Review: ‘Holidate’ Sets the Tone for Netflix’s Holiday Season

Holidate establishes some all-important vocabulary right off the bat: A “holidate” is someone to spend any given holiday with, explicitly for the purpose of not being alone and preventing your family members from trying to set you up with someone else. To be clear, it’s not a friends-with-benefits situation. If anything, it’s closer to a rental family, except it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement rather than something paid for. But while having a “holidate” is a fun idea, John Whitesell’s Holidate isn’t the kind of movie to bring home for the holidays. Continue reading “Review: ‘Holidate’ Sets the Tone for Netflix’s Holiday Season”

Review: ‘The Opening Act’ is a Nice Love Letter to Standup Comedy

The Apatovian formula is simple: Pluck an up-and-coming comic from the small leagues, support them while they write their own darkly funny but authentically heartfelt semi-autobiographical comedy then produce and/or direct the final format. This method has led to many successes, even without Apatow’s name, including Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck, Kumail Nanjiani’s The Big Sick, and Pete Davidson’s The King of Staten Island. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Opening Act’ is a Nice Love Letter to Standup Comedy”