Spelling It Out

Kalon McMahon gets gushy for Lindzi after F-bomb rant, swears love makes himtrue Bachelor Pad winner

While leaving the Bachelor mansion, McMahon jumps out of his limo to join LindziCox in hers for what is sure to be the most touchign moment of the season.

ABC.Go.com
Things we're looking good for McMahon and Cox after losing a chance for immunityduring the spelling bee challenge.

Photo by Todd Wawrychuk/ABC
Months after taping for the show ended, the couple is still very much an item,with frequent Instagram pics like this one from Aug. 19.

Kalon McM/Twitter
Kalon has been helping to promote Givebones, an organization that sells collarsto raise funds for homeless dogs.

Kalon McM/Twitter

Houston lost its final Bachelor Pad contestant Monday night, as Kalon Joseph Reid McMahon joined girlfriend Lindzi Cox on that painful limo ride away from the Bachelor château . . . and it all started with a spelling bee.

At the start of the episode, host Chris Harrison announced that players would couple up for the next few challenges, including a spelling competition judged by a team of preteen wordsmiths.

Already an item for about five weeks, Kalon and Lindzi felt more than confident that their blossoming on-air relationship had forged a tight partnership. Plus, anyone can spell words like "ceremony" and "heart," right? Even if Harrison makes team members alternate letters as they're spelling.

"I'm actually really excited that its a spelling bee," Kalon said, in a bit of Bachelor Pad fore shadowing. "Finally I feel that Lindzi and I may have an advantage."

"I'm actually really excited that it's a spelling bee," Kalon said. "Finally, I feel that Lindzi and I may have an advantage."

In a dressing room interview before the contest, McMahon put on his glasses and announced, "School is in session."

But the wax on the wings of Team K+L began to melt with J-E-W-L-R-Y and C-E-R-O-M-O-N-Y. Before long, they were watching the conniving Chris Bukowski and Sarah Newlon — whom the other contestants were hoping to eliminate next — secure immunity after Jaclyn and Ed spelled "cockamamie" C-O-C-K-A-M-A-Y.

“Ed’s been fucking Jaclyn this whole time, but he really fucked us here,” McMahon said in a rant that had ABC's censors hitting the bleep button. "It's certainly discouraging to have to face this inevitable rose ceremony now.

"The group that's left? We're all friends. We were all initially part of the same alliance. There's no way for this to go well for everyone."

As Chris and Sarah enjoyed an intimate date at a nearby ranch Blakeley, Rachel and Jaclyn pinkie-swear to vote Kalon and Lindzi off the show, sealing the happy couple's fate.

The post-ceremony departure

Always ready for some well-timed drama, reality bad boy Kalon McMahon made sure to leave the Bachelor Pad in style, jumping out of his limousine to join Lindzi in hers.

"I haven't had feelings like this, honestly, ever," he explained to the limo cameraman.

"It's a completely kind of different emotion and attraction than I've ever experienced before," Kalon explained. "And I never thought I would find that here."

"It's a completely kind of different emotion and attraction than I've ever experienced before. And I never thought I would find that here. A lot of them might think we're leaving here with nothing, but as I look at the group we're walking away from, I have to firmly believe that we're the biggest winners of Bachelor Pad."

Coming onto the show, Lindzi said she had little interest in finding romance. "But after these crazy weeks," she said, turning to McMahon. "I can honestly say I'm falling in love with you now."

“All I know is how I feel about you," he said in closing. "And I can’t imagine anyone loving anyone more than I do you.” [Cue music and end scene.]

Take that, Emily Maynard.

unspecified

Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

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.

---

The Invite is now playing in theaters.

movies film