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CBC
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Why Judy Blume's banned book Forever makes for great teen TV
Social Sharing Forever is a teen drama about two high schoolers who fall for each other, while also dealing with overbearing pressure from their ambitious parents. Based on Judy Blume's book of the same name, Netflix has reenvisioned the classic coming-of-age novel as a modernized story about young Black love. Today on Commotion, David Dennis Jr. and Kathleen Newman-Bremang join guest host Rad Simonpillai to discuss how Forever managed to write teenagers that actually sound like teenagers, and why Black kids need the space to be mediocre as well as extraordinary. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: David: I think one of the things that is so beautiful about this show is that everybody communicates so well with each other. I have a teenager… and what I'm learning is that this generation of kids communicates so much better than we did. And this kind of leans into it. There is this playfulness, this casualness — actually not even that casual…. This understanding of what sex can mean, and losing your virginity can mean, and the really beautiful way they've put this in— it's something they could have left out of the main plot of the story. But they put it in, because it's just such a refreshing look at how people talk about sex. And it's real. And I love that they did that. Rad: Kathleen, I'm just going to let you tap in there. Are you feeling similar ways about this? Kathleen: Yeah, I feel very similar to David…. I think safety and trust is big. It's something, again, that we don't see often depicted when it comes to teen boys on TV. And especially not Black ones. And so the fact that Justin just understands consent, he's respectful, he's kind — that's a good enough prerequisite for him being someone's first. You know, the bar is on the floor for teen boys. But what Shannon, his family friend, says is that she's just desperate for a good, safe space to lose her virginity. And since she knows that doesn't always happen, she asks a friend who she's not romantically involved with. And I think it was just refreshing to see a Black girl own that she just wanted to have sex. That she was horny — she says that, period — and it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. Rad: Yeah… they're so good at communicating, you're right — except when they hit "block." That was the most frustrating recurring element of the show: they kept blocking each other. WATCH | Official trailer for Forever on Netflix: And look, there's a lot of themes in the show…. David, is there something that resonated the most with you, out of all the themes that the show's handling? David: To me, it was the intentionality of making them look and act like teenagers. When I watch something like Euphoria, or even some of the CW shows like All American, it feels like adults cosplaying as kids and trying to write like how they think kids are. This, I felt like they were children when I was watching this. And it's hard to do. And Black kids, they don't get to be kids in real life.… The way that they allowed Justin to be awkward and weird, they would stumble over each other's words. They allowed lame jokes to float in the air, and the way that they were just sometimes irrational and infuriating — it's what teenagers are…. It was so revolutionary to really go against what we see in so many of these teen dramas that are just like, "Here's a 13-year-old written by a 45-year-old, and they're going to know about the GDP of the country and all these things that teenagers don't actually care about." And they're just like, "No, we're going to have teenagers have a five-minute conversation about Naruto, or whatever teenagers talk about. Because we deserve to have that space, and for them to have that space." The intentionality of allowing Black kids to be kids is just something that I cannot get over about this show. Kathleen: One of the things, I think, that adds to what David is saying is that I loved how it explored Black excellence.... The expectations of Black excellence that came from their parents — which we understand — they still allowed Keisha and Justin to just be kids, and fail, and be mediocre at times. And I thought that they explored that dichotomy so well in this show.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Venus Effect review – a sizzling queer romcom without the cliches
