Influential Texans

Megan Thee Stallion scores cover of Time's 100 Most Influential People 2020

Megan Thee Stallion is one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion has inspired myriad memes, pop culture discourse, and now an essay in Time magazine. The publication released its 100 Most Influential People 2020 list on September 23, and Megan Thee Stallion is both on the cover and the subject of an essay by Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson.

This year, Time tasked other influential people, many of whom have been on the list themselves, to write the accompanying articles.

"I don’t like to put the stigma of the word strong on Black women because I think it dehumanizes us, but she has strength — strength through vulnerability. She’s lost much of her family — her mother, her father, her grandmother — yet she is the epitome of tenacity, of pulling herself up by her bootstraps," Henson writes of the rapper.

"It's invigorating to see her become a platinum-selling artist with the viral hit 'Hot Girl Summer' and multiple No. 1 songs in the past year, 'Savage' and 'WAP.' But you would be a fool to think that's all there is to her. She's deep."

Megan Thee Stallion (who hails from San Antonio) isn't the only local on the list. Houston-born Lauren Gardner, who received both her bachelor's and master's from the University of Texas at Austin, is the engineer who developed the Johns Hopkins University dashboard that is used to share information about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five other Texans land on Time's list. San Antonian General Charles. Q. Brown, Jr. made history this summer when he became the nation’s first Black chief of not just the Air Force, but any military service. In his new post, Brown serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, perhaps the most prestigious role for any member of the U.S. military.

"CQ [Brown's nickname] has opened doors throughout his career and made sure that they have stayed open for those who follow," writes Heather Wilson, the president of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Sister Norma Pimentel was born in Brownsville and continues to work along the Texas-Mexico border as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Her organization, notes Julían Castro in Time, has served more than 100,000 families at the border.

"Her work has taken on greater importance in the era of Donald Trump, and for good reason. As he has acted with cruelty toward migrants, she has acted with compassion. As he has preyed on the vulnerable and sought rejection, she has preached community and acceptance. As he has promoted fear, she has taught love," Castro writes.

Austin billionaire Robert Smith, who stunned students at Morehouse College last year when he announced he was paying off their student loans, also appears on the list. His tribute was cowritten by husband and wife Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

Smith — who is worth $6.2 billion and ranked No. 125 on the recently released Forbes' 400 Richest Americans — is applauded for not only his impressive career in private equity, but for his multimillion-dollar investments in people.

"Robert F. Smith has keenly recognized that the most important way to use wealth and considerable resources is to reinvest in people and their communities, societies and futures," write the Jacksons. "If we can perpetuate this priority, we just may have a shot at creating a better world for future generations."

The other Texans applauded on this year's list are actor Selena Gomez, who was born in Grand Prairie; NFL darling and charismatic Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who was born in Tyler.

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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.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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