Image = Kate the Great McKinnon

I have a major pet peeve.  I hate when people say that Saturday Night Live hasn’t been funny since the original cast.  This is a bandwagon people jump on just to sound cool even if they haven’t watched the show in years.  To them I say, first of all – watch the first episode ever.  It’s not that funny.  It’s slow and actually very weird.  SNL was a crazy experiment and it is an inimitable accomplishment that it’s been on the air for pver 40 years.  Second – yes, every single sketch is not a home run, but every single cast (after the original) has had brilliant members with indelible characters and sketches.

Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, Jan Hooks, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Phil Hartman, Martin Short, Will Ferrell, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, just to name a few…

I am a devotee of SNL and as such, I slog through the inferior sketches for those moments of gold - and there are many.  In the past 2 seasons this current class has delivered some of the most clever and salient work on the show in years.  (Honorable mention goes to the music videos and Weekend Update with Michael Che & Colin Jost skewering Trump last season after he hosted).  SNL provides scathing social satire on the American condition and is a barometer on current events.  Even though SNL has an ensemble cast, there are always cast members who stand out.  Right now, the “stars” of the show are Taran Killam and Kate McKinnon.  And although they are not household names, they are kicking ass on SNL and I predict that Kate is going to be a huge star after this weekend.  Ghostbusters opens today and it is going to be gi-normous and make her a huge star.

I knew McKinnon was special since The Big Gay Sketch Show (2006-2010).  She played an aristocratic British boy named Fitzwilliam who could have anything in the world but all he wanted was a vagina.  This was at a time before there was a transgender character on every other show on television.  It was brave and bold and a little heartbreaking.  Watch here to see a taste of Fitzwilliam and other characters Kate did on TBGSS.  

On SNL, Kate moves seamlessly from a dead on Hillary Clinton to Justin Beiber to Ellen Degeneres.  Her character last season who was abducted by aliens was so funny that every other cast member in the scene broke into laughter, including host Ryan Gosling.  She also, with Kumail Nanjiani, was a better host of the Independent Spirits than Chris Rock was of the Oscars.  McKinnon is fearless in her work and that’s what makes her so engaging.  I’m guessing that comes from how she lives her life, being the first openly gay cast member in SNL history.  Like I said, if you don’t know her name right now, you will after this weekend.  Whether this Ghostbusters is a good movie is beside the point.  It's a watershed moment that a big summer blockbuster stars 4 women with 2 relatively unknown.  Thanks to Paul Feig for that.  I hope this is the beginning of a trend - in casting, in the world and whatever it takes to get many more Kate McKinnon projects made. 

Image = Summer 2015 Indie Film Rundown

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, we can officially talk about the summer.  In the past, summer has been strictly about Hollywood blockbusters.  For this reason there have been entire summers in recent years when I didn’t go to the movies at all.  But the tide has turned and I am very excited for this summer of film which includes A LOT of great indies starring A LOT of great women.

I have already seen the very poignant 5 Flights Up starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.  It is far from the greatest movie ever made, but for me it’s all about the love of Keaton.  I am the type of devoted cinephile who will watch anything that an icon like Diane Keaton does, especially at this point in her career.  Seeing her on film in anything is a treat because she is one of the most unique talents we have ever had.  Even in an inferior movie (like last summer’s And So It Goes) Keaton is captivating. And did I mention Morgan Freeman’s in it too?

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival Me & Earl and the Dying Girl is one of the most funny, sincere and inventive films I’ve seen in years.  All 3 young leads give breakout performances, enhanced by brilliantly quirky turns by stalwart veterans like Nick Offerman, Jon Bernthal and Molly Shannon.  

 

And here is the LONG list of what I will be seeing this summer, with release dates in NY & LA:

  

The D Train (May 8) This movie came and went in theaters(!) but I intend to track it down because 1 - Jack Black is back! and 2 - I do not understand why James Marsden is not an ginormous movie star already.

I’ll See You in My Dreams (May 15) It is about time to see the glorious Blythe Danner in a starring role!  I hope she continues to get showered with acclaim and win a bunch of awards.

Aloha (TODAY!) Cameron Crowe has made his first movie in years and I cannot wait because I think there is much more to it than the trailers suggest... 

Love & Mercy (June 5) Two incredibly talented and underrated actors John Cusack & Paul Dano both play the legendary Brian Wilson.

Manglehorn (June 19) Al Pacino is making indies these days and I am in! I loved the affecting Danny Collins and admire him for doing interesting smaller projects when he could be sitting on a beach somewhere. This film also brings the phenomenal Holly Hunter back to the big screen, for which I am incredibly grateful. 

Irrational Man (July 17) A new Woody Allen film is the highlight of every summer for me and I am intrigued to see what two idiosyncratic talents like Woody & Joaquin Phoenix have done together.  I have never been a big fan of Joaquin's but this film may change my tune about him. 

Learning to Drive (August 24) This is the film that inspired this entire blogpost.  Patricia Clarkson is one of the greatest character & supporting actors ever and she is actually starring in a movie this time, opposite the always astonishing Sir Ben Kingsley. 

Paper Towns (July 24) After last summer's wonderful The Fault in Our Stars (and my favorite film of 2014!) I am eager to see the lighter side of writer (and now executive producer) John Green with his new muse, the irrepressible Nat Wolff.   

Ricki & the Flash (August 7) Penned by Diablo Cody, with Meryl Streep as a rock star (yes please!) and co-starring Rick Springfield.  That's my idea of summer fun!

And yes - I have to admit that there are a few non-indies (which interestingly star mostly men) that I am looking forward to as well: 

Entourage (June 3) I am not expecting greatness, but I am from Queens and I love the boys!  This movie is probably the equivalent of a guilty pleasure beach read.

Spy (June 5) So far, Melissa McCarthy & writer/director Paul Feig are 2 for 2 (Bridesmaids & The Heat) and 3's a charm.

 

Ted 2 (June 26) I laughed my face off watching Ted so if this sequel is even half as funny, I will be satisfied.

  

Magic Mike XXL (July 1) I am a red-blooded heterosexual woman. Enough said.

 

And last but definitely not least...  

Trainwreck (July 17) Amy Schumer is one of the most distinctive & groundbreaking talents around right now and the combination of her & Judd Apatow is a match made in film comedy heaven. I predict that Schumer will be a household name by the end of the summer...