‘Life After Beth’ and the Trouble With Absent Presence

Though Plaza gives a committed physical performance, clearly having a ball in monster make-up, it’s really all she’s given to do. She isn’t even given much room to be funny in the supposed comedy. It’s as if Plaza has been cast in a feature length sketch-show, playing all manner of stereotypical “girlfriends from hell.” I imagine it on ‘Saturday Night Live’: first a short musical theme, “The Girlfriend from Hell,” then Plaza making a snarky comment to her boyfriend and vomiting pea soup all over him.

2013 Golden Globes Week: An Open Letter to Owen Wilson Regarding ‘Moonrise Kingdom’

This is a guest post by Molly McCaffrey and is cross-posted with permission. Movie poster for Moonrise Kingdom Dear Mr. Wilson, For many years, I believe people had the sense that Wes Anderson was the genius behind the three films you co-wrote with him: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore,  and The Royal Tenenbaums. This is probably because … Continue reading “2013 Golden Globes Week: An Open Letter to Owen Wilson Regarding ‘Moonrise Kingdom’”