This Week in Pop Culture: October 4, 2024
Horror movie season, yet another season of Love is Blind, and so much more in this week's pop culture round-up.
Happy Friday, friends! Shanah tovah - happy Jewish new year. If you celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I’m wishing you a sweet new year full of health and happiness. If you don’t celebrate, I still invite you to eat some apples dipped in honey (because it’s delicious). October is finally here: my favorite month of the year! I can hardly believe that September is over and we’re into all things Halloween, pumpkin everything, and spooky season. Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope you’re looking forward to it.
It’s another week where I’m light on content for the opening of the newsletter! Things remain Very Bad in the real world, and I’m trying to protect my peace by doing things I like that also calm me, like eating candy and working on puzzles and generally not reading the comments.1 But this cute video of Adam Brody and Kristen Bell doing press for their new Netflix show (which we’ll talk about later in the newsletter) was a serotonin shot right to my brain. I loved watching them talk about their career and friendship:
Here’s the rest of the pop culture that took up space in my brain this week:
What I Read:
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims: Margo is a a middle-aged woman in a small town who works at the public library, but her real name isn’t Margo, nor is her background in libraries. A former nurse who left a trail of premature deaths in her wake, she’s tried to turn a new page in her life. When Patricia joins the library staff, she notices Margo’s subtle edge and begins to watch her, and when a patron dies in the library bathroom, Patricia starts digging further into Margo’s past.
This thriller first caught my attention when it was published last year, because it’s about a librarian with a dark secret, but I didn’t get around to reading it until now, since I was looking for a spookier read to usher in the month of October. I really wish I had liked it more than I did, because the premise is interesting and the way that Sims structures the novel - told from the perspectives of both Margo and Patricia - is well done. But ultimately something about the characters gave me the ick in a way that I’m not sure was intended, and I also found the middle section of the book to really drag. It ultimately felt like a run-of-the-mill thriller with two unreliable narrators, and I felt like it played out in a really predictable way. I did like some of the details about library work and patron interactions, though - those hit very close to home for me!
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay: In 1993 a group of young filmmakers made a film called Horror Movie, intended to be an art-house horror flick. But it was never released to the public, though it drew an underground fanbase. Years later, an attempt to remake the original includes recruiting the actor who played “The Thin Kid” in the original - the only surviving cast member. But to remake the movie means revisiting the past, and as the memories come back, the lines between reality and film begin to blur.
It’s impossible not to read this book without also thinking about the iconic found-footage horror film, The Blair Witch Project, which I think had to at least partially inspire this novel. At first, I was very intrigued by Tremblay’s unique formatting here: jumping back and forth in time to when they shot the first movie to present-day pitch meetings, and also including lengthy sections of the original screen play. But as the book went on, there was a stagnant feeling to the plot, and I struggled to stick with it, even though I could feel moments of tension and could see that what Tremblay was doing was exceedingly well done. It probably has more to do with my current state of mind than anything that this didn’t fully work for me, because I do think it’s a tightly written novel. Tremblay is considered one of the best horror writers working today and it’s easy to see why - there were scenes in this book that will stay with me for a while - not to mention a truly staggering ending moment - but I still felt like something was missing. This is not the Tremblay book I’d start with if you’re curious about his work; I’d recommend A Head Full of Ghosts or The Cabin at the End of the World.2
What I Watched:*
*It’s spooky season, which means that I’m firmly ensconced in my 31 days of horror challenge. That means you’re getting a lot of horror movie recommendations (sorry in advance to those who do not celebrate the best time of the year):
Nobody Wants This (Netflix): When an agnostic podcaster and a newly single rabbi meet at a dinner party, sparks fly between them. But they seem to face insurmountable odds when it comes to being together because their friends and families think they’re too different to work.
I really liked this rom-com series - I devoured it in two sittings - and a large part of why I liked it so much is because Adam Brody and Kristen Bell have electric chemistry onscreen together. I also found the series very funny and deeply relatable in many ways, even when there were things that strained3 credulity or when the show felt really uneven.4 The show certainly seems to have captured a lot of the internet’s attention this week, with a lot of critics weighing in about whether or not the show works. There’s also been a fairly large amount of criticism lobbed at the show for its portrayal of Jewish women, some of which I agree with. I particularly liked Esther Zuckerman’s piece about its Jewish women problem in Time, which offers a lot of food for thought and is worth a read:
Still, I couldn't help but feel let down. While it offers up the fantasy of the ideal Jewish man in Noah, the series seems to loathe Jewish women, who are portrayed as nags, harpies, and the ultimate villains of this story. I wanted to be swept away by a rom-com. Instead, I was faced with the reality that maybe this show actually hates me.
I am also a Jewish millennial woman and I recognized the same (sometimes damaging) tropes in the show, but I also found them relatable in other ways. My hope is that we’ll see character development in a second season (which feels likely, given the success of the show and the open ending). I highly recommend the show and want to know your thoughts, so please let me know in the comments!
I already mentioned how much I’ve been enjoying the press tour the cast is doing, including this very funny clip of Justine Lupe talking about accidentally shitting her pants on set:
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Love is Blind, Season 7 (Netflix): Singles looking for marriage agree to date each other in pods where they cannot see one another until they agree to get married.
It’s a little wild that the American version of the stupidest dating show on TV is in its seventh iteration, and yet here we are. Someone on one of my pop culture discussion boards said that this show is best watched live while it’s got the attention of the internet, and I think that’s very true: the people on this show leave my consciousness the second that the series finishes its season. As of this writing, six episodes have dropped, and once again, I’m not sure that any of these people should marry one another! This crop of folks are supposedly from D.C.,5 and nearly all of them are in their thirties,6 which is a refreshing change from previous seasons. I’ll be interested to see how these relationships all shake out (and then promptly forgetting they exist and freeing up space in my brain).
