Tag: dark comedy

Classic Films · Comedies

A New Leaf

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: A New Leaf, 1971

After a recent read of Carrie Courogen’s Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius, I’ve been working my way through all the creative breadcrumbs Miss May left throughout her time in Hollywood. Some, we’ll probably never know about until after her death. But others, like this week’s film A New Leaf (Disc/Download) are a smorgasbord of dark humor and wit, meant to be watched again and again.   

Written and directed by Elaine (her first time in the director’s chair), she also stars as botanist Henrietta Lowell, the target of broke playboy Henry (Walter Matthau) who is in search of a wealthy wife—a wife he also plans to kill, once her money becomes his. May’s Henrietta is sweet, trusting, and most importantly to Henry, the sole heiress to an immense fortune. If you like the movie Arthur, you’ll probably enjoy Matthau’s performance as a shameless snob who can’t imagine a world in which he can no longer afford lunch at Lutèce or custom-tailored suits. Yet there’s a heart under that elitist nonsense, one he doesn’t discover until he finds someone who’s even less capable of navigating the real world than he is. Henrietta has more money than she’ll ever need, but no desire or knowledge of how to manage it. And in that respect, they’re a perfect match. What one lacks, the other provides. All Henrietta needs to do is stay alive long enough for Henry to realize she’s the heart and purpose he’s been missing all these years.

Henrietta’s lack of life skills extends to the cocktail arena as well. When her suitor offers her a drink, she requests something called a Malaga Cooler, which is Mogen David kosher wine, lime juice, and soda. If you forget the recipe, it’s right there on the bottle! I’ve never had kosher wine before (it’s extra-sweet reputation precedes it), but I’m willing to give this a go. While watching A New Leaf, I recommend drinking a Malaga Cooler.

Malaga Cooler

2 oz Morgen David Wine

1 oz Lime Juice

1 oz Topo Chico sparkling water

Blackberry + Mint (garnish)

Combine wine and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake, and strain into a coupe glass. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a blackberry and sprig of fresh mint.

I’m serving this up, the way they do in the movie, however if I were to make this again, I’d probably serve it over ice with a higher ratio of sparkling water. If Elaine has taught me anything, it’s that films and cocktails are never really finished. There’s always more tweaking to be done, at least until the studio sues for control, forcing you to go on the lam with the film canisters… but that’s a story for another time.  Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Holiday Films

In Bruges

LizLocke8 Comments

Image Credit: In Bruges, 2008

Since 2022 is officially the year of “The Christmas That Wasn’t” (or as it’s sometimes called in my house, “Christ-maybe next year“), I’m officially making the switch to movies that take place around the holiday season but have very little to do with Christmas. In other words, I want to see my current life situation reflected back at me. Sure, there are twinkle lights as I’m driving down the street, but my house remains as dark and unfestive as this week’s pick In Bruges (Disc/Download).

Featuring the acting team of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and directed by Martin McDonagh, In Bruges is about two hit men on assignment in the medieval Belgian city of Bruges over the holidays. Sent by their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to murder a priest, things go awry when gunman Ray (Farrell) accidentally shoots someone he’s not supposed to. His mentor Ken (Gleeson) is then tasked with killing Ray, but he wrestles with questions of morality and the concept of redemption. Does Ray really deserve to die because of an accident? It’s a question that propels this dark comedy forward through strange encounters, strange accents, and a lot of Belgian beer.

Speaking of Belgian beer, I cracked open a bottle for this week’s drink and ended up pleasantly surprised by its versatility. I haven’t had a Lindemans Framboise lambic in ages, but as a cocktail topper, it’s aces. Think of it as a tart alternative to Prosecco or champagne. While watching In Bruges, I recommend drinking an Alcove.

Alcove

4 1/2 oz Lindemans Framboise

1 1/4 oz Gin

3/4 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz Ginger Liqueur

3/4 oz Lime Juice

Lime Wheel Garnish

Combine gin, Cointreau, ginger liqueur, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with Lindemans Framboise and stir gently.

Coincidentally, the Farrell/Gleeson/McDonagh team is back this year with The Banshees of Inisherin, a film I sadly did not enjoy. Maybe the bar was set too high with In Bruges, or maybe I just prefer movies that have a plot. I’m thrilled Colin Farrell is back on everyone’s radar, yet I can’t help but be puzzled by how he ever left. He’s always been great! He was great in Tigerland, he was great in A Home at the End of the World, and he was great in In Bruges. Can we all just forget about Phone Booth and give this man, and his eyebrows, their well-deserved Oscar? Cheers!

Comedies

To Die For

LizLockeLeave a comment

To Die For
Image credit: To Die For, 1995.

This story is the type of salacious true-crime stuff I live for. Local weather girl hires her sixteen-year-old lover to kill her husband so she can pursue a career in television? It’s a dark, twisted soap opera, and I am HERE FOR IT. To Die For (Disc/Download) is a great example of a ‘90s indie film with a pedigreed cast, many of whom would go on to win multiple Oscars and accolades in the coming decades. But let’s be clear—it’s still a soap opera.

To Die For came back on my radar after the recent death of screenwriter Buck Henry. He wrote one of my all-time favorite scripts, The Graduate, but this later film is equally brilliant. It was a mockumentary before every TV sitcom adopted the format, and through these faux interviews we see a Hard Copy-style tale of a power-hungry woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her dreams. Is it weird that I feel a strong kinship with Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne Stone? I too am a fan of the alliterated name, and I’ve chosen a career that’s next to impossible to break into. I haven’t gone to the lengths of prostituting myself, but anyone who’s ever done a Twitter Pitch event for writers knows it’s not all that different. You feel pretty cheap and debased by the end. I wouldn’t murder for my art, but I would rock a Donna Karan knock-off suit and French twist at my next writer’s conference.

The thing that really sells me on this movie is the torrid affair Nicole Kidman has with the much younger Joaquin Phoenix. And we’re talking yooooooung Joaquin, with a mullet and sad little stutter. It’s an icky relationship for sure, but I can’t help but feel for this horny kid who just wants attention from a beautiful woman. And Nicole is stuck in a lame marriage to Matt Dillon—need I say more? While watching To Die For, I recommend drinking this Forbidden Fruit cocktail:

Forbidden Fruit

1 ½ oz Frankly® Apple/Ginger vodka

½ oz Hofland Meesterbitter liqueur

½ oz Lemon Juice

4 oz Ginger Beer

Apple garnish

Combine vodka, liqueur, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into an ice-filled glass. Top with ginger beer, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with an apple slice.

Forbidden Fruit

Finally, I’d like to give props to adorable Pomeranian Walter (after Walter Cronkite), who is the unsung hero of To Die For. I genuinely feel his distaste for his mom’s actions, but also his narcissistic need to look cute in his little outfits. Out of anyone in this film, Walter is the only character deserving of a happy ending. Cheers!