Director: Gillian Robespierre Staring: Jenny Slate, Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, Jay Duplass, John Turturro Studio: Amazon Studios Genre(s): Drama Rated: R (For sexual content, language and drug use) |
There is an old saying you kids might have heard of that
goes “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Kids today think that finding out about
affairs on a Facebook or Instragram account is a new revolution, but the
reality is that it’s been around for years.
The only thing is back then we used to discover our spouses were
shacking up with other people by reading love letters they wrote on their
computers (or catching them in the act by picking up the local landline and
hearing them talk to someone else intimately).
For that matter, people used to rent videos at Blockbuster and have them
play on the TV in the background while the couple made love, barely paying
attention to what was happening on screen (sounds a lot like ‘Netflix and
chill’ doesn’t it?). Gillian
Robespierre’s “Landline” is a movie that would feel modern in every other way
except for the setting.
It takes place in 1995.
A time where teenagers are obsessed with talking on their phone all day to
their parent’s dismay. It is a time
where Hilary Clinton is making bold speeches to sold out crowds with obvious
political aspirations on the horizon. It
is a time when teenagers want their parents to get out of their lives so they
can have casual sex and do illicit drugs.
So, you know, CLEARLY there is nothing going on during this time period
to connect us to society of the present!
It’s scary to think that 1995 was more than twenty years ago. I remember this year of my life almost
perfectly. I remember 1996 better, but I
do have found memories as a kid here too.
The movie looks and feels like that year, and while I was too young to
concern myself with adult affairs (ho ho), the way of life is familiar. So too, I’m sorry to say, is the plot, which
revolves around three female members in a family trying to cope with the
revelation that the man of the house might be having an affair.
The suspicion arises when youngest daughter Ali (Abby Quinn)
discovers love letters to a mysterious ‘C’ on her dads old Macintosh. Her older sister Dana (Jenny Slate) is
troubled by the news as well, but she is having her own midlife crisis, as she
worries about her upcoming marriage and even embarks on an affair of her
own. The way she is following in her father’s
footsteps so easily makes Ali even more determined to distance herself from her
family. It is unclear if the mother
(Edie Falco) knows what is going on, but if the father (John Turturro) IS
having an affair, he hides it well!
Unlike most families, he is the peacemaker of the two, which either
gains him respect or loathing (depending on the daughter and their situation). This isn’t a pretty situation, to be
sure. It also isn’t a fascinating story
per se. I’ve seen this movie
before. Many times, in fact.
To the point where the dilemma I’m having is I’m seeing the
same movie repeatedly, except in theaters I’m seeing the same action movie
multiple times while on streaming sites it’s the same drama. Granted, I DID see this in a multiplex, but
since it was produced by Amazon Studios, that means it was intended for the
Amazon Prime Video audiences and not people who buy tickets. With that understood, I can understand why
home might be a better place to see “Landline.”
Movie goers who watch this at home are likely to get distracted by their
phones and house chores, so it will be playing in the background. As background noise, it will be
serviceable. In theaters, it is still
good enough to hold your attention, but not good enough to leave a lasting
impression when you get to the parking lot.
In both cases the nostalgia is strong though, which will count for
something if you lived those years yourself (but not much if you were born
after 1999).
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CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is strong language, some sexual content, and adult themes. Recommended for ages 17 and up.
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