dylan McDermott (not Dermot
Mulroney) pops up. I like these little cameos. Dylan is playing Bruce, a
sketchy guy who asks the girls for a ride. Don’t do it! They refuse. Later, who
should happen upon them when their car won’t start? Yep, Bruce. He fixes their car
and Donna offers him a ride in return. On the road, Bruce starts to act creepy
and the ladies want to kick him out. Unfortunately, a cop pulls up. Brooke is
worried he’ll recognize her. The cop warns them about a killer who has been
murdering women on this highway. Of course, Bruce is the guy. He shoots and
kills the cop. The women manage to drive off. But Bruce catches up with them in
the cop’s car and rear ends their car into a truck. They’re knocked unconscious
and he kills the other driver. Brooke wakes up with a gun to her head and Donna
tied to the back of the truck. Bruce gives her the choices of driving off and dragging
her friend to her death or getting shot in the face. Is there a third option? A
quick-thinking Brooke manages to get the upper hand, saving herself and Donna.
They tie Bruce to a pole and cut his thumbs off. Eww, but deserved. Now it’s
time to set off to Redwood. Watch out Margaret.
Ghost Mommy Dearest
Jingles shows up at camp and is promptly ambushed by the counselor
ghosts. Nobody is happy to see him. Well, he did murder a large portion of the
group. Montana, head bitch-ghost in charge, fills him in on what happened after
they died. Their plan is to kill everyone at the festival in hopes of luring a
ghostbuster to the camp who can figure out a way to get them out of purgatory. Seriously?
That’s a stretch. They mention that there’s another ghost at camp. A lady in a
white nightgown who terrorizes them. Jingles realizes that it’s his mother. He
tells them about what happened to his brother in 1948. Afterwards, his mother butchered
all of the counselors (Mrs. Voorhies-style) who let her son die. She tried to get
Jingles too, but he accidently killed her instead. All of her blood and rage seeped
into the ground. Back in the present day, Jingles speculates that this has
caused the purgatory effect. He heads off to the cottage to confront his
mother. Side note, they’re definitely channeling the 1988 horror classic Lady
in White in this episode. That movie creeped me out as a kid. Anyways, Mama
Jingles tells her son that she’s trapped at camp like the others. She’s still blames
him for Bobby’s accident. The wrong son died. Ouch, mom. Furthermore, after
seeing Jingles with Margaret back in 1970, she encouraged the nutty counselor to
go on that killing spree. She really made her son’s life hell. And Christina Crawford
thought she had it bad.
Too shy shy
Meanwhile, Margaret is surveying the camp grounds with
Trevor and her assistant, Courtney. I appreciated that this episode had less of
her. Trevor sees Montana and follows her into the woods for a ghostly makeout
session. Meanwhile, Kojagoogoo has arrived to play at the festival. Too bad for
them, Raimrez also shows up. It turns out the group sold their souls to Satan
in order to achieve fame. So that’s why “Too Shy” was so popular. The Night
Stalker is here to collect on their promise. He slaughters Kojagoogoo! So that’s
why they never had another hit. Down at the lake, Jingles is getting ready for
his showdown with Ramirez. His mother appears. They have a temporary thaw when
he tells her about his son and how he named him after Bobby. Ghost mom warns him
that if Ramirez kills him, he’ll stay dead. But if Jingles offs himself, he’ll
come back. Then he can take down the Night Stalker and protect his son. Jingles
makes the sacrifice and stabs himself in the stomach. That made me a little sad.
His ghost returns, ready to take on Ramirez.
JoJo Rabbit is both a dark satire and a heartwarming
coming of age film. It’s hard to imagine those two very different genres coming
together, but writer/director Taika Waititi makes it work.
The film centers on JoJo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), a
ten-year-old growing up in Germany during World War II. He is obsessed with the
Nazi party, so much so that his imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler (Waititi
pulling triple duty). This goofy childish version of Hitler urges JoJo on when
he feels discouraged or scared. He’s a helpful imaginary friend, aside from being
evil of course.
JoJo’s mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), does not share
his political views. He discovers that she’s hiding a teenage Jewish girl, Elsa
(Thomasin McKenzie), behind a wall in their house. He threatens to turn Elsa
in, but she warns him that Rosie will be punished as well if that happens. JoJo
reluctantly accepts Elsa in his home and learns more about her and Jews in
general. He begins to question the teachings of the Nazi party as he forms a
friendship with someone who is supposed to be his enemy.
JoJo marks Davis’ film debut. It’s impressive that
such a young actor in their first role would be able to handle it so expertly.
He’s in almost every scene and carries himself like a seasoned professional.
McKenzie and Johansson are equally strong. There’s also a great supporting
performance from Sam Rockwell as JoJo’s eccentric instructor.
Over the course of the film we see JoJo grow in ways he
wasn’t expecting. Having Elsa thrown into his life allows him to see another
viewpoint and to become more compassionate. It’s a touching evolution. Then
there’s the satire where Waititi shows how insane and ridiculous the Nazis can
be. Some audience members made be offended by having a wacky version of Hitler,
but his ideologies are shown to be dangerous as well as buffoonish. You can
laugh at him and be repelled at the same time. Waititi expertly combines a mix
of emotions and tones in order to create an engaging film.
NostalGeoff 