Turning Red, The Tourist, and TikTok cinema
Growing up and growing a conscience, plus the Festival de Cannes et TikTok
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Turning Red and The Tourist, a film and a show about whether you can change who others say you are.
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03:02 The new Pixar film Turning Red, streaming on Disney+, is a vivid, moving story for both kids and adults coming to terms with their childhood.
If you thought you had aged out of Pixar, here’s one argument against that. Turning Red is ostensibly made for children, yes, but it’s just as powerful for all kinds of older people: those who now find themselves on the parent side of the equation, those whose decades-old wounds still ache, those who have come to better understand how intergenerational grievances — whether inflicted deliberately or unthinkingly — can even begin to heal. Also, big-time mom-daughter gals, a category that includes us!!
But beyond that, Turning Red is also just plain entertaining, with:
A rare depiction of young teen girl puberty and desire
Vibrant, effervescent animation
Plenty of funny moments to break up the more tender ones
Some great early aughts-style pop songs by Billie Eilish and Finneas
25:44 HBO Max series The Tourist starts off strong, but eventually falls into the predictable pitfalls of the amnesia thriller.
The Tourist (no relation to the movie) could have been great, as promised by the taut, tense opening sequence that raises so many questions. But, as Daniel Fienberg writes for The Hollywood Reporter, “The more gaps in The Man’s story they expose, the more interesting The Tourist is; the more those gaps get filled in, the less interesting the resulting shape of the puzzle feels.” It’s a perpetual problem with this genre and central plot device: The bar is set so high by the initial mystery that the truth often pales in comparison to that giddy state of not knowing. (The Flight Attendant, which we discussed in a previous episode, suffers from the same issue, among others.)
But the first half of The Tourist is still intriguing enough, and Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald still charismatic enough, that you could find some pleasure in this. Let us know what you think!
37:56 Plus, culture notes about the Cannes Film Festival’s partnership with TikTok.
And okay, here are some good replies to this prompt:
Bonus links
Alright not to be overly poptimist but there are some bangers in the replies:
A bit late to this, but good: What happened to Jon Stewart?
Checking in on Riverdale:
Master of his craft Gary He photographed one NYC restaurant’s struggle to stay afloat.
That’s it for now. See you next week!
— Jenny
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Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu