Twitter From Home

2 Houston celebrities top Twitter's new report of hottest artists during quarantine

Cooped up at home, Americans developed a healthy social media habit and fell hard for two Houston performers during quarantine measures.

As part of the just released "Twitter From Home" trend report, social media giant Twitter listed "what we’ve been listening to, watching, eating, and doing to stay connected and entertained in quarantine." The report named the top musicians, movies, TV shows, and food from March 1 to September 1, when the majority of Americans dealt with lock down the best way anyone could — by getting on the internet.

In a surprise to almost no one who has been on Twitter for the last decade, Houston's Queen Bey — aka Beyoncé Knowles — came in as the No. 3 most tweeted music artist. The H-town raised, international superstar made waves with her visual album and film, Black is King,coming out in July, trailing only K-pop sensations BTS and self-rumored presidential candidate Kanye West. Her film is the No. 2 most tweeted about movie over the last six months, behind only Black Panther in top spot, no doubt taking top spot after the untimely passing of star Chadwick Boseman.

Another Houstonian made big waves over the summer of 2020 — for better and for worse. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion rocketed to the No. 5 most tweeted about musician spot behind the release of the massive singles, "Savage," and the cultural water cooler track "WAP" with Cardi B, who came in on the list at No. 9. Her trip to the hospital after being shot by rapper Tory Lanez also made big waves on the social media platform, no doubt increasing her profile.

Diversity is the main theme on the list of musicians and movies, with many minority-led projects making the top 10 on both lists. Canadian superstar Drake made the music list at No. 4, followed by K-pop group and RodeoHouston performers NCT at No. 6, hip-hop star Bad Bunny at No. 7, another K-pop act ATEEZ at No. 8, with former boy band star, Harry Styles coming in at No. 10.

For movies, Black Panther and Black is King were joined by the biggest movie of all-time with Avengers: End Game at No. 3; the Robert Pattinson-led caped crusader flick, The Batman, at No. 4; and the Disney+ sensation Hamilton: The Musical at No. 5. Sonic The Hedgehog, the live action version of Mulan, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The King of Staten Island, and Frozen 2 rounded out the list of most tweeted about films.

Representing the small screen, the Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance, took the top spot as most tweeted-about TV program. His Airness floated above reality show Big Brother Brasil, the inexplicable 2020 touchstone doc Tiger King, beloved cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, and sci-fi/fantasy show Avatar: The Last Airbender coming in as the top five shows.

Making bread at home, another pandemic phenomenon, earned the No. 2 spot for most tweeted about food, just behind chicken. And not to be outdone, the use of the virus emoji grew by 1662 percent during lock down orders.

Follow this link to check out all the lists from the "Tweet From Home" initiative.

"Black Panther," starring the late Chadwick Boseman, was the most tweeted about movie between March and September.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios

"Black Panther," starring the late Chadwick Boseman, was the most tweeted about movie between March and September.

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Movie Review

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

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.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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