‘Cheers’, Cosiness and the Illusion of Companionship
Cheers‘ characters float side-by-side as if suspended in a mug of amber-colored beer, going nowhere and befriending no one, least of all one another.
comedy
‘The Christophers’ Is So Soderbergh
In his most predictably unpredictable manner, Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers explores how the most frustrating chapters in our lives can lead to unexpected, meaningful events.
‘Hold That Blonde!’ Hilariously Attempts Hysterical Slapstick
If George Marshall’s Hold That Blonde! can’t rise to the brilliance of a Preston Sturges movie, it’s an often-hilarious attempt.
Jack Benny Tries to Be a Lothario in These Saucy 1930s Comedies
It’s absurd to think of Jack Benny or his characters as lotharios, but he does his best in these 1930s saucy, censor-restricted comedies.
Charli XCX Immortalizes a Moment
By satirizing Brat’s success, The Moment argues that Charli XCX is ambivalent to the accolades she cannot help but chase.
MGM’s ‘Lovely to Look At’ Lives Up to It’s Title
MGM musical Lovely to Look At is gorgeous stuff; the colors bleed so richly and profusely that they spread across the frames like melted crayons.
The Best TV of 2025 You May Have Missed
These best TV shows you may have missed include a show that’s ludicrously funny, one filled with scattershot mayhem, one that’s brutal and macabre, and a surreal comedy.
‘The Incredible Snow Woman’ Warmly Embraces Its Cold Outsider
The Incredible Snow Woman takes in its difficult, dysfunctional, and quirky protagonist and warmly embraces her.
‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’ Snowplow’s into Courtroom Camp
Gwyneth Goes Skiing delights in the absurdity of the Gwyneth Paltrow lawsuit and snowballs theatre-goers with meta-commentary on the proceedings.
‘Promise Her Anything’ Leaves Us Holding the Baby
In Hollywood’s eternal battle between the puritan and the prurient, Promise Her Anything shows the puritan still holds the whip. Oh, baby.
‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ Traverses Those Awkward Familial Gaps
Jim Jarmusch’s low-key comedy of awkwardness, Father Mother Sister Brother explores the things we can never know about our families.
Adrian Mole’s Very English Portrait of Male Anguish
In Sue Townsend’s hands, comedy doesn’t soften despair; it sharpens it. Her creation, Adrian Mole, is a most perfectly flawed portrait of loneliness and failure.