Technically, this film is a romcom – in that it is funny and romantic. But it's not a romcom in the sense of adhering to the formulaic character types and well-worn plot beats that we're used to seeing the likes of Jennifers Aniston, Lawrence and Lopez navigate with such aplomb. It is the story of twentysomething Liv (Johanne Milland) and her burgeoning attraction to Andrea (Josephine Park), and is a lovely, well-acted and sincere Danish independent film with plenty of humour; it wears its tender heart on its sleeve and hews closely to the form and style of a coming-of-age film. Nobody here is coming-of-age, though; they're already-of-age, but in Liv's discovery of her sexuality, perhaps it could be a coming-of-orientation film. The Venus Effect is strong on the things which matter in such stories: sizzling chemistry between the leads and likable characters you hope can work through their inevitable differences. It's also good on rather more under-explored themes, such as the ripple effects of coming out in a modern family who aren't going to disown you for homophobic reasons, but might nevertheless disappoint you in other ways. The film's best line – 'I just don't think I'm gay enough to be gay' – brings humour to a well-handled exploration of Liz's feeling that while she might fancy a woman (or even women), she still doesn't fit in with Andrea and her friends in a broader subcultural way. Queer culture can feel exclusionary, and the extent to which this feeling is a product of Liv's own anxieties versus something that it would be worth Andrea examining is left open. The perennial debate around whether queer cinema needs to focus less on pain and showcase joy, or whether in fact avoiding tragedy is dishonest considering what the real world is actually like is curiously moot: this is a film with pain and pleasure blended in a realistic and sweetly vulnerable way. The Venus Effect is on digital platforms from 2 June.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Little Sister review – a discerning drama of queer Muslim coming-of-age
Actor turned director Hafsia Herzi presents her first feature in the Cannes competition: a coming-of-age story of queer Muslim identity, with all the painful, irreconcilable imperatives that this implies, complicating the existing insoluble agonies of just getting to be an adult. It is adapted from La Petite Dernière, or The Last One, the autofictional novel by Franco-Algerian author Fatima Daas about growing up as the kid sister, the youngest of three girls, in an Algerian family in a Paris suburb with her mum, dad and siblings. Non-professional newcomer Nadia Melliti plays Fatima, a smart kid battling with asthma who likes books, likes football, likes freestyling, likes running – and likes girls. (This last interest is secret.) As Fatima prepares to leave school and start her first year at university (while living at home, of course) she cultivates a protective deadpan manner and wears a cap: the secular-western camouflage equivalent of a head covering. She has to negotiate her way out of what appears to be an unofficial engagement with a Muslim boy into which she has drifted. His feelings, and perhaps his sense of entitlement, will be hurt. So be it. Fatima downloads a dating app on her phone and covertly experiments with gay hookups: a louche, somewhat insensitive older woman, then a younger German woman with whom she feels a little more comfortable and finally Ji-Na, the Korean nurse in her asthma clinic (a very good performance from Park Ji-min), the only one with whom she can open up, and soon they have fallen in love. But Ji-Na's own issues come to the surface, and with them a crisis for Fatima. It is performed with robustness and honesty, and there is incidentally a wittily presented, real-looking lo-fi dream sequence. Herzi manages the sexuality and intimacy with assurance, and also Fatima's own complex sense of herself as the good daughter. It's impossible to forget, incidentally, Herzi's own amazing acting debut as the spirited daughter in the 2007 film Couscous by the French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche, who to the surprise and consternation of many has now drifted into straight softcore erotica. Herzi may well have taken some influence from Kechiche's Palme d'Or-winning film Blue Is the Warmest Colour from 2013, particularly in the way a sex scene segues into a joyful street demo scene. Of course, that film was criticised for turning a straight male gaze on lesbian sexuality; Herzi can be said to have avoided that, though Kechiche's film, for all that it is now deeply unfashionable and even discredited, had an extravagance, a passion, a bull-in-a-china-shop craziness that The Little Sister doesn't, quite. Melliti's performance is reserved and even a bit opaque, certainly compared to the excellent Park, who made her own debut in Davy Chou's Return to Seoul and, indeed, seasoned actors such as Mouna Soualem, playing a raucous party animal drawn to Fatima. This opacity is partly a function of not being a professional actor, but it is also the opacity of real life, the opacity of someone who has long learned to present a calm and undemonstrative face to the world – and there is something affecting in emotion and tears in this context. And finally, Herzi shows us that these crises and confrontations are maybe never going to be entirely solved, but managed and finessed with increasing maturity. It's an elegant directorial performance from Herzi. The Little Sister screened at the Cannes film festival
