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paulroth
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Addicted to Fresno (2015)
Promising start & cast bottoms out with awful trope early on.
Natasha Lyonne, Judi Greer, and Aubrey Plaza all play their parts terrifically, but the promising character driven film hits an awful trope early on. Bad enough that some tasteless humor is introduced in the form of ableist jokes and making light of sex offenders, the tastelessness becomes too much to bear when an innocent (albeit disgusting) man is accused of rape by a woman who's just ashamed of pursuing sex with him. I realize this is a fiction, but the perpetuation of these kinds of fictions just make living in our rape culture all that much harder. Jessica St. Clair of Playing House and one of the nerdy scientists from Better Off Ted were promising, but didn't offset that horrible plot point.
In a World... (2013)
Terrific "Freshman" Feminist Comedy from Lake Bell
I thoroughly enjoyed this film! It was funny, poignant, clever, and sweet.
Lake Bell did a great job of evoking the audience's empathy for all the decent characters, even when they make some harsh mistakes, and especially when they're going through a tough time.
There are several very sexist-trope scenes, but I think they're clearly portrayed as being backwards and Wrong, and a few expectations were smartly turned on their heads.
While there are at least three romances and a fling in the movie, I tend to agree with the reviews that explicitly point out that it's not a rom-com. It's just a comedy with multiple dimensions. This is a Good Thing.
Plus some dirty jokes and excellent voice work. Highly Recommended! Would see it again!
Bumblefuck, USA (2011)
Trigger Warning: Rape
I don't have much to add. The previous two reviews and the movie summary got most of it. Except for the implied "clashes" -- that's an understatement! I need to say that there's an attempted rape scene. It's pretty awful to watch for its realism. It doesn't appear to reach penetration stage, but otherwise it feels accurate. Mostly, I was bored. The landlord character is creepy. The cemetery guy is a pretty typical Bro character, I think. The lesbian love interest is done very well. The interviews are both like a documentary and reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally. The camera work is done well. And Cat Smits is mesmerizing! I just wish there had been some sort of retributive act against the rapist. It did remind me of the statistic that most rapes are by people you know. Ugh, it brought of memories of when I was in a shared home. That sucked!