Long Beach
We’ve waiting a long time for the new Ghostbusters, and it was worth the wait for this exuberant, intelligent comedy. And Will Smith should be an Oscar contender for his role as Richard Williams in “King Richard.”
It’s Viewing the Videos.
STREAMING
King Richard (HBO Max, also in theaters)
“King Richard,” the story of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams and their father Richard, is an excellent take on a traditional story of overcoming incredible obstacles to achieve success and fame in America and around the world.
It’s about sports but it’s also about family, loyalty and believing in your dreams. Based on the true story, it might sugarcoat some of the less savory aspects of the story — Richard’s infidelity and whether or not he was too hard on his daughters — but he’s portrayed as deeply loving his daughters while pushing them to achieve greatness.
It’s a mark of the skill of the filmmakers that the movie has excitement and tension even though we know how it’s going to end.
Will Smith is Richard Williams (King Richard) and shows why he’s one of the biggest stars in the world. Here, he’s not saving the earth as in “Independence Day” and “Men in Black,” fighting the drug dealers in “Bad Boys” or being nominated for an Oscar in “Ali.” Here, he’s a father in Compton who has dreams for his daughters. Richard spends days training his daughters and then goes to work as a security guard after putting them to bed.
Smith creates a complicated, flawed character but he goes a long way toward making Richard likeable in spite of it all. Aunjanue Ellis is Brandy Williams, the mother and wife, and makes the best of what could have been a stereotyped role.
Saniyya Sidney is Venus and Demi Singleton is Serena and beside being believable as children, do convincing jobs as potential tennis superstars.
This is a feel-good movie for children and parents that has some great life lessons for all concerned.
Four Palm Trees.
The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO Max) 10 episodes
“The Sex Lives of College Girls” provides a nice, snarky, edgy contrast to one of this week’s features, “King Richard.”
Nothing wrong with “King Richard,” but it’s a pretty happy movie that provides some life lessons along the way.
“Sex Lives” (gotta love that title) on HBO Max is the story of four freshman girls at the exclusive Evermore College in Vermont. Both the creators, Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, have some experience in sharp-edged comedy. We know Kaling from “The Office,” “The Mindy Project” and “Never Have I Ever” and Justin Noble, who besides working on “Never Have I Ever,” put in some time on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
These credentials serve them well. This product is sleekly written and produced and well-cast. The girls are played by Renee Rapp, Pauline Chalamet, Alyay Chanelle Scott and Amrit Kaur. They’re all relatively inexperienced but are still comedy Ninjas as they try to find their way in the environment of an exclusive private collage.
There’s frank language and some nudity here, but it’s not “College Girls Gone Wild.” This is mostly a comedy, but it does deal with some serious issues like the female athlete who becomes involved with her coach and one of the girls is having difficulty with her sexual identity.
It’s traditional this time of year to be inundated with upbeat stories and “The Sex Lives of College Girls” offers a welcome contrast to all the feel-good films.
Three Palm Trees.
THEATERS
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Everybody relax. The new movie “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” lives up to its legacy almost 40 years after the original. The new one is funny, exciting, and pays homage to the legendary comedy while bringing a new, refreshing and unexpectedly excellent reboot of the comedy classic.
The new movie respects the traditions and the things that made the first movie (and its sequel “Ghostbusters II”) so great. They play the great original song and include some of the iconic music cues reminiscent of the original.
There are plenty of other touches that respect the original, but to mention them would spoil the fun.
In the movie, the original Ghostbusters have been out of business for years. Caille (Carrie Coon), the estranged daughter of Egon, one of the original Ghostbusters, has fallen on hard financial times. She is forced to move to a broken-down farmhouse Egon owned in Summerville, Okla.
She’s accompanied by her children Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard from “Stranger Things”), who are a nice change from the usual perfect movie kids. Phoebe is 12, wears glasses and overalls. Trevor is her 15-year-old brother who has an unruly mop of hair and struggles to make his way through the world of being a teenager.
Paul Rudd (People Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year) shows why he might be better known for comedy work, as a substitute teacher who gets caught up in the battle to save the universe.
This is class all the way. Fun and a new and different story instead of rehashing previous material.
Director/cowriter Jason Reitman is the son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two movies and produced this one.
So often a reboot is a poor attempt to cash in on the goodwill generated by the original. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” rises above the usual to provide solid entertainment. See it with an audience to enjoy the laughs and surprises.
Five Palm Trees.
FROM THE VAULT
Juno
Jason Reitman directed this 2007 comedy drama about a teenage girl dealing with an unplanned pregnancy that combines humor, sensitivity and great performances by Elliot Page (when she was known as Ellen), Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons and Jennifer Garner in a straight dramatic role as the woman who agrees to adopt Page’s character’s baby. Top shelf work all the way around.
HOW WE RATE THE FILMS
Home videos are simply rated recommended or not recommended.
New Releases are rated as follows:
Five Palm Trees: Must see
Four Palm Trees: Worth seeing on the big screen
Three Palm Trees: Recommended for home viewing or on the big screen
Two Palm Trees: OK if you’re not paying
One Palm Tree: Skip it. Save your money and your time.
