BAND AID

Zoe Lister-Jones   Adam Pally   Fred Armisen

    This is how a comedy should be:  Laugh out loud funny with substance and truth underneath.  Zoe Lister-Jones is the current wonder woman who has written, directed, produced, and starred in a groundbreaking (to me) film about a couple who fights constantly, and playfully come up with the solution to their problems.  I say “groundbreaking” because Lister-Jones gets so much of the psychology right.  It won’t be anything new to therapists who have understood this for a long time, but artistic expression to address real feelings and manage conflict is therapeutic.

      Anna (Lister-Jones) and Ben (Pally) argue constantly about all kinds of things—dishes in the sink, complaining, laziness—and it seems hopeless for their marriage.  Then one day when they are attending a godchild’s party (to which they came simply as an obligation), out of boredom they sit in the sandbox, pick up toy instruments, and start playfully setting their fights to music.  It’s fun for them for the first time in months.  They gingerly try it again when they’re at the beach getting stoned.  They discover that “fighting” in song actually helps.  Later on, when they find their old guitars while cleaning out the garage they decide to be a band. 

     A neighbor drops by to chat and sees that they have guitars and have just formed a band.  He lets them know he plays drums, and waits expectantly for them to invite him to join them.  Awkward silence, so he leaves.  It’s not long, though, until the couple realizes they need a drummer, so they knock on his door.  All the scenes with Dave (Armisen) and his two roommates are so surprising and fun, despite a few believable rough spots, they put the film over the top in my opinion.

     Cleverness, dialogue, and comedic timing make this film a winner.  Lister-Jones is truly gifted in all aspects of her creation, and I will always make sure I see her future work.  I assume she must have been primarily responsible for recruiting the cast (since I don’t see a “casting by” category on IMDB), because they are so in sync with her character, especially Adam Pally.  Like Lister-Jones, he has had considerable experience in writing, directing, and producing, as well as acting.  Fred Armisen is well known as a kind of odd-character comedian, and does some of his best work in this film. 

     The musical group Lucius scored the catchy tunes in Band Aid, but in collaboration with Lister-Jones.  She wrote the lyrics into the script, then worked with Kyle Forrester of Lucius on putting them to music.  She said in a Washington Times interview that she and Pally thoroughly rehearsed them, but “Fred needed no rehearsals because he’s like a legitimate drummer” (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/12/zoe-lister-jones-writer-director-band-aid-hired-al/).

     There is one more important discovery (with the help of Ben’s mother) the couple makes, which is the value of finding out what is really bothering them, talking about it, and grieving together.

An Indie film about marriage that includes a novel way to work through conflicts.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE

Griffin Gluck   Thomas Barbusca   Lauren Graham   Rob Riggle   Andrew Daly   Isabela Moner   Alexa Nisenson   Adam Pally

          Surprise!  This is a clever film making a comedy of intelligent protest against ridiculously stringent rules at a middle school, where the principal is more about power than about education.  Poor Rafe (Gluck) (as in Rules Aren’t for Everyone) has been accepted into the only school left for him after suspensions from other schools.  He seems to get in trouble for his drawings, incredibly creative as they are.  They are so real that they instantly express whatever strong thoughts or feelings he’s having.  This is one of the strongest assets of this film in its cleverness, but more importantly, it reflects an effective way for children to cope with adversities.

           The film pits creativity and imagination against rules, discipline, and adults’ neurotic needs for power.  Guess which side wins.  And even though I cringed at some aspects of it that seem to encourage sociopathy (e.g., admiration of bank robbers), I have to give it thumbs up for showing a way for basically good kids to overcome repressive policies.

Example:  When Rafe becomes instantly popular in class for a drawing of Principal Dwight (Daly), which he had not intended to be passed around, Dwight threatens to destroy his drawing book, despite Rafe’s pleas.  Rafe’s brother recently died of leukemia, and the drawings are his way of coping with the death, and he has worked very hard on them.  Dwight turns a deaf ear and throws the book into a bucket of acid.

          [Spoiler alert!]  Another clever device of the film, which I presume is in the novel by James Patterson and Chris Tebbett on which it is based, is the insertion of what turns out to be an imaginary character, Leo (Barbusca), who is actually Rafe’s dead brother coming back to help him in all his efforts.  The viewer doesn’t find out his identity until toward the end of the film, but once again, this represents a very effective way for children to cope with loss.

          In short, the story in Middle School is about a group of students who use creativity and technology (yea! there is a techie girl, Jeannie, played by Isabela Moner) to overcome a repressive system at school and expose a principal without educational values.  Rafe and his sister Georgia (Nisenson) use similar techniques to deal with their mother’s narcissistic boyfriend. 

          Director Steve Carr and his partners in this film—including the visual effects crew—deserve praise for making a film about/for children that goes beyond plain fancy to show how imagination and creativity can be used in real-life situations to make things better. 

The star Griffen Gluck is a relatively experienced, talented actor who is convincing playing a younger child, showing the naïve, puzzled looks of one trying to figure out the mysteries of adulthood.  The other child actors (Barbusca, Moner, and Nisenson) also pull us in completely.  I loved the performance and role of Rafe’s mother (Graham) who says and does all the things a good-enough mother should do.  Likewise, the teacher (Pally) is well played.

A different protest story far from the norm enhanced by cleverly drawn cartoons.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland