Alison Brie stirs up drama in rom-com Somebody I Used to Know

Movie Review

Photo by Scott Patrick Green/Prime Video

Loving and losing is a concept with which most adults are very familiar. And it’s a safe bet that most of those people have spent at least some time wondering what might have been with a former partner and, especially in the age of social media, thinking about reconnecting with that person.

The new film Somebody I Used to Knowoffers a fresh take on that idea, centering on Ally (Alison Brie), a reality TV producer who ventures back home to Washington after her show gets canceled. When she gets there, she runs into her ex-boyfriend Sean (Jay Ellis), and after a day/night of fun together, there seems to be a rekindling of that old flame.

Photo by Scott Patrick Green/Prime Video

Alison Brie in Somebody I Used to Know

That is, until the following day, when an impromptu visit by Ally to Sean’s family home leads to the discovery that Sean is set to marry Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons) that very weekend. When Sean’s mom JoJo (Olga Merediz) asks her to step in as videographer for the wedding, Ally jumps at the chance, if only to sort through her confusion over the state of Sean’s feelings.

Written by Brie and her husband, Dave Franco, and directed by Franco, the film has a similar concept to the 1997 Julia Roberts rom-com My Best Friend’s Wedding, with perhaps a bit more grounded approach. And lest you think that Brie and Franco don’t know that, they make sure to throw in a reference to that film in a tense but illuminating conversation between Ally and Cassidy.

While the film offers plenty of humor – Haley Joel Osment steals the show as Sean’s goofy brother, Jeremy – most of the story is told in a straight-up manner, with the comedy feeling more organic than forced. With Cassidy rightfully suspicious of Ally’s presence/intentions, each person in the triangle is given plenty of opportunity to address the awkward situation, something that doesn’t always happen in these types of movies.

The series of situations that advance the plot – a tubing trip; a concert by Cassidy’s punk rock band, Dirty Blush; the rehearsal dinner – all come off as well-considered and true to life rather than inserted just to create drama and/or comedy. Even moments that threaten the balance, like Brie reuniting with her Community co-star Danny Pudi or Ally’s mom (Julie Hagerty) having an active sex life, work in the context of the film, a testament to Brie and Franco’s writing.

Brie is highly effective in the lead role, eliciting empathy even when her character engages in somewhat questionable activity. The 41-year-old Ellis may finally be getting his due, turning in a strong performance here after his recent stint on Insecure and supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick. And Clemons makes the “other woman” role her own, winding up just as appealing as Brie.

By using comedy as a booster to its story rather than making it the whole basis, Somebody I Used to Know escapes the traps that bring many rom-coms down. With a trio of engaging actors at the front, and great supporting actors, it’s one of the more successful entries for the genre in a long time.

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Somebody I Used to Know debuts on Prime Video on February 10.

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Whataburger weighs in as healthiest cheeseburger in the nation

THEMS EATIN' WORDS

With its love of greasy enchiladas, gluttonous fried steaks, and fat-speckled brisket, San Antonio isn’t exactly known as a healthy eating mecca. But it turns out that one locally beloved dish isn’t as unhealthy as one might think.

Inspired by February’s American Heart Month (albeit belatedly), Gambling.com decided to dig deep into which fast-food burger was best for the ticker and the body overall. What that has to do with online slots is anyone’s guess, but perhaps open-heart surgeries are not conducive to risk-taking.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! Local favorite/ food cult Whataburger took the top slot, earning honors with its standby cheeseburger. Assumably, the gambling site considered the mustard-slathered original, eschewing calorie bombs like bacon slices and creamy pepper sauce. Where’s the fun of Whataburger if you can’t get it just like you like it?

To arrive at the rankings, Gambling.com analyzed each burger for sugar, fat, salt, and calorie content per ounce. Each metric was given a one to ten score that factored into the final report card shared with content-hungry food journalists everywhere.

Coming in a close second was In-N-Out’s cheeseburger, a comforting fact for Texans who enjoy complaining about Californians. Rounding out the top five were Checker’s Checkerburger with Cheese, Culver’s ButterBurger Cheese, and Del Taco’s del Cheese Burger.

For those trying to make better eating choices, that list should give some pause. Yes, Whataburger beats out other fast-food faves, but it was competing against a chain that literally toasts all their buns in churned cream. Health is a relative concept.

Elsewhere on the list was another Texas darling, the No. 6 ranked Dairy Queen. Apparently, all that “hungr” is being busted by a hefty dose of sodium. Yes, we will take fries with that.

