Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman star in gutsy new series
This week’s picks include Netflix’s crime comedy, a highly watchable drama starring Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer. Schitt Creek a crude and endearing Hollywood satire from co-creators Dan Levy and Jonah Hill.
Margo Has Money Problems ★★★★ (AppleTV)
Truly steeped in both drama and comedy, this star-studded American series and the keenly felt central performances that back it up are a masterclass in engagement. You may flinch at the underlying whimsy or engage in quibbles at the sudden harshness of certain circumstances, but Margo Has Money Problems can be monitored in depth.
The key is likely to be positive about the strength of family and the love between parent and child, while also being willing to embrace painful failures and lingering doubts. The aesthetics are bright but the show is gritty.
It starts with non-formal education. Margo (Elle Fanning) is a 19-year-old writer just starting to make her way through a community college in California. The first admirer of her writing is her professor, Mark (Michael Angarano), a married father of two who quickly becomes Margo’s lover. This ends when she decides to pursue an unplanned pregnancy. “I’m not celebrating this tragedy,” laments Margo’s mother, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former Hooters waitress who raised Margo on her own after her professional wrestler father Jinx (Nick Offerman) was shot.
Confronting the mistakes of the past is just one of the themes this limited series tackles, even as they threaten to repeat themselves. The prolific David E. Kelley brought together his back catalog when adapting Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel. Ally McBeal not including Big Little Lies. The emotional stakes are very real and the humor is illuminating. Often what you laugh at is also perceived as unresolved pain. This is the only way the characters can carry the load.
While not didactic, the series provides a clear insight into Margo’s struggles. She is frank about the physical and mental toll new mothers take before economic hardships begin. Unable to provide childcare for baby Bodhi, Margo is forced to drop out of school and loses her job as a waitress. Her solution, born out of necessity but brought to life by imagination, is to open an account on OnlyFans, a subscription-based platform for adult content. She finds a means of expression and income, and although some in Margo’s circle judge her, the program is positive for sex work.
Lead actor Fanning’s signal amplifies everything her character is experiencing; the camera is its amplifier. Raw but original. Its performance is undeniable. Pfeiffer and Offerman’s parenting turns present formidable obstacles; While the former is sharp-edged and riddled with regrets, the latter exudes vulnerability from his bearded frame as a rehab addict desperate to make amends. They are a flawed family, but they are hopeful. That and Nicole Kidman’s unconventional lawyers give them a welcome respite from life’s heartbreaks.
Big Mistakes ★★½ (Netflix)
Created by: Dan Levy (Schitt Creek) and Rachel Sennott (I love Los Angeles), this crime comedy follows a pair of New Jersey brothers whose rash actions lead to blackmail by Russian gangsters and lead the panicked duo into shady dealings. It’s a fish out of water piece, with lots of wild screaming and lucky escapes as events spiral out of control. The eight episodes are oddly structured, but the major flaw is fundamental: the crime angle is forced.
I wanted more of the daily lives that Nicky (Levy) and Morgan Dardano (Taylor Ortega) lived throughout the show. She’s a gay pastor who keeps his church happy with the promise of celibacy, so her boyfriend Tareq (Jacob Gutierrez) is a big secret; He is an actor turned elementary school teacher whose needy boyfriend Max (Jack Innanen) has the maturity of his students. These were the issues I wanted the duo to deal with, not a cocaine smuggling scheme involving Brazilian animals.
One big sign is the presence of the impeachable Laurie Metcalf as the couple’s no-nonsense mother, whose mayoral campaign for their hometown is one of several plot twists adjacent to Nicky and Morgan’s misfortunes. There’s a tighter, more nuanced exploration of the obligation and assertiveness lurking within Big Mistakeswith deeper characterizations. Conceptually, less could actually be more here.
Conclusion ★★½ (AppleTV)
There’s not much left to say in terms of satires on Hollywood’s collective narcissism and celebrity cruelty. Actor and filmmaker Jonah Hill opts for vocal and tonal shifts in this dark comedy about a movie star, Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), accompanied by his longtime friends Kyle (Cameron Diaz) and Xander (Matt Bomer), revisiting his past to find out who’s blackmailing him. The film, with Hill as Reef’s abrasive lawyer, oscillates between crude and endearing. Watch Reeves’ heartfelt reaction and Martin Scorsese’s small but perfect role.
Great Mood ★★★★(stan)
A much-needed second series of this brilliant British comedy. Derry Girls And Bridgerton Nicola Coughlan plays Maggie, a young playwright whose personal and professional aspirations are shaped by her bipolar disorder. The bond between Maggie and her best friend Eddie (Lydia West), who was struggling as a bar owner, eventually fell apart in the first season. The new episodes continue as they reunite after a year of silence, despite the presence of an unexpected third wheel. Creator Camilla Whitehill continues to mix the hilarious and deeply perceptive.
Untold: Chess Friends ★★★½ (Netflix)
A number of chess documentaries have been released recently, but this is the only one in which anal beads (presumably) play a significant role. The latest edition of eyebrow raising stories untold The Sporting Documents series chronicles the 2022 scandal in which then-world champion Magnus Carlsen accused brash hopeful Hans Niemann of cheating in tournament matches; It’s a controversy fueled by theories that Niemann used a vibrating sex toy to stimulate her accomplished movements. There’s no definitive answer, but it’s an entertaining study of elite competitors, complete with distinctive supporting cast.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord ★★½ (Disney+)
Latest animated series Star Wars the franchise puts the villain center stage. He first appeared as a lightsaber-wielding antagonist (portrayed by Ray Park) in the 1999 prequel. Phantom Menacewho came forward next Clone Wars (voiced by Sam Witwer), Darth Maul is a former Sith lord who traded his faith for vengeful criminal machinations. The stylized visual palette speaks to Maul’s tortured extremes; this is helpful because the writing doesn’t add much to a character who is often a menacing antagonist. This is something for dedicated fans.