TV and Movie Tidbits:
Ready or Not (Hulu): When a bride marries into a very wealthy and eccentric family, her wedding night becomes a nightmare when the family forces her to play a game of hide-and-seek and she must fight for her life. Much more of a horror comedy than something that’s supposed to be super scary, this was a wild ride! Very funny and pretty violent, I loved how absolutely deranged this movie was from start to finish. A strong cast and tight pacing keep this moving along. Super fun - highly recommend, if you can handle a couple of fairly gruesome kills.
In a Violent Nature (Shudder): When a locket is removed from an abandoned cabin in the woods, it unleashes an undead killer with a thirst for blood - and no one is safe. Hailed as one of the best new horror movies of the past year, this was a total letdown! People describe it as Friday the 13th if it was from the perspective of Jason, and while that’s kind of true - and it’s definitely an homage to the classics of the genre - this was wildly, hilariously slow for slow’s sake. It also has one of the single grossest kills I think I’ve ever seen,7 but since there’s virtually no plot and absolutely no character development, I couldn’t get invested in anything that was happening. Pretty much horror movie ASMR. Not! For! Me!
Something in the Water (Hulu): A group of girlfriends reunites after an estrangement for one of their weddings, but when a pre-wedding boat ride goes south in a big way, the women find themselves fighting for survival in the ocean as a shark stalks them. I love a creature feature (honestly, the dumber the better), and this low-budget movie featuring an all-women cast8 was surprisingly well done for how little it (probably) cost. Genuinely tense and mostly well-acted, this kept me interested the entire runtime, and the end had me screaming at the TV.
Trap (VOD/Rental): A father and his daughter attend a pop star’s concert only to discover that the entire thing is an elaborate ruse to catch a serial killer nicknamed the Butcher. This is probably the most straightforward M. Night Shyamalan movie I’ve ever seen in terms of the actual plot. It’s also not very good, though Josh Hartnett is very good in it (and is clearly having a good time). I guess there are moments where it’s somewhat tense, but watching it at home did not yield the same results that I think watching it in a packed theater probably would. Ultimately I found that the plot - and the characters in it - did not make a lick of sense (and not a single person in this movie talks like or behaves like a human being in the world), and it was kind of a let down. But it moved quickly and was entertaining enough, and would be a great pick for people who don’t like super scary horror movies - this is more crime thriller than anything else.
What I Listened To:
Leon Bridges, Leon: I haven’t been listening to a ton of music these days, but Leon Bridges’ latest LP released today, and putting it on was the first thing I did after walking the dog this morning. I’ve always loved his velvet-y vocals and ability to sound like he could be from the Motown era, but he’s more than a contemporary throw back musician, putting out music that’s inspired by gospel, R&B, rock, and pop. This latest album feels very confessional, with him looking back at the places in Texas that shaped him as a young man and musician. There is definitely a more personal aspect to the lyrics on this album, particularly on “Panther City,” where he sings about a childhood summer spent playing Nintendo 64 on hot days. Some of the slower songs on this album feel a little bit like generic love songs and are less interesting to me than when he digs into his own life for inspiration, but I still think the entire thing sounds great.
What I’m Looking Forward To:
Babygirl (Theaters, Christmas): When she begins an affair with a much younger intern, a CEO puts her career - and the future of her family - in jeopardy. Nicole Kidman loves to work, and this “erotic” thriller from A24 is getting a lot of buzz. This is the second movie she’s starred in this year that has her paired with a younger love interest, and I’m curious to see if they can muster any chemistry - and if the wig is any better this time around.9
Get Away (Theaters, December 6): A family's vacation to a remote island takes an dark turn when they discover that they're sharing the land with a serial killer. I love Aisling Bea so much that I’ll watch this even if I’m not sure it’s going to be any good.
That’s it for this week! I’ll be back next week with thoughts on Agatha All Along (too much content this week!), more horror movie recommendations, and so much more. Have a great weekend and thanks, as always, for reading!
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That last one is just good life advice in general.
There’s a movie adaptation of the latter with a wildly divisive different ending.
I did not buy the idea that Joanne knew literally nothing about Jewish culture having grown up in L.A., and I screamed when Brody’s rabbi character asked if she’d ever convert to Judaism - Jews do not proselytize!
The whole podcast thing felt wildly unrealistic, from the fact that it was making money to the limp way they held microphones while sitting on the couch to the fact that they didn’t appear to have anyone helping produce the show!
Internet sleuths have pointed out that fully half the cast appear to call Baltimore home, though.
The exception is 26 year old Brittany, who I think is in for a very bumpy ride!
The gnarliest thing happens with a hook turning someone into an actual knot and it was so gross I had to leave the room!
Also written and directed by women!
Outlook: bad!
Catching up on your blogs….because well, I just can’t keep up lately. I adored Nobody Wants This, felt like millennial porn to me as Adam Brody is an emotionally available male who can ‘handle her’ and says so. She’s delightful. Loved the siblings. My heart sank when Esther sat with a grieving Rebecca in the car. I just loved so many moments in the show. Can’t wait for more character development!! As a non Jew, I caught onto less of the stereotypes I suppose.
I am definitely going to watch Nobody Wants This and will report back! I also am adding the earlier Paul Tremblay books to my TBR, I haven't read him before!