Skip to main content

Jump, Darling (Canada)

I have very mixed feelings about this film. The film got a lot pf press for being one of the last films by the older actress Cloris Leachman, who by the way is absolutely amazing in the film. But I am a bot confused as to what was the film trying to say. Is it more about coming to terms with your situation or making amends in life, or more like just a slice of life story.

Russell, a wannabe drag queen, breaks up with his boyfriend of many years and moves to the rustic countryside to be with his grandma. She has been living alone by herself and is absolutely against the idea of old age home. Initially Russell's plan is to take borrow her car but something makes him stay. In the only gay bar of the area, he makes some friends and starts doing drag for some money. He slowly starts to fall for one of the bartenders and their relationship is a bit all over the place. When Russell's mother shows up, she is aghast by the idea of her son taking care of the mother but eventually realizes. It seems at some point Russell wanted to be an actor and everyone around him had been very supportive but the drag scene is not working for many. Russell himself is not very sure. His relations with his grandma improves daily who is more than happy to have someone by her side. The end is weird where Russell moves back to the city to pursue his dream of drag and the grandma is left to die alone in her ballet shoes, a tribute that Russell gives to her in his performance too.

Russell is trying to struggle to find his place in the world by revisiting his past, and almost trying to create a do-over. He plans to initially get some money from his grandma quickly turns to taking care of her and loving her. Also the budding romance feels like a fresh start but is not very clear what's the nature of it. It felt toxic in the brief scenes that I saw. There are a lot of drag sequences where Russell is lip synching to the songs. So for viewers who enjoy it, this could be a hoot but for me, it was literally a drag. Performance wise, I felt Russell was a bit rusty initially but eventually I started to warm up. The grandma was definitely the soul of the film. I actually also enjoyed the mother's character who was always supportive of her son. Film is very simple and straight forward at the core but fails to make an impression or give a message. The erroneous ending doesn't help the cause either. (5/10)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...

Drug Shore (Chinese)

Apparently tis film was adapted by a true story Well, true or not, movies/series about drugs are not easy to watch. I have always said that drugs is like the end of life for anyone. For those who sink into this sea of addiction, some manage to swim upstream to recovery, while others cannot make it to the shore. The film may not be the best, but it does have a noble intention to remind everyone of the evil affects of drugs and combining that with sex. Ah Zhe is in a happy relationship with his influencer boyfriend. On his partner's birthday, they end up going to a party, which interestingly is being hosted at a drug dealer's house and this is where for the first time he is exposed to the world of drugs. The duo somehow do it just enough and come back home but next day Ah She gets invited by the dealer Xiao Fei for a meal. The dealer has a soft corner for Ah Zhe, but before anyone realizes, Ah Zhe's life spirals out of control when slowly he starts doing more and more drugs, ...

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...