Anna Faris, Toni Collette and David Duchovny in The Estate, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Anna Faris, Toni Collette and David Duchovny in The Estate, streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The Estate
(Amazon Prime Video)
The pedigree of this black comedy’s stellar cast is misleading. With Kathleen Turner, Anna Faris, David Duchovny, Ron Livingston and the always impressive Toni Collette in the main roles, it has the makings of a premium comedic feature. It is not.
Instead, it’s an outrageously puerile farce that finds the utmost glee in putting its cast of heavy-hitting acting talent into ever-ridiculous and perverse situations and never misses the opportunity for some innuendo or bodily-based gag.
The film’s about two nieces who come up with a scheme to get written into the will of their grumpy, yet wealthy aunt who is dying of cancer. But they quickly find they’re not the only family members with the same plan.
Critics have been divided, so enjoyment is really going to depend on your tolerance for “sexual slapstick”, as the press release for this film puts it. The Guardian’s critic dug it, writing, “This is a very silly and fantastically crass film.... despite or because of these things it is often funny.”
Feel good is the new cynical and Shrinking is the latest show to jump on the trend trailblazed by heartwarming hits like Ted Lasso, The Good Place and Parks and Recreation.
Lukita Maxwell and Harrison Ford in "Shrinking," now streaming on Apple TV+.
The show’s about a grieving therapist who can’t handle listening to his patients’ problems day after day. Ignoring his training he stops dispensing professional advice and instead begins shooting from the hip and telling them what he really thinks of their problems. Of course, the ramifications of his brutal honesty reverberate as his patients follow what he says and begin wreaking havoc in their own lives.
Jason Segel stars as the therapist while Harrison Ford steps off the big screen to join him as a fellow therapist and mentor. Critics have been mostly won over, Ford being singled out for his comedic chops, with one saying, “Despite its conventional premise, Shrinking is executed so well that the old feels new again.”
Streaming now.
Not Even
(Prime, Neon)
It’s always great to see a new local comedy series hit our screens. Especially when it doesn’t involve the same grab bag of comedians badly attempting something or cracking wise about the week’s current affairs.
The cast of new local comedy series Not Even, screening on Prime and streaming on Neon.
This six-episode series follows a group of Māori and Pasifika 20-somethings living in Wellington and grappling with life and its assorted problems. Ma makes self-destructive choices, Tongan trans woman Pua is desperate for her career to take off, Taaps is trying to help Heps and his mental health and Liz is trying to reclaim her cultural identity after the death of her dad. Think less F*R*I*E*N*D*S and more E*H*O*A
Is it worth watching? Yes, even. The series was written and directed by the award-winning script-writer Dana Leaming and produced and directed by Ainsley Gardiner, who produced Taika Waititi’s breakthrough hit Boy, 2018′s The Breaker Upperers and Aotearoa’s top-grossing film of 2020 Cousins.
New episodes Sunday’s 8.30pm on Prime and streaming on Neon on Mondays.
