Movie Review: The Farewell (2019)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Lulu Wang  

Starring: Awkwafina, Zhao Shu-zhen  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: In her early 30s, Billi (Awkwafina) lives in New York City where her parents settled, but maintains a warm bond with her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shu-zhen) in Changchun, China. When Nai Nai is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, the bad news is kept from her and the family hurriedly contrives a wedding as an excuse to gather and bid her a surreptitious farewell. Billi is heartbroken about her grandma's impending demise and uneasy about the deception, but the trip is an opportunity to deepen her understanding of the family's culture.

What Works Well: Based on the actual experiences of writer and director Lulu Wang, a middle class family's bonds, stresses, and foibles create a loving cross-cultural tableau. Billi's parents immigrated to the US, her uncle's side of the family settled in Japan, and now they all gather in their homeland to participate in an underhanded farewell, Nai Nai the centre of attention but the only family member unaware that she is dying. Through this lens, awkwardness, joy within sadness, tears, laughter, frustration, and typical (but no less cutting) judgments between generations emerge. Subtle scenes tease out individuality, Billi the most obvious outsider/observer, but her mother and uncle also contributing unique perspectives. A playful music soundtrack adds texture to the affectionately messy gatherings.

What Does Not Work As Well: The clutter of characters often stuffed into small spaces reduces many of them to a peripheral presence. In general, the overriding emotions are stagnant, Billi's sadness and puzzlement held in place throughout the trip.

Key Quote:

Nai Nai: Life isn't just about what you do, it's more about how you do it.

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Movie Review: Breaking News In Yuba County (2021)

Genre: Dark Comedy  

Director: Tate Taylor  
Starring: Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Regina Hall, Juliette Lewis, Ellen Barkin, Matthew Modine, Awkwafina  

Running Time: 96 minutes  

Synopsis: In Kentucky, timid Sue Buttons (Allison Janney) is married to banker Karl (Matthew Modine), who is not only ignoring her and having an affair, but also laundering money for a local mobster. Sue is impressed by television personality Gloria Michaels (Juliette Lewis), who is covering the story of a missing teenager. When Karl drops dead, Sue senses an opportunity to finally get the world to notice her: she secretly buries Karl and reports him missing. Soon she is basking in the media spotlight as the distraught wife, but also attracting the attention of Karl's criminal associates and police detective Harris (Regina Hall).

What Works Well: In a breezy opening act, Sue is introduced as drifting through life with an unwanted cloak of invisibility, her birthday forgotten by all including her half-sister (Mila Kunis). Hubby Karl's mid-thrust death is funny.

What Does Not Work As Well: The rest of the movie flounders into unoriginal silliness derived from To Die For and the Coens, but with neither zest nor wit. The clutter of secondary characters (including a couple of goons and their boss, Karl's lover, ex-con brother, the brother's ditzy boss, her lover, detective Harris, and her partner) stumble over each other, some carrying unearned attitudes but all of them lacking substance. Recognizing the congested narrative dead-end, writer Amanda Idoko rushes into a mad killing spree, chasing the misguided notion that every additional murder relieves the burden of coherence.

Key Quote:

Detective Harris: Mrs. Buttons, usually in a missing persons case, people call the police before calling the media.

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