• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    She's Got Moxie

    Houston author's 'Moxie' powers Amy Poehler's edgy new Netflix film

    Johnston Farrow
    Johnston Farrow
    Feb 4, 2021 | 12:50 pm

    A little bit of Moxie goes a long way.

    Houston-based author and Bellaire High School English teacher Jennifer Mathieu is raising a glass this week after the trailer for the Netflix movie based on her young adult novel, Moxie, aired this week. The trailer has been shared around the world in myriad media outlets. (View it here.)

    The film stars and is directed by comedy legend Amy Poehler. The former Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation star’s production company, Paper Kite, optioned the rights to Moxie in 2018, and it will premiere on the streaming giant on March 3.

    “It’s been surreal,” the admittedly shy, but excited Jennifer Mathieu tells CultureMap after a day of teaching. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. One of the nice things about all this is that friends, my college roommate, and people I went to high school with are sharing it on social media and saying nice things. So, it’s been really fun and a way to connect with people.”

    While many books are adapted for screen by streaming services, not all star an Emmy Award-winning actress in Poehler and an Academy Award winning actress in Marcia Gay Harden, not to mention a who’s-who in upcoming young Hollywood talent in Hadley Robinson (Little Women, Utopia) and Patrick Schwarznegger (son of Arnold).

    Moxie follows protagonist Vivian Carter who becomes inspired by her mother’s riot grrrl-inspired, feminist past to create an anonymous zine that speaks out against the sexist culture at her high school. The zine is the catalyst for a feminist movement on campus, drawing the ire of administrators and the young men whose toxic masculinity is being called out.

    Despite the recent glut of teen movies across platforms, Moxie is drawing favorable comparisons to some of the best of the genre, including Booksmart and Mean Girls.

    The story is somewhat personal to Mathieu. She is a unabashed feminist that wrote zines herself as a teenager. She loved riot grrrl bands of the '90s such as Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill known for promoting female equality through art and music. Walking the walk, Mathieu is also the proud sponsor of the Feminist Club at Bellaire High School, a campus she says is much more accepting and supportive of all voices than the fictional high school setting of her novel.

    "That's why I wrote Moxie," she says. "I love riot grrrl, I love feminism and stories that center on how hard it is to be a teenager. It's just been a great experience from start to finish."

    While not directly involved with the film making process, Mathieu did discuss the adaptation with screenwriter Tamara Chestna. She also had the opportunity to fly to California before the pandemic started to visit the set, where she met with Poehler and some of the cast, including Robinson, who plays the main character, Vivian. (No judgement here for fangirling over the experience of seeing her creation jump off the page.)

    "Amy Poehler came out and I was just so uncool," Mathieu remembers. "I immediately asked, 'Can I have a picture with you?' I was going to be on set for the whole day. But I was like, I need a picture with you now! That moment was probably a top ten in my life."

    When she got to see a screener of the movie, she watched it with her husband, and then watched it three more times.

    “I 100 percent, freaking loved it,” she recalls. “I mean, I knew Amy Poehler was going to do a good job, but you always hear stories of authors like Stephen King didn’t like The Shining, but I knew that wasn’t going to be me. I knew I was going to love it because I love everything that Amy Poehler does, but I don’t think I was prepared to love it as much as I did.”

    Unlike King’s well-documented criticism of adaptations of his work, the film version of Moxie stayed true to the book with a few changes and wrinkles that work for the screen. The feminist spirit of the novel is fully intact, which comes through in the trailer.

    “The big elements and scenes that were really important to me, that I loved writing are all still in there, but [Poehler’s] also added her own spin on it,” Mathieu says. “She’s changed some of the storyline, and the principal is now played by a woman, which I thought was an interesting choice, played by Marcia Gay Harden. But the way she put it all together works so beautifully, and I think it’s the best kind of film adaptation — it honors the book but it’s its own special creation.”

    Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, Mathieu will miss out on walking the red carpet at an official premiere, but she’s quite content to celebrate at home with her husband and 10-year-old boy.

    "Of course I would have loved to gone, but as someone who is pretty introverted, there's a part of me that's 'phew,' I don't know how I would have handled being at a big event like that," she says. "But I know there will be virtual watch parties and my publisher is putting together a Moxie movie in a box to send out to to reporters to build buzz. There's also going to be a movie tie-in version of the book."

    Next up for Mathieu is the release of her sixth novel, Bad Girls Never Say Die, which contains echoes of Moxie about a gang of girls in Houston set in 1964. A tentative date has been set for the fall. Until then, the Houston author is content to enjoy the ride around the Netflix film, continue to teach, and write in her spare time.

    “When I saw the list of everywhere the trailer had been, I was so pumped to know it had that wide of a reach,” Mathieu says. “I’m super excited — I really am just like a high school teacher. I’m a mom, I live in Westbury, I’m 44 years-old, it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes. But in a great way.”

    "Moxie" author Jennifer Mathieu (right) freaking out like the rest of us would with Amy Poehler on set.

    Jennifer_Mathieu_Amy_Poehler
      
    Courtesy Jennifer Mathieu
    "Moxie" author Jennifer Mathieu (right) freaking out like the rest of us would with Amy Poehler on set.
    bookscomedymoviestv
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Massive, German-inspired beer garden coming to new Energy Corridor project

    4 fresh new restaurants now open in suburban Houston

    Houstonians will get the royal treatment at this lively new steakhouse

    Movie Review

    New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

    Alex Bentley
    May 16, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship
    Photo courtesy of A24
    Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

    Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

    Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

    He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

    Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

    The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

    Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

    Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

    There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

    ---

    Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

    moviesfilm
    news/entertainment
    Loading...