Disney's Little Mermaid remake goes swimmingly despite new so-so songs

Movie review

The biggest problem with the majority of the live-action updates to classic Disney animated films is that they haven’t been updates at all, choosing to merely regurgitate the moments audiences know and love from the original in a slightly repackaged form. That’s great for nostalgia, but if that’s all viewers wanted, they’d just go back and watch the original.

The Little Mermaid falls into much the same trap, although the filmmakers get at least a little credit for trying to offer something new. The story, of course, remains the same, as Ariel (Halle Bailey) has a fascination with everything above the surface of the ocean. Her rebellious nature, at odds with strict King Triton (Javier Bardem), leads her to spy on a ship with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) and his crew, putting her in position to save Eric when the ship crashes into rocks.

Now totally enamored of Eric, Ariel is convinced by the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to give up her voice for a chance to live on land and make Eric fall in love with her. Trouble is, despite the help of Sebastian the crab (Daveed Diggs), Flounder the fish (Jacob Tremblay), and Scuttle the seabird (Awkwafina), Ursula has no plans to let Ariel succeed fair and square.

Directed by Rob Marshall and written by David Magee, the film clocks in at nearly one hour longer than the original, going from 83 minutes to 135. They accomplish this feat with the addition of several songs, including ones “sung” by Ariel while she is without voice, a relatively clever way to get into her thoughts during that long stretch. There are also additional scenes that give Prince Eric more of a backstory, making him more than just a pretty face on which to hang all of Ariel’s hopes and dreams.

The new songs are hit-and-miss; Ariel’s “For the First Time” is a fanciful number that fits in nicely, but “Wild Uncharted Waters,” a solo song for Prince Eric, feels unnecessary, and the less said about “The Scuttlebutt,” a rap performed by Scuttle and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the better. What most people want to see are how the original songs are done, and they come off well for the most part. The actors’ voices are uniformly good and the staging is engaging.

Other changes seem half-hearted, at best. A vague environmental theme broached at the beginning is quickly dropped. The cast is very multicultural, but haphazardly so. The film is obviously set on and around a Caribbean island, making it natural for The Queen (Noma Dumezweni), Eric’s adopted mother, and other islanders to be Black. But giving Ariel “sisters from the seven seas,” allowing for mermaids of several different races and ethnicities, feels odd and forced, and a little creepy given that King Triton is supposed to be the father of all of them.

The fact that Bailey herself is Black, while great for representation, is neither here nor there in the context of the film. Bailey has a voice that is equal to everything she is asked to sing, and her silent acting is excellent in the middle portion of the film. McCarthy makes for a great Ursula, bringing both humor and pathos to the role. Hauer-King, who bears a similarity to Ryan Gosling, plays Eric in a more well-rounded manner.

The live-action version of The Little Mermaid, like almost all of the Disney remakes, never truly establishes itself as its own unique thing. Still, it’s a thoroughly pleasant watch with some nice performances, which clears the bar for success for this era of Disney history.

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The Little Mermaid opens in theaters on May 26.

Photo courtesy of Disney

Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid.

These 6 San Antonio museums are offering free admission for military families all summer long

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Half a dozen San Antonio museums are honoring active-duty military personnel and their families with free admission through the Blue Star Museums initiative, May 20 through September 4, 2023.

Established by the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the U.S. Department of Defense, the Blue Star Museums program annually provides military families free access to 2,000 museums nationwide throughout the summer. The program begins yearly on Armed Forces Day in May and ends on Labor Day.

Free admission is extended to personnel currently serving in the U.S Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard (including those in the Reserve), and all National Guardsman. Members of the U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps are also included in the program.

Those who qualify can use their military ID to bring up to five family members - including relatives of those currently deployed. More information about qualifications can be found here.

There is no limit on the number of participating museums that qualifying families may visit. Admission for non-active military veterans, however, is not included.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts website, the initiative was created to help "improve the quality of life for active duty military families" with a specific focus on children. The site states two million have had a parent deployed since 2001.

"Blue Star Museums was created to show support for military families who have faced multiple deployments and the challenges of reintegration," the website says. "This program offers these families a chance to visit museums this summer when many will have limited resources and limited time to be together."

Here's a look at all the museums in San Antonio that are participating in the Blue Star Museums initiative this year.

For those looking to take a drive around Central Texas, the Sophienburg Museum & Archives in New Braunfels and Bandera's Frontier Times Museum are also participants in the Blue Star Museums initiative.

More information about Blue Star Museums and a full list of participants can be found on arts.gov.

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