k8 gav

randomly stubbled upon this while looking through kirsten dunst's filmography and then roxy and i watched it after smoking and eating ramen. it's so stupid, so funny, and the costumes are incredible. we paused the movie like 40 min in to get froyo and were like "holy shit, there's still like 50 minutes left in this" which was awesome. loved that they weren't republicans and were just sweet, loving girls. shout out to the guy playing nixon who is so god damn funny. also random ryan reynolds appearance where he looks kind of ugly lmao.

finding out this was a play first was huge bc this screenplay reads more way more like a play. also, when the credits rolled i saw that the playwright adapted and directed this which makes even more sense. i felt this way about janet planet, but it's interesting to see what playwrights are interested in exploring on film that they can't on stage. about the actual movie, i thought it was great. kara young and mallori johnson are incredible leads with palpable chemistry. the other performances were also really great and some of them really fun. i liked the whiplash between high stakes and quieter or more reflective moments. i really loved sterling k. brown's performance and the choice to play the man in that way. the world of is god is is fantastic in the way that all play settings are magic, but this performance was very soft, understated, and almost normal. he could've been a mythical being like god, but instead he's just some man, and that makes him even more dangerous and scary. love love love plays! plays are awesome!

the last time i watched this was for a film class i took on zoom during covid and it was awesome then. seeing it in a theatre years later was so special. i love this movie, which is not a new or novel thing but it bears repeating. i love all of the models that are used to show xanadu and the pile and piles of things that kane has. i also said this in my review of sahib bibi aur galum, but directors working in black and white are ARTISTS!!!!! the way faces are obscured and the lighting!! it's a thing of beauty. and even knowing the end it's still a gut punch. absolutely superb.

this story is fine, very pygmalion and nothing to write home about. what is incredible in this is the musical performances from judy garland and fred astaire. i think bc judy is such an incredible singer we forget that she can dance! she is keeping up with fred astaire in this!! i love watching movies where you can tell that the studios just had cash to fucking burn. it's also apparently set in 1912 which like sure, but it's fine because then the fake musicals they do don't need to make any sense or contribute to the plot in a meaningful way. it was a nice morning watch. shout out to youtube movies that are free with ads and shout out to ad block <3