Yes, there are multiple weeks in here. I’m switching things up. It felt dumb to release my “What I watched this week” list on a Monday, so I’m switching it to Saturdays!
Also, I’ve been writing a LOT lately, so I took some days off. I’m allowed! And you are also allowed to take days completely off where you don’t think about or do anything even slightly work-related.
This is hard for me because writing is work, but also, it is my favorite form of communication and release. Sometimes my brain puts unnecessary stress on the fun writing because it thinks of it as work. It’s something I’m working through and on, and it gets better every day.
Sometimes “getting better” looks like reevaluating what is working. More often than not recently, publishing these on Monday felt like a demand. So this week, I took a step back and really looked into why.
I think it is because it feels dumb to do a “what I watched this week” on a Monday. It feels late and pointless. I dunno, the timing just doesn’t feel right somehow!
It is also likely no one will care because no one thinks about something as silly as this in the same amount of detail that I do.
Here I am. It’s Saturday and you should get ready for a lot of words, because we watched bunches of stuff. (Including a trip to the movie theater!)
Television
The Studio S1E10 (Apple TV+)
Now, that’s a season one finale, y’all! I didn’t watch this show with any regularity this season, just grabbing an episode when I had time and my brain felt right. However, between the penultimate and the ultimate episode, I couldn’t wait. I needed to know how the presentation went with a fucked up and often missing Studio Owner and a very tripping lead actress.
And, y’all, much like this chaotic show, it went off with nary a hitch. To the viewers at least. Both the viewers at CinemaCon viewing the fictional presentation and the viewers at home watching the actual episode.
I will be rewatching this one, because I’m sure there are tons of things I missed.
Hacks (HBOMax)
The cries I cried at this finale. The way these two fought all season, and then this is the ending we get? Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, unexpected.
But not really, because Deborah Vance has been doing some work on herself throughout the show, albeit reluctantly. She’s learned a lot about herself and her place in the world. I love to see this growth.
Obviously, I’m all caught up on my rewatch and the current season.
You know whose story I loved this season: Kayla and Jimmy. Watching their teamwork evolve has been so satisfying. They are growing together. I think.
The Rehearsal S2E6
The podcast is where you’ll get the good views on this thought-provoking show. I’m so sad it’s over but so glad that it exists.
Spoiler alert, though: I loved it. Found it to be very moving and (of course), I can’t wait to see what Nathan Fielder does next.
Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney (Netflix)
We watched this live this week. I’m glad.
There is a certain exhilaration in being unable to look something up on IMDB.
I had no idea (but solid guesses) about who played “Mulaney from the Future” and “Mrs. T”… who doesn’t look like she specializes in pierogi.
Everybody’s Live: The Finale
God, the chaos of this show pleases me so much. The lore of Little Pickle will live on in my head forevermore.
Dimension 20: Unsleeping City
Another season complete!
Game Changer S7E4 (Dropout TV)
You know what? This episode should be its own show. Sam Reich, if you’re reading this, let my friends and I help you spin this off. I feel like my background in independent comedy, comedy writing obsession, and just being NICE to people in general would be a perfect match for this particular program. I also know some really talented folks with similar skillsets and ideals.
You know why I loved this epsiode so much, Sam? Because it showcases one of my favorite parts of comedy: you can do crowd work without being hurtful and mean. I was familiar with both Josh Johnson and Gianmarco Soresi, but Jeff Acuri was new to me. They were all masters at the very difficult art of GOOD crowd work.
If you’ve been to a comedy show, you’ve definitely seen some bad crowd work. You know, when the comedian tells a joke and it doesn’t land, he goes one of two directions:
- Blames the audience for being _____ to get his joke.
- “not smart enough”
- “too old”
- “too young”
- “too white”
- “too liberal”
- “not open-minded enough”
- et cetera, et cetera, you get the picture
- Picks someone out of the audience and just makes fun of them. They’ll pick an easy target, because they’re going for easy laughs. Mean jokes are easy, y’all. And to me? That makes them boring.
Neither of these things happened during this episode of Game Changer. Each of the comics greeted the seeded-with-unusual-things audience with curiosity and interest that felt genuine. And they got some good comedy bits out of it.
Like I said, Sam, if you need help making this into a permanent Game-Samer, call me up. I think you have my email (jacki at valleyofoh dot com)
Movies
Friendship (Theater via my AAA24 Membership)
I was almost as excited to see Tim Robinson on the big screen as I was to see Nick Pupo earlier this year. I dunno why, but Tim Robinson’s goofy awkwardness really speaks to me. Probably because I am also goofy and/or awkward.
This was a movie that hit a lot of notes for me. I enjoyed while I was watching it. This is important. I mean, duh, of course it is, but it’s often the only thing that sticks when watching most movies for me. I’ll watch it and enjoy it in the moment, but nothing really sticks with me.
This movie STUCK. I’ve thought about it multiple times a day since seeing it, sometimes chuckling to myself. Written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, “Friendship” was more than just a silly movie. It even had a surprise appearance by my guy Lance from “The Other Two,” also known as Josh Segarra to the rest of the world.
Summer of ’69 (Hulu)
I was looking for a goofy bop, and, based on what I saw promotional-wise, that’s what I thought I was getting with this movie.
Here’s the description from the experts:
Abby seeks to impress her crush by learning a specific sexual position, enlisting a stripper’s help. However, she realizes true self-discovery and lasting friendship are more valuable.
As I started to watch this movie, it took me a bit to settle into. It was pretty sexual, and I started to wonder, “Who is this movie for?” But when honest conversation after honest conversation about sex and love and relationships and friendships, I began to realize this movie was for me.
By the end, I was crying. It was a beautiful representation of girlhood. Written and directed by Jillian Bell, I’m excited that this movie exists.
Companion (HBOMax)
Y’all, this was GREAT great… like superlative. We watched the trailer first, but honestly, I think this would be even better if you went in completely blind. The performances were gripping. The music was on point. The story was original and intriguing.
I’ll say that again for those in the back: IT WAS ORIGINAL. There’s not nearly enough of that these days.
Writer/Director Drew Hancock, I am screaming my thanks to you. Thank you for making something original that I couldn’t predict. The world needs more of that. Or else, maybe people are kept guessing at most movies, and I’ve just studied them too hard or something?
Like I do when I watch any excellent movie, I did a deep dive on the folks behind the scenes. To the untrained eye, Drew Hancock might be kind of a newbie. However, there are some gems in there that are worth noting.
They both come from the Dan Harmonverse.
The first is the television show that was born from Channel 101. Channel 101 is a monthly short film festival in LA. It’s where Rick and Morty got started. But more than that, it’s the home of some purely original thought experiments.
There are “normal” shows that follow a typical storyline, although some of them have puppets made of bread. (RIP “Breadtown”) But the ones I loved best had some sort of surreal or unusual aspect to them.
My favorite of those was a show called “Everything”. It had, well, everything. Each 5-minute episode consisted of 1-minute clips from five different artists. The formats didn’t match, the vibes were not considered, but it all worked incredibly well together.
Well, Drew Hancock was the director of one episode of that. He also directed the Channy Awards one year, which would honestly be such a fun job, y’all.
Love Hurts (Peacock)
A bop. A ride. Worth watching for a fun time.
Uglies – (Netflix)
Welp, when D was younger, we were obsessed with these books. We have both tried to reread them as adults and they are…
They did get one thing very right that I loved in the books: the hoverboard. If I ever get the chance to ride one of these hoverboards over a defunct roller coaster, I am taking it.
