Emily Heller

Alexandra Gallant-Lee @alexandragallant.com [ View ] Dec 16, 2023 at 00:48 UTC

Just watched this terrific short film written by @mremilyheller.bsky.social and directed by Kulap Vilaysack, I loved it so much!! Mary Sohn was also such a joy to watch, a really captivating performance.

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Nov 15, 2023 at 21:30 UTC

"How We Get Free" is now streaming on Max, an incredible documentary on the work of Elisabeth Epps. I saw it at Aspen Shortsfest this year and it was far and away the best thing I saw there. Very worth 31 minutes of your time.

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Nov 13, 2023 at 18:57 UTC

IMO this week's SNL monologue was a blatant attempt to replace the previous top search results for "Timothee Chalamet rapping"

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Nov 09, 2023 at 00:13 UTC

I need to know what dirt Cassandra has on Bre

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Oct 27, 2023 at 18:01 UTC

New Mountain Goats is very good

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Sep 09, 2023 at 23:38 UTC

18. Sullivan's Travels (1941) - Another Preston Sturges / Joel McCrae collaboration, just like Palm Beach Story, only even less farce-y. Funny in parts, bleak as hell in parts, not a farce. But Veronica Lake is a star. No grade, because not a farce!

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Sep 09, 2023 at 00:16 UTC

17. A Shot in the Dark (1964) - The second Pink Panther movie and the first with Clouseau. Very funny but not enough of a bedroom farce for me. Grade: B

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Sep 09, 2023 at 00:14 UTC

16. Oscar (1991) - Farce takes a while to get going, but when it does there are some big, weird laughs. Sylvester Stallone is surprisingly okay. Lots of great performances (Tim Curry, as always, is a stand out). Grade: B

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Sep 09, 2023 at 00:13 UTC

15. Ruthless People (1986) - Danny DeVito plays an asshole millionaire who wants to kill his wife (Bette Midler) but she gets kidnapped for ransom before he can. Absolutely fucking hilarious and so farcical and very silly and stupid. Grade: A+

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Sep 09, 2023 at 00:11 UTC

14. Palm Beach Story (1942) - Very fun, lots of farcical elements and shares a lot of cast with Midnight. But... not as good as Midnight. Really funny but lots of loose ends. Ends with a very silly double wedding. Grade: B

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 31, 2023 at 02:06 UTC

I'm in the New Yorker today talking about (what else?) caterpillars and capitalism www.newyorker.com/culture/note...

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] May 05, 2023 at 23:57 UTC

Wow, it's official

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 21, 2023 at 20:47 UTC

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 21, 2023 at 20:29 UTC

Do I need to buy a guitar, or did it just rain while I was on my period? Scientists say it is impossible to know

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Aug 01, 2023 at 20:32 UTC

13. Midnight (1939) - Watched on the recommendation of Joe Keenan. Absolutely delightful. A cuckolded millionaire hires Claudette Colbert to seduce his wife's lover away from her. Fake royalty, romance, and GOWNS! Screenplay co-written by Billy Wilder - pairs nicely with Some Like It Hot! Grade: A

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 27, 2023 at 18:55 UTC

Nope!

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 21, 2023 at 18:37 UTC

12. Some Like It Hot (1959) - Very funny, lots of great scenes, very farce-y. Less gay panic than you'd expect from a straight-man-in-drag farce from the 50s! Marilyn Monroe is so great in this, and it goes without saying, but she's eye-poppingly gorgeous in it. Grade: A

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 11, 2023 at 03:15 UTC

11. Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Hepburn & Grant are great. Fun watching this AFTER What's Up, Doc, which borrowed many elements (buttoned-up scientist engaged to the wrong woman seeks funding; freewheeling gal rips his jacket). The prison scene is a pretty big payoff but not as good as WUD. Grade: A-

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 11, 2023 at 03:05 UTC

10. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Peak Cary Grant. Hard to believe it was a play considering how much comedy plays in the close ups on his face. Absolutely incredible. Drags in moments but a classic for a reason. Grade: A

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 11, 2023 at 03:04 UTC

9. The Party (1968) - I hesitate to include. A promising premise and lots of incredible gags, absolutely RUINED by Peter Sellers doing atrocious (not to mention completely unnecessary for the storytelling and jokes) brownface throughout the entire movie. Can we get AI to fix that? Grade: F

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 02:14 UTC

P.G. Wodehouse's entire bibliography

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:17 UTC

8. The Impostors (1988) - Written & directed by one of its stars, Stanley Tucci, it's got the loose, self-indulgent feel of an actor-directed movie. When it ended I said, "Well, I'm glad they had fun." The first act is great, and Oliver Platt elevates it. Its story issues were instructive! Grade: C

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:10 UTC

7. What's Up, Doc? (1979) - Holy shit, did I laugh the hardest at this one and I wasn't even stoned like I was for some of the others. Barbra is explicitly playing Bugs Bunny and it's lovely and romantic and stupid and just a perfect movie, top ten of all time. A++

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:07 UTC

6. The Death of Stalin (2017) - Veep meets Downfall meets Weekend at Bernie's and my god, does it work. Extremely dark, very funny, and I love a (surprisingly subtle) face-in-a-pissed-on-corpse-crotch moment. A farce even though everything in the movie is basically factual. A-

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:05 UTC

5. Clue (1988) - Not a bad performance in the bunch. Sort of surprised people still look down on toy-to-movie adaptations considering how beloved this is. Not a laugh-a-minute but some great lines. Everyone is furious with me about it, but... B+

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:03 UTC

4. Noises Off (1992) - Farce-y to the max. A double farce, a farce about a farce. Great performances but I get the feeling it would be a better play to see than on film. Sometimes had to rewind to see if I missed something. Watched this one alone so harder to judge on the laughs! B+

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 01:01 UTC

3. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - The movie that killed a guy from laughing at it, apparently. Despite John Cleese being a fuckhead currently, he did a great job with it. Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis are both very sexy in it. Lotsa laffs. A-/B+

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 00:59 UTC

2. Hellzapoppin! (1942) - Hilarious, holds up incredibly well. Maybe a bit too meta and surreal to be considered a straight farce instead of a spoof, but joke dense and great, efficient character work. Doesn't make the most sense in the world, but it doesn't need to. A-

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 00:57 UTC

Here's what I've watched so far this year: 1. La Cage Aux Folles - Excellent, the original, very much a classic farce but in its own world. It needs to exist. Giving it an A

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 00:54 UTC

According to Joe Keenan, writer of "The Ski Lodge" and other key Frasier eps, 'What tilts a comedy toward farce is that the biggest laughs stem from plot complications. Unexpected chain reactions and escalations; imposture, cross purposes, confusions; attempts at resolution that make things worse.'

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 02, 2023 at 00:53 UTC

Going to move my Farce Watch 2023 thread over here, why not. Because I'd like to fantasize about writing one (and living in a world where they still make them), I'm watching as many farce films as I can this summer.

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] May 05, 2023 at 23:57 UTC

Wow, it's official

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Emily Heller @mremilyheller.bsky.social [ View ] May 04, 2023 at 19:09 UTC

Pencils down, ass up #WGAstrike

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