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Critics applaud new Prime Video comedy series with an outstanding 92% Rotten Tomatoes score - as they warn 'binge responsibly'
Comedy fans are addicted to a new Prime Video series with an outstanding 92 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score - as they warn 'binge responsibly'. Overcompensating, which only dropped on the platform on Friday, is an eight-part American series following a closeted football player and frat boy as he starts university. As he wrestles with his identity and sexuality, he develops a friendship with fellow freshman Carmen, who is facing her own challenges - a long-time wallflower, she is resolved to gain more confidence while at college. Created by TikTok sensation and comedian Benito Skinner, who also takes the lead role, the programme follows the pair as they gain the confidence to be themselves. Alongside newcomer Wally Baram as Carmen, it boasts a stellar cast with Adam DiMarco (Albie on The White Lotus series two), alongside Black Mirror actress Mary Beth Barone, Ms Marvel actor Rish Shah. Fans and critics alike are already loving the programme, co-produced by Amazon and A24, with appearances from singer Charli XCX, actor James Van Der Beek and SNL star Bowen Yang - and they warn it is dangerously addictive, SurreyLive reports. Online publication Leisure Byte dubbed it 'fun, extremely loud [and] thoroughly relatable'. Meanwhile, entertainment blog TV and City praised its fresh take on the coming-of-age tale: 'In a landscape crowded with college comedies, Overcompensating manages to carve out its niche by being unapologetically bold, refreshingly honest, and consistently funny. 'It's a testament to Skinner's talent that the series feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. 'For those seeking a comedy that delivers both laughs and heart, this is one to check out.' Review site Gazettely said: 'Viewers seeking a fresh take on coming-of-age tales, especially those highlighting queer discovery, will find its ensemble dynamics rewarding.' But there was only one snag, in the reviewer's eyes - that the cast are all considerably older than university age: 'Binge responsibly: the cast's decade-older appearance may momentarily jar, but strong performances quickly eclipse that detail.' Creator Benito, 31, has previously said the protagonist is modelled on his own experience as an 18-year-old. But he added he worked with an acting coach to try to perfect the mannerisms of the adolescent character. Fans took to X to express their praise for the new comedy series One fan said on X: 'I just binged Overcompensating on Prime Video, a wild mix of cringe, charm and chaos that somehow works! 'Also, shoutout to Adam DiMarco for making a killer comeback. College drama has never been this extra (and this much fun)!' Another said: 'Overcompensating delivers a raunchy and sexy college coming-of-age queer comedy from Amazon and A24!' Someone else added: 'Didn't expect Overcompensating to eat like this. Came for Charli XCX, stayed for the comedy, chaos and iconic soundtrack. 'Feels like a love letter to her pop eras wrapped in queer college drama. Funny, real, well-written. I need season two like now.' British singer Charli XCX makes a short cameo in the fourth episode of the show, playing herself in a concert at the show's fictional university - with some cracking one-liners. She screams, 'What the f*** am I f***ing doing here?', before referring to her own 2014 song: 'Do you think I want to play f***ing Boom Clap in a f***ing college?' It comes after fans also found themselves hooked on another series on Prime Video in recent times - with an impressive 93 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, it has been hailed the next American Horror Story. Three of four seasons of anthology programme Channel Zero, first released between 2016 and 2019, have recently been uploaded to the streamer. Like beloved anthology show American Horror Story, which has run since 2011, each series has a self-contained chilling storyline. The first season, for instance, named Candle Cove, follows a child psychologist (Paul Schneider) and his mother (Fiona Shaw) investigating his brother's disappearance - mysteriously linked to a creepy children's TV show they used to watch. The programme has been popular with critics, with season one boasting a whopping 93 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes - and the second and third instalments rated a perfect 100 per cent. And fans love it just as much too, taking to Rotten Tomatoes to leave their verdicts - with some even suggesting it rivals cult horror classic American Horror Story. One said of the first series: 'Somewhere between American Horror Story and Stranger Things, Channel Zero: Candle Cove provides a meandering plot through the subtle horrors shared by children around the world. 'Relying on few jump scares or over-the-top special effects, Candle Cove still delivers spine-tingling terror. For who prefer chills to thrills, a must-watch.'
