MOXIE
Girl power is in full effect in Amy Poehler’s high school dramedy about a revolution on the rise to confront gender equality. It has a huge heart the entire time, but Poehler’s flip of the switch from funny to dramatic doesn’t feel right every time. Hadley Robinson is wonderful as Vivian, a shy teen who gets woke when a new classmate (Alycia Pascual-Peña) encourages her to look up and take a stand. Just like her momma before her, she’s ready to raise hell, but doing it unanimously is more her style. To her surprise, her feminist zine births a movement that her school ain’t ready for. The movie is inspiring, likable, and sweet. Yet, I can’t help but think it does itself a disservice by not being edgier. That decision causes those heavy, passionate moments to not strike a nerve like they should and that’s a shame.
OPERATION VARSITY BLUES: THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL
This documentary/reenactment hybrid breaks down how the the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice occurred and the methods used by Rick Singer (portrayed by Matthew Modine) who orchestrated it all. Singer made millions off of rich families who paid for his services, which was lying, cheating, and bribing top American universities to get their kids a spot in one of them. Although director Chris Smith and writer Jon Karmen do a great job of dissecting the scam and laying out the facts, they get tripped-up when dealing with the other contributing factors of a badly broken educational system. Ones that go beyond a guy in gym clothes bullshitting people who have too much money. They’re mentioned but more time could have been afforded for them to be actually explored.
Most of what we see is the same thing over and over involving Singer on the phone working his magic to some wealthy parent and pretending the child is a gifted athlete of some overlooked college sport. You know, stuff like sailing, water polo, tennis, and rowing. College spots being bought is infuriating, though this isn’t that engaging as so much has already been played out in the headlines. Truth be told, the fascination of the “side door” of admissions, where already privileged people are guaranteed to go to “prestigious” U.S. universities, is pretty limited.
PELE
When it comes to Pelé and his football greatness, this documentary scores in a big way. The archival game footage is fantastic as is hearing from the man himself while he cements his legacy by winning his third World Cup in 1970. But the same can’t be said when directors Ben Nicholas and David Tryhorn attempt to get personal and explore Pelé’s importance to his home country of Brazil during a turbulent political time going from a democracy to a dictatorship. They do very little in questioning why the King remained silent while always appearing friendly with the man murdering his countrymen. There are weak excuses presented and all is basically forgotten as soon as it’s mentioned. Overall, while this is a thrilling highlight reel on the field, it drops the ball when it comes to the substantial stuff off the field.
YES DAY
What’s suppose to be a fun-filled day where parents can’t say no to their kids, this family comedy from director Miguel Arteta is a real drag. Based on the children’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramírez play Allison and Carlos who were wild and free before their three children were born; but since then their kids compare their mom to Mussolini and their dad’s so exhausted being the bad guy at work that there’s no way he can be it at home, too. To prove they aren’t party poopers, a day where the kids run the show is set into motion following a friendly wager about going to a concert between mother and daughter.
It wants to be light and cutesy, but annoying is more like it. Everyone on-screen is trying way too hard in getting a laugh and convincing us that they’re having a good time while learning valuable lessons. They aren’t fooling anyone. Young ones will get a kick out of a few of the ridiculous shenanigans the family goes through, but they don’t know any better. There’s just a bunch of hooey going on here. Saying no to this is the right thing to do for you and your kiddos.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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