Critical Week: Take a bow

Back to the movies in London after a week in the theatre in Edinburgh, and things are rather busy. Festival season is impending, with both Venice and Toronto kicking off very soon. But before that, FrightFest will hit London over this coming long weekend, so I'll be hoping some movies can scare me. And I'll be venting about them here. As for regular releases, this week I finally caught up with the hilarious mock-doc Theater Camp, starring Ben Platt, Molly Gordon and Noah Galvin. It's smart and silly, and theatre nerds will adore it. I had to see Blue Beetle in a regular cinema, as I missed the press screening, and I really enjoyed its more character and family-based approach to superhero nonsense. Ira Sachs turned up for a terrific Q&A following a screening of his latest film Passages, which is unapologetic, provocative and hugely powerful.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Fremont • Afire
Scrapper • Theater Camp
REVIEWS >

Another Sundance favourite, Scrapper stars Harris Dickinson opposite force-of-nature newcomer Lola Campbell in a scruffy, fresh British drama. John Travolta and a gritty cast lend some weight to the otherwise familiar crime thriller Mob Land. Even more familiar, the Aussie drama The Red Shoes: Next Step doesn't contain a single original moment, but it's comfy and watchable, and there are some lovely dance scenes. Warrior King is a strikingly visual Chinese animated epic that kind of rushes through a complex Tibetan legend. And Max Ophul's 1950 classic La Ronde has been restored gorgeously as part of the campaign to save the Curzon Mayfair Cinema. I'd never seen it, and it's wonderful.

In addition to all of the FrightFest titles, this coming week I'll be watching Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 3, the festival favourite Past Lives, acclaimed anime The First Slam Dunk, Jennifer Reeder's horror Perpetrator and a restoration of Powell & Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going.

Fringe: The Baron and the Junk Dealer - Sophie Zucker

The Baron and the Junk Dealer ★★★★
written and performed by Connor Ratliff, Griffin Newman
Assembly Roxy, Downstairs • Fringe, Aug.23

What looks like a wacky space adventure is actually a rather dark, dramatic parable about George Lucas' epic business deal with Disney. Although neither of those are mentioned by name, and the script is careful to avoid any direct references as it tells the story of two oddballs who are stranded on a desolate planet together. Their interaction is funny and sometimes silly, but it also plays out with a serious edge as both characters grapple with their mortality and identity, struggling with past actions and deeper motivations. Throwaway gags keep us laughing, but despite the premise this is not a comedy.

In turbulent times on a planet that's neither recent nor nearby, a cargo ship has crash-landed, and the only survivors are a majestically dressed Baron (Ratliff) and a blue elephant-nosed Junk Dealer (Newman). Both were fugitives who stowed away on the ship, so they are nervous about sending a message requesting a rescue, making up fake names and claiming to have been kidnapped by slavers. These two grifters, one wealthy and the other poor, speak to each other warily, trading jokes, insults and flirtation. The banter between them is entertaining, leading to knowing conversations that reveal deeper things about each of these men. The Junk Dealer is having nightmares about his past, while the Baron regrets a business deal that jeopardised his family. And when a rescue pod floats by, they must find out whether they can trust each other.

With matter-of-fact dialog and deadpan performances, this show is entertaining in an unusually brainy way, carried on the offhanded but fully invested work of both actors. Along the way, there's a reminder that it's important to use humour to lighten a tense situation, but try not to get mean. Work harder to be funnier; it's about craftsmanship. And there is also a remarkably astute depiction of how vulnerability helps establish trust. In the end, this is an ode to storytelling itself, noting that whether or not there is hope, it's important to live in the moment. All of us are living our own narratives, and the ending hasn't been written yet.

For details, CONNOR RATLIFF >  GRIFFIN NEWMAN >

16.Aug.23

Sophie Sucks Face ★★★★
Sophie Zucker
Underbelly Bristo Square, Dexter • Fringe, Aug.23

With her chirpy delivery and mischievous attitude, Zucker makes funerals hilarious with this skilfully written collection of songs and standup. She's recounting a story that's remarkably raw, and her offbeat combination of gleeful naughtiness and earthy vulnerability wins us over. So while this is a story about the deep ramifications of love and lust, some of which is rather inappropriate, it plays out with impeccable comic timing, musical talent and a gift for spotting absurdities in the more serious aspects of life.

It opens at her grandfather's funeral in Brooklyn, as Zucker describes chatting to colourful members of her extended Jewish family. Having had moderate acting success, including a small role in a Marvel movie, she feels like the star here, and wants to impress and seduce everyone. Then she spots her second cousin Yoni from Israel, who has grown into a towering hunk. And suddenly seduction is the only thing on her mind, leading to a make-out session even though she has her beloved boyfriend Max waiting back home in Los Angeles. What follows is a moral tug of war as Sophie tries to rationalise her desires and actions, complicated when she returns for her grandmother's funeral and faces Yoni again, this time in a sexy bodysuit and boots.

"It's not cheating if it's just gross," Zucker sings in one of her big numbers, bouncy tunes that are belted with a Broadway-caliber voice and amusing choreography. She knows her obsessive thoughts about Yoni are meaningless, a diversion from the serious feelings she has for Max, and watching her grapple with these issues is funny because she's acting like an out-of-control teen, and also moving because she knows it. All of this is also entangled with her ethnicity, including pointedly witty observations that carefully walk a fine line through the minefields of Judaism, the Holocaust and Palestine. But she's relentlessly open and honest, so even her more outrageous comments reflect something deeper. And in the final number, her raw authenticity is powerful.

For details, SOPHIE ZUCKER >

16.Aug.23

Full information at EDINBURGH FRINGE >

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C R I T I C A L   W E E K

Obviously, I haven't been watching movies this past week, so I have some catching up to do now. Screenings this coming week include the comedy Theater Camp and the restored classic La Ronde, plus Harris Dickinson in Scrapper, John Travolta in Mob Land, the animated fantasy Warrior King, the sequel to the classic, The Red Shoes: The Next One. And FrightFest is coming too...