Tag: Billie Lourd

Oscar Predictions: The Last Showgirl

The Last Showgirl has hit the Toronto Film Festival with an iconic Canadian actress in the limelight. From director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis, niece of Sofia), Baywatch star Pamela Anderson headlines as an aging Vegas performer. The supporting cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, and Kiernan Shipka.

Early word-of-mouth indicates Anderson nails her leading role. It’s safe to say she’s come a long way since Barb Wire nearly 30 years ago. Showgirl has yet to find a stateside buyer so there’s no guarantee that it’s out by the end of 2024. Assuming it does make the domestic cut this year, Anderson’s viability in Best Actress could depend on who picks up distribution. A spirited campaign could put her in the mix. Curtis is also being called a scene stealer. However, her win only two ceremonies back for Everything Everywhere All at Once might hinder her exposure.

Reviews for the picture itself are more mixed. Anderson is probably on the outside looking in, but let’s see how this plays out before passing final judgment. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Ticket to Paradise Review

The end credit outtakes of Ticket to Paradise give us a glimpse of the fun George Clooney and Julia Roberts had making it. I have no doubt given the gorgeous setting of Bali (though it was made in Australia). They’ve also played exes before in Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve and seemed to have a ball doing it. Ol Parker’s rom com intermittently succeeds at riding the wave of their star power. It’s got the right stars with the right chemistry and too often the wrong script.

David Cotton (Clooney) and Georgia Cotton (Julia Roberts) have, as far they’re concerned, been blissfully divorced for two decades. They rarely interact but will for the one subject they agree on. That’s their love for daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), who’s just finished college. The graduate is ready for some downtime with wild BFF Wren (Billie Lourd) in Bali-stralia. She soon meets Gede (Maxime Bouttier), a seaweed farmer who pulls her heartstrings. Within a month they’re engaged. Given David and Georgia’s history, breaking up the impending nuptials is on their mind and they jet to paradise to execute the plan.

Sitcom level attempts to do so transpire as our leads try to put some bad juju on romantic Balinese traditions. Dropping in to surprise Georgia is younger beau Paul (Lucas Bravo), a pilot who can’t seem to navigate his girlfriend’s signals. His character is an example of the screenplay’s mediocrity. I never bought the relationship they have as anything more than a plot device to reunite our megawatt headliners. I’m not expecting realism in a rom com, but everyone is underwritten or a caricature here (the talented Lourd’s treatment as the boozy travel companion is another case).

Your enjoyment may hinge on how content you are watching Clooney and Roberts do their thing. A drunken night out features 90s jams like “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” and “Jump Around”. That’s the decade when audiences fell for them. In Paradise, they can only coast so far given the material. This is not an example of them saving their best stuff for later.

** (out of four)

Ticket to Paradise Box Office Prediction

There’s a good chance that Ticket to Paradise would’ve been the top grossing romantic comedy of about anywhere from 1998-2004. Its success in the fall of 2022 is less assured but achievable (though not in the range of its potential earnings years ago). George Clooney and Julia Roberts are a divorced couple on a mission to prevent their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever) from tying the knot. Ol Parker, director of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, is behind the camera. Costars include Billie Lourd, Maxime Bouttier, and Lucas Bravo.

In a somewhat rare release pattern, Ticket was made available to various other international markets in September. The results have been pleasing with $60 million around the globe. Reviews are mixed/positive with 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rom coms have been challenged at multiplexes lately and a little hard to come by. Many have gone the streaming route instead. Pics like The Lost City have featured an action dynamic that Paradise doesn’t have.

It does have two high wattage leads and a return to Julia’s most beloved genre after two decades. She’s been a stalwart of this material with gigantic blockbusters such as Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, and Runaway Bride. Having her Ocean’s Eleven ex-hubby along for the ride only helps.

The chance of this over performing its projection of low to highish teens is doable. Yet I suspect this won’t be a runaway huge premiere and instead do respectable business.

