Be Kind, Please Rewind

He’s Yuletide Up at the Moment. He’s the…

Vidiot

Week of December 4, 2015

Christmas carolers are just talented transients. First up…

Amy

Jazz musicians do drugs so it appears there are more people in the audience than there are.

Mind you, the chanteuse in this documentary could sell-out any basement nightclub.

Encouraged by her friends (Juliette Ashby, Lauren Gilbert, Nick Shymanksy) to record what would eventually become her debut album, Amy Winehouse finally harnessed her self-destructive nature for something good.

It wasn’t until her sophomore album became a juggernaut that her dependency on drugs and alcohol, and her life-long battle with bulimia, came to a head.

Thanks to home-recordings, TV appearances and interviews with her ex-husband (Blake Fielder) and contemporaries (Tony Bennett, Mos Def, Pete Doherty), Amy is a comprehensive catalogue of the crooner’s meteoric rise and fall.

Putting a human face on the much-maligned songstress, Amy helps fans fully understand their idol’s intimate lyrics and erratic actions.

Also, this is why safe heroin use should be taught to high-school jazz bands.  Green Light

 

Mistress America

The best part of having a step-sibling is getting all those new hand-me-downs for your wardrobe.

But its more than old blouses the potential relation in this comedy wants from her new sister.

Having a hard time at college, especially the campus literary club, hopeful writer Tracy (Lola Kirke) takes her mother’s advice and calls on her soon-to-be older stepsister Brooke (Greta Gerwig), an eccentric who also lives in NYC.

The two hit it off, sharing an interest in music, literature and endless introspection. So much so Tracy writes a short story about Brooke, which Brooke later takes offensive to.

The madcap escapades of a self-important socialite and her naïve ingénue, this kooky coming-of-age tale takes a highbrow approach to its comicality that could be lost on the layperson, but relished by bohemians and intellectuals alike.

Furthermore, eccentric relatives always introduce you to the most interesting imaginary people.  Yellow Light

***Wizard of Ostentatiousness***

 

Auntie Mame

Eccentric family members are usually less so once they’ve taken their meds.

However, no pill could quell the verve of the outlandish aunt in this comedy.

Sent to live with his free-spirited Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russell) in Manhattan when his father dies, Patrick (Jan Handzlik, Roger Smith) is exposed to her lavish parties and eclectic friends.

But the trustee to Patrick’s inheritance (Fred Clark) insists he go to boarding school, only visiting on holidays.

One Christmas Mame meets a millionaire at Macy’s and is whisked off around the world, when she returns she’s troubled to find a fully-grown Patrick is engaged to a vapid debutante.

The 1958 film adaptation of the book that also inspired the musical Mame, this somewhat seasonal gem forgoes the Broadway ditties in lieu of a life-affirming performance from the voguish Russell.

Incidentally, boarding school will turn you gay faster than any flamboyant aunt ever could.

He’s a Judy Garland Wreath. He’s the…

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