I’m happy to see Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan will return for the fourth in their comedians-on-the-road series, “The Trip To Greece.” They have the best continuing-characters-in-movies chemistry since Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in “Before Sunrise” and its sequels.
Entertainment Weekly has announced it will be published monthly beginning this summer. I can imagine the meetings in which they tried to devise a PR strategy explaining that “weekly” never meant “once a week.” It was just a coincidence that’s how often they published the magazine.
In a Hollywood Reporter piece, Stephen Galloway tries to explain why movie comedies are struggling at the box office. Part of it has to do with so many theater screens being overrun by big-budget CGI-fests. Part of it has to do with audiences preferring to digest comedies on their home screens. Part of it has to do with stars and writers getting better deals (and more exposure) by producing content for streaming services. Part of it has to do with studios reticent to make movies that won’t have appeal in the international market. But he leaves out the most significant factor: most of these movies just aren’t funny. Have you had anyone suggest you run out to see “The Hustle,” or “Late Night,” or “The Poms”? I didn’t bother with the first, was disappointed in the second (review here), and absolutely hated the third (review here). When “Crazy Rich Asians” is considered the standard, the comedy bar is set way too low.
Speaking of which, a David Mamet comedy about Harvey Weinstein and sexual harassment is bombing bigtime on stage in London. You lost me at “David Mamet comedy.” In your own words, Dave, “Things Change.”