Everyone's Crying About Cinderella! - Renegade Marquee #13
Tonight, on an... uncharacteristically ANGRY and INTENSE episode of Renegade Marquee, Captain Kaye and the Streamin' Demon are joined with The Director, Kay-Rah, and Lord Hades talk the overwhelmingly fine Cry Macho from Clint Eastwood, Jeffery Bezo's crowning cinematic achievement in Cinderella, and an actual GOOD movie in Everybody's Talking about Jaime!
How’s it going, fellow Renegades! THE DIRECTOR is here not only to give some show notes, but also be a CO-HOST on this particular episode! It’s a stacked cast as we talk about some not so stacked films. It’s possibly one of the most diverse selections of films we’ve covered so far, despite the fact that two of them are musicals. I mean, we got Clint Eastwood for Gods sake!
A word of warning though, when we talk about Cinderella, we do offer a content warning. For one thing… we’re talking about Cinderella (which if you want to read the site’s official review for it, you can give it a read right here), but also because we get into some pretty heavy themes that the Cinderella story touches on, and there’s a slight possibility it could be triggering for some viewers.
With all that said, while I won’t provide my own thoughts on the films, I’ll kick it over to the Captain himself!
CRY MACHO (2021)
“On the one hand, this type of story feels a little played out for Eastwood, especially in his later years. But the reason he keeps coming back to rolls like this is because he's honestly really good at it. One line in particular that stood out to me was ‘when you're young, you think you have all the answers. But as you get older, you realize you never had any of them.’ For me, the best parts of this film were the slower moments, whether it's Mike and Rafo forming a bond, or the two of them taking shelter with Marta and her family. However, I wasn't quite as invested in the subplot involving the henchmen of Rafo's mother pursuing them. By no means is this Eastwood's best movie from a narrative perspective, though it's possible this story just works better on the page. Production wise, there are some gorgeous shots of New Mexico captured by cinematographer Ben Davis, and I enjoyed Mark Mancina's score quite a bit. If you're a fan of Clint Eastwood, then I can comfortably recommend Cry Macho. But if you aren't, this movie isn't going to move the needle.” - Captain Kaye
CINDERELLA (2021)
“Listen, I love musicals, and I have enjoyed many of the various iterations of Cinderella. This isn't a bad movie simply because they turned Cinderella into a musical. That's been done plenty of times before, and to (mostly) great success. No, the reason this movie is bad is for all of its ambitions, it is a damn near complete misfire. If you really need a scapegoat to direct all of your anger, you can thank James fucking Cordon, who produced this disaster and came up with the idea to ‘reimagine’ one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time. This movie is proof positive that sometimes you really shouldn't fix what isn't broken. In the case of Cinderella, arguably the best reimagining one could ask for is the 1998 film Ever After, and Cinderella (2021) doesn't even come close. This movie's biggest problem is that it has no idea what it wants to be. Was this supposed to be a comedy, parodying the beats of the original fairy tale, or were we supposed to take this seriously? As a musical, this is just a straight up failure. For those who may not know, Kay Cannon is best known for her work penning the Pitch Perfect trilogy. In those films, it makes sense to take the jukebox musical approach, as we're entering the world of acapella competition. Here, there's no justification, and things get extra complicated once you start including original songs written specifically for the film. Speaking of which, is that the only reason why Camila Cabello was cast as the lead, even though she's never acted on screen before? I get it, everyone has to start somewhere, but I'm sorry, this ain't it. She's not bad, I can tell she's trying her best, I just didn't find her believable in the role. There are a few highlights worth mentioning. Nicholas Galitzine's Prince Robert might be, if not the best, at least the most interesting version of what's usually a nothing character in the original narrative. Casting Idina Menzel as the "evil" stepmother is actually pretty inspired, and I'm fine with letting her belt it out a few times throughout the film. But on the whole, I cannot recommend seeing this movie unless you're a completionist, who must watch every single musical film/TV series released in 2021.” - Captain Kaye
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAIME (2021)
“I'll get my one real criticism out of the way first, which is that this film should have absolutely been given a wide theatrical release! I understand that the underperformance of In the Heights implies that success is not a guarantee, but still, the more good musicals that are playing in theaters, the longer we can keep riding this wave. That being said, this movie is fantastic. The fact that it's based on a true story does enhance the experience, making each musical number pop that much more, and the more dramatic moments hit that much harder. Max Harwood makes a truly stellar first impression, owning every scene he's in, and even holding his own against a legend like Richard E. Grant, who plays Jamie's mentor Hugo Battersby. Hugo was a former drag queen who went by the name Loco Chanelle, and is essentially the Yoda to Jamie's Luke Skywalker on his fabulous hero's journey. The rest of the cast is great as well, including Lauren Patel as Jamie's best friend Pritti Pasha, Sarah Lancashire as Jamie's mom Margaret, Samuel Bottomley as Dean Paxton, the school bully, and Sharon Horgan as Miss Hedge, their Year 11 teacher. If I had to pinpoint the main reason why I think everyone should see this movie, whether you're a part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, is because its main theme of embracing the real you is both relatable and universal. This is just Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, but with high heels as opposed to swords or lightsabers.” - Captain Kaye
That’ll do it for this episode! Thanks again to Jacob for editing this episode for you guys, and keep a weather eye for the next podcast! We’ll see you guys very soon!
