Celebrated writer Milly Ivins is the star of this new documentary.
RAISE HELL - The Life & Times of Molly Ivins/Facebook
Fans of Molly Ivins, the journalist, humorist, and media firebrand whose byline appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Houston Chronicle, may want to check out the new documentary on her life, Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, which hits local theaters on Friday, August 30.
The doc is directed by award-winning filmmaker Janice Engel (no relation to Margaret and Allison Engel, the twin-sister journalists who wrote the 2010 play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins).
Raise Hell chronicles Ivins' career as a sharp-tongued, rabble-rousing, leftist reporter and columnist who went after corruption wherever she found it — most particularly, in her home base of Texas — before she passed away in 2007 at the age of 62, after a long bout with Stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer.
Dan Rather, Paul Begala, and Rachel Maddow are some of the people who are interviewed, and a portion of all ticket sales will go to the ACLU.
Landmark River Oaks will feature a little something special when the movie plays there on opening weekend. At the Friday and Saturday screenings at 7 pm, producer (and born-and-bred Houstonian) Carlisle Vandervoort will be in attendance. She'll do a post-screening Q&A on Friday night (with ACLU Texas executive director Terri Burke), and an intro to the Saturday-night screening.
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Tickets for Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins are available via Landmark Theatres. $11.25 ($8.25 for adults and children).
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.
Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.
Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.
What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.
Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.
Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.
But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.
In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.
While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.
