The Film of 2024: Lola (dir by Nicola Peltz Beckham)

Posted on May 3, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Lola (Nicola Peltz Beckham) works her days working in a convenience store and her nights dancing at a strip club. It’s not enjoyable work but she’s trying to raise money so that she can enroll her little brother, Arlo (Luke David Blumm) in a special arts school in Dallas. At present, Arlo is being homeschooled by their religious fanatic mother, Mona (Virginia Madsen). Heavy-drinking Mona throws a fit whenever she sees Arlo putting on makeup or wearing a dress but she doesn’t do a thing about the way her boyfriend (Trevor Long) leers at Lola. She’s the type who gives people doughnuts with “God” written in icing.

Lola thinks that it is a film about poor people but actually, it isn’t. Written by, directed by, and starring the daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz, Lola is less a film about poor people and more a film about what rich people think being poor is like. As such, everyone smokes and everyone lives in either a trailer or a one-story house but the inside of those houses are perfectly lit and not the least bit cluttered. Lola may have to work two jobs and she may be hooked on cocaine but her hair and her makeup are always perfect. Lola’s homelife may not be perfect but, as all poor white girls do in movies like this, she has a super-loyal Black friend (Raven Goodwin) who doesn’t appear to have a life outside of obsessing on Lola’s problems. Lola also has a dumbass boyfriend (played by Richie Merritt, the star of White Boy Rick) who keeps her supplied with cocaine but who also gets upset when Lola says she’s not ready to lose her virginity to him.

The film follows Lola from one trauma to another. We’re supposed to sympathize with her because her life is so bad but the film itself doesn’t seem to realize that Lola is often her own worst enemy. For instance, knowing that she cannot afford to lose her job at the convenience store, she still tries to steal from the store in the most obvious way possible. When she gets caught, her boss fires her. Even when she offers to get the stolen stuff out of her locker (seriously, she put it in her locker?), her boss tells her that she’s fired. The film sets this up as if the boss is somehow being unfair but actually, he’s doing what any boss would do to an employee stealing products from his shelf. He has every right to fire her and if he didn’t, he would basically be inviting everyone else who works for him to steal from him as well. Losing the job sends Lola into a spiral of depression and desperation but again, it was her own fault so how sorry am I supposed to feel for her?

Eventually, there is a tragedy. It’s not great shock when it happens but it does lead to scene of Lola sobbing while portentous string music playing on the soundtrack. Much like everything else in the film, the music choice is so obvious and heavy-handed that it’s more like to inspire a chuckle than a tear. The right to portentous string music is something that a movie has to earn. Requiem For A Dream earned Lux Aeterna. Lola is no Requiem For A Dream.

Instead, Lola has more in common with Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut, Lost River. Both Lola and Lost River are films about poverty that try way too hard to be profound. The difference is that Lola lacks the spark of madness that made Lost River interesting, albeit incoherent. That said, I do think that Nicole Peltz Beckham does have some talent as a director. There are a few impressive shots to be found in Lola, even if Beckham doesn’t really seem to yet understand how to use them to tell a compelling story. But with some experience and a script written by someone other than herself, Nicole Peltz Beckham seems like she has the potential to be a worthwhile director.

Film Review: White Boy Rick (dir by Yann Demange)

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, as a part of my attempt to get caught up with the films of 2018, I watched White Boy Rick.

As you might guess from the title, this film is about a white boy named Rick. It’s based on the true story of Richard Wershe, Jr., who grew up on the streets of Detroit. His father sold guns out of the trunk of his car and, by the time he turned 14, Rick was running with drug dealers and street gangs. (The fact that he was white while all of his friends were black is what led to him getting his nickname.) Rick became an informant for the FBI and, according to Wershe, the government helped him build up his reputation by supplying him with the drugs that he would then sell on the streets. When the FBI eventually decided that Wershe was no longer a useful asset, he was arrested for dealing and sentenced to life in prison.

The story seems like one that has the potential to say a lot that needs to be said about not only the economic realities of life in a dying city but also about the role that race plays in America’s often misdirected “war on drugs.” Unfortunately, the film falls flat because, with the exception of a few scenes, it never really convinces us that Rick was really worthy of being the subject of a film. While the film surrounds him with interesting supporting characters, Rick himself remains something of a cipher. Rick is played by a young actor named Richie Merritt. Merritt’s has the right look for the character but you never get the feeling that there’s anything going on underneath the surface. Rick comes across as just being a moron who got lucky and then, eventually, not so lucky.

The supporting cast fares a bit better. For instance, Matthew McConaughey plays Rick’s father with just the right amount of manic energy and Bel Powley has a few harrowing scenes as Rick’s drug addicted sister. Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie don’t get to do much as Rick’s grandparents but it doesn’t matter because they’re Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie. (All Bruce Dern has to do to make a character interesting is look at the camera.) Jennifer Jason Leigh plays one of Rick’s FBI handlers with the perfect hint of subversiveness. You’re never quite sure whether she’s messing with Rick’s life because she’s incompetent or because she’s enjoying it. Unfortunately, the supporting characters are often so interesting that Rick often gets overshadowed. He’s a bystander in his own story, which may have been the film’s point but, from a storytelling point of view, it hardly makes for compelling viewing.

Admittedly, there are a few memorable scenes to be found in White Boy Rick. At one point, Rick goes to a wedding at the mayor’s mansion and he’s a sight to behold in his blue tuxedo. In another scene, it’s explained to Rick why, when it comes to being arrested, charged, and incarcerated, the stakes are very different when you’re black than when you’re white. In scenes like that, you kind of get a hint of White Boy Rick could have been if it had been centered around a more compelling character.

As it is, though, White Boy Rick is well-made but kind of dull. It’s definitely a missed opportunity.

Here’s The Trailer For White Boy Rick!

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the trailer for White Boy Rick!

Now, White Boy Rick is based on a true story that’s actually pretty interesting. At the age of 14, Richard Wershe, Jr. was the youngest criminal to ever become an informant for the FBI. Of course, once the FBI got what they wanted from him, Wershe was left on his own and, when he was 17, he was arrested for selling cocaine and sentenced to life in prison. Wershe, who was finally paroled in 2017, claims that the harsh sentence was politically motivated and that he basically learned how to become a successful drug dealer through his work for the government.

It’s a great story and, with more and more people questioning both drug prohibition and national law enforcement, a timely one. The film’s got a good cast, with Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bel Powley, Rory Cochrane, Piper Laurie, and Bruce Dern all in supporting roles. The director, Yann Demange, previously directed the great ’71 and is definitely an up-and-coming filmmaker. Rick is played by a Richie Merritt, who will be making his film debut in the leading role.

As for the trailer itself, it’s effective. I had a hard time understanding some of the dialogue and it’s hard to really judge Merritt’s performance based on what’s present here. But I like the look of the trailer and the music is damn near perfect.

Some are saying this movie might be an Oscar contender. We’ll have to see!