Better Late Than Never on "I'm a Virgo"

After seeing "I Love Boosters", I decided I was going to watch the seven episode series "I'm A Virgo". You all know I'm a Boots Riley fan, and this is the show he did in between his two excellent movies. I remember when the show was announced, but why I never got to it then, I don't remember. But I'm glad that I remedied that over the past couple of weeks.

"I'm Virgo" is a coming of age tale about a giant that lives with his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. I know, it sounds weird. But I am pretty much on board with whatever Boots Riley is doing creatively at this point, and this show was a blind spot that I wanted to correct. The start of the first episode is great too. It really hooks you and makes you want to watch more. We see this mom holding this gigantic baby. I mean this baby is a newborn, but it is bigger than anyone else. And then we see the newborn grow into a 19 year old in this small home where he lives with his aunt and uncle. Cootie, played by Jharrel Jerome, is the giant. He is naive to the world, but he wants to know more. He wants to explore. He wants to make friends and see what is outside his own little world, His aunt and uncle, played by Mike Epps and Carmen Ejogo, are doing their best to raise him and shelter him. He is so big though, they have to build him a separate area in their yard that is more suitable for his size. He breaks everything around him in his original home, so they all feel this is best for him. While living back in his own place, he sees things through a pipe that they installed for him. He sees kids hanging out. A local person comes by to chat with him. He reads comic books all the time and wants to see this world that "The Hero" has talked about in the books. One day he travels outside of his domicile disguised as a tree. One kid at a keg party goes to use the restroom in the woods and stumbles upon this moving tree. He tells everyone it's called the Thwamp Monster. This is how Cootie is introduced to the world. But he gains friends and fame and a girlfriend out of it. Flora, played by Olivia Washington, is his girlfriend. She works at Bing Bang Burgers. She is instantly into him and he likes her too. They do a solo episode explaining her past and it is heartbreaking and one of the best of the whole season. Flora rules. Cootie's main group of friends, Felix, Jones and Scat, played by Brett Gray, Kara Young and Allius Barnes, take to Cootie really quickly and they show him how to navigate the real world. They talk about making money, hooking up and fighting for a bigger cause. Jones was my favorite of the friends. She has a plan, she takes action, she basically saves the day and her "power" in the show is pretty neat. Scat plays a massive role as the season wears on. It's unfortunate why his role gets bigger, but I really enjoyed Barnes portrayal of this character, especially when he's denied entrance into a hospital. Felix is the coolest of the crew and he just wants to have a good time. But he is also willing to fight the fight and bang the drum for the cause. Walton Goggins plays The Hero, and he is a massive asshole, on purpose. The penultimate episode showing his story is important and Goggins brings it like he always does. The show starts off funny and like your basic coming of age story. But it morphs into so much more. We have capitalism, racism, brutality, standing up for what is right, getting people to help fight the powers that be, all of this is rolled up nicely into seven 30 minute episodes. I found myself very interested in what was going to happen next. It had that nice, odd Boots Riley feel to it. It was cool to see what he did with more time than he has on a movie set. I thought the actors and writers brought it as well.

"I'm A Virgo" is a cool, off the beaten path show. I feel it may be underrated at this point, but maybe more people will check it out now with the success that "I Love Boosters" is having. I'm glad I watched it and I think you should check it out too. I believe many people will find this to be a good time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Madame Web"

Yesterday I wrote about a movie I loved, "Godzilla Minus 1". Today I am writing about another movie. Unfortunately for me, this movie was not nearly as good. Hell, it wasn't even enjoyable. The movie is "Madam Web".

Now, before I get into it, I had heard all of the bad things about this movie. I read reviews. I saw videos of people mocking it. I saw the stars of the movie bemoaning it publicly. Still, I wanted to watch it. I have also heard a few podcasts talk about it, and while they acknowledged how bad of a movie it is, the majority of the pods seemed