CBC
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Ocean Vuong finds beauty and companionship in a fast-food shift
Social Sharing Before Ocean Vuong became the notable name in literature he is today, he worked a typical 9-to-5 at a fast food restaurant. It was there, among the hustle and bustle of serving customers from all walks of life, and his interactions with his co-workers, that Vuong found inspiration for his latest novel The Emperor of Gladness, which is a coming of age story about Hai, a 19-year-old fast food worker in America. In the story, Hai forms a found family with his co-workers and an elderly woman. They're considered to be on the margins of society, but find comfort in each other through their shared sense of ostracization by the world around them, and their desire for companionship. "My work is always interested in power dynamics ... in class dynamics and identity, all of these things that are discrete borders that either are real or imagined," said Vuong on Bookends with Mattea Roach. Vuong is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist and novelist. He has received numerous awards, including a MacArthur Genius Grant. He was born in Saigon, Vietnam, raised in Hartford, Conn., and currently lives between Northampton, Mass. and New York City. His previous works include On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and Time Is a Mother. He joined Roach to discuss The Emperor of Gladness and the inspirations behind the characters' unexpected bonds. I know that you have had experience working as a fast food server. Can you set the scene for us? What is it [like] to work in that kind of space where you're just grinding it out, trying to make a living and keep that roof over your head? I worked at a place called Boston Market and Panera. It was a microcosm of America itself. We often talk about the nuclear family in the American values, and the antithesis of that might be the found family. I think what we don't always talk about is the circumstantial family, the family wherein we are cobbled together in a shift at a workforce. The family that you have no choice in, and yet you must work together amongst these strangers to get through a shift. I worked at a place called Boston Market and Panera. It was a microcosm of America itself. You are heavily dependent on them, and my experience working in those places is one of the most insightful and tender moments of my life. So much of America and modern life is actually made by these intimacies that the corporation doesn't really make room for, but people establish it in spite of that. That subversion is something that I'm really interested in. It's fascinating because not only do you have people coming together in terms of it as a place of employment, [these] are also places that people come to you for comfort. Customers have these stories, and we see a little bit in your novel [about] what's going on in the lives of [them]. Are there customers that you remember from your days working in food service? Absolutely, customers and coworkers. I think the customers are interesting because the corporation doesn't see them. They never see the individual — they see them as a number, as a cash flow. The corporation also doesn't see the employee as beyond their function. We're kind of like a pair of hands. And yet, because we are human beings and not robots, we start to see the stories and the identities in our customers. A lot of the customers that I had were sex workers on the highways in Connecticut that we worked on, and they would come in right before their shifts — very dangerous work, [and] you just watch a sex worker eat an entire rotisserie chicken with all of her nails on. It's just this symbol and vignette of beauty and perseverance. It's the oldest profession in our species, eating at a fast food restaurant to sustain herself, to raise her family. Also the people who work there — they're not supposed to say certain things beyond, 'Can I help you?' 'What can I get you?' 'I'm so, so sorry.' I think the customers are interesting because the corporation doesn't see them. They never see the individual — they see them as a number, as a cash flow. But they start to tell each other stories in the back, in the smoke was one moment when I was 17 working at Boston Mark. I was cleaning this freezer with my mentor at the time, who was this man in his fifties. He was giving me all this advice about how to work efficiently, but then it would bleed into life advice. He said, "You know, you're young now, but when you grow up, you're gonna start realizing some strange things. I wanna tell you something, it's something I haven't even told my wife." And he says to me, "I have three sons, but I only love one of them." I don't know what to say, I'm a child. He said, "Yeah, I know, it sounds weird. Jake and I have no real bond, there's no reason for it, but that just happens. God chooses who we love. Even though we're supposed to love certain people, we don't always meet up to it." There's so much about these circumstantial communities and families in this novel. We see it form in the workplace across generations and we see it formed between Hai and Grazina. [She's] a Lithuanian woman, she's in her 80s and she's living with dementia. When she can't remember where she is or what's going on, she remembers her past living through the occupation of the Baltic states during the second world war. This is a different refugee story than the sort of refugee story you've told in your other work. What drew you to this particular refugee story? The book at the end is dedicated to a woman named Georgina. She was a woman I lived with when I was an undergraduate at Brooklyn College, and I lost my housing, and a friend [was like] my grandmother's alone with dementia, let me talk to my mother, and maybe you can stay there, take care of her and have a home. I ended up living there for three years, and on one hand, our geopolitical histories are very different, and yet it is absolutely the same. She had the same traumas that my grandmother had, she had the same night terrors, she was describing bombs in the same way my grandmother described them. And here I am, a Vietnamese refugee living with a Lithuanian refugee from two different American wars, 30 years apart, two different continents and we're meeting in one rail house. It was actually Zadie Smith, when I met her in 2014 in Paris. We were just sharing stories about how we came to writing and I was telling her the story, I was living with this woman who had dementia and I was making up stories to ameliorate her anxieties. In a joking way, Zadie said, "If you don't write this novel, I will." I was like, "Oh my God, one of the greatest novelists of our time thinks this is worthwhile to tell, I should figure out a way to turn it into fiction and tell that story." It's been seated in me for a long time, but it was an honour of this friendship that I end up having with this elderly woman who in many ways survives so much and was also just cast out of society.