Ticket to Paradise opening weekend prediction: $13.9 million

For my Black Adam prediction, click here:

Black Adam Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Ticket to Paradise

These posts about the awards viability of many pictures might be called “Oscar Predictions”. Sometimes it’s more of a Golden Globe predictions centered type of thing. That’s the case with Ticket to Paradise. The rom com has heavy star wattage with George Clooney and Julia Roberts as a divorced couple trying to prevent the pending nuptials of their daughter (Kaitlyn Dever). Ol Parker, who last made Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, directs. Costars include Maxime Bouttier, Billie Lourd, and Lucas Bravo.

Paradise is out in many parts of Europe next week before its October 21st domestic booking. Many reviews are out and the Rotten Tomatoes meter is at 67%. Academy attention is a non-starter. However, I do wonder if The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will take a look at Clooney or Roberts in the lead races in Musical/Comedy at the Globes. It remains to be seen how competitive those competitions are for 2022.

If the Globes want some big celebs in the mix as they return to the airwaves next year, you could do a lot worse. It’s just as possible that won’t happen, but I wouldn’t count it out. My Oscar (or Globe) Prediction posts will continue…

Booksmart Movie Review

Booksmart is about intelligent people with a lot left to learn. It’s a teen comedy that exists within the confines we expect. Yet it does so with characters who are flawed and likable and not stereotypical. As a directorial debut for Olivia Wilde, it’s a stylish accomplishment with a keen eye for casting. Like Superbad from over a decade ago, it convinces us that the two leads are best friends with a long history.

Kaitlyn Dever is Amy. She’s been out of the closet for two years and is planning a summer sabbatical in Africa post graduation. Amy hasn’t been out socially in her formative years and neither has her BFF Molly (Beanie Feldstein). She’s the class president with a ticket to Yale and a crush on the hunky VP who’s Mr. Popularity. On the final day of school, the duo decide to finally attend the biggest grad party of them all. It takes various excursions to get there and it doesn’t help that they don’t know the address.

As we suspect, Amy and Molly’s bond is tested as crushes are explored and unexpected romantic interests materialize. Both performers do a remarkable job with their chemistry and individual moments. A heated argument between them is shot to perfection. With a screenplay from four female writers, their interplay seems heartfelt and real.

That’s not to say some cliches aren’t overdone. Of course they’re going to be accidentally drugged, but the animated sequence accompanying that occurrence is a joy. Wilde’s hubby Jason Sudeikis shows up as the school principal/Lyft driver. Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte are Amy’s parents. These are well known comic actors, but the young adults playing high schoolers in the supporting cast truly stand out. This includes Billie Lourd as a rich girl who seems to be everywhere at all times and Skyler Gisondo as her best bud who tries too hard but has his heart in the right place.

That description applies to Booksmart as a whole. Like many of the best pics in this genre, it’s happily R rated. The writers don’t pigeonhole the kids as know it alls or morons, but as genuine seniors who make mistakes and do the right thing often when tested. Booksmart doesn’t always break the mold in this well worn genre, but it provides plenty of laughs and sincerity as Amy and Molly turn a page.

*** (out of four)

Oscar Watch: Booksmart

Critics focused on the raunchy high school comedy Booksmart as one of the highlights coming from this year’s South by Southwest Festival. The film marks the directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde. It stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, best known as Saoirse Ronan’s bestie in Lady Bird. Costars include Billie Lourd, Jessica Williams, Will Forte, Lisa Kudrow, and Jason Sudeikis.

The film doesn’t open until Memorial Day weekend, but the loud buzz could certainly assist in making it a sleeper hit. The Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 100% currently. Could awards voters take notice? It’s doubtful. Feldstein is said to have a breakout role here. If there is any nomination chatter, it could center on the Original Screenplay from its four screenwriters – Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silverman. That said, if last year’s acclaimed Eighth Grade couldn’t gain any traction, that doesn’t bode well here.

Bottom line: Booksmart is one to watch out for when it comes to box office surprises. Academy nods would surprise a lot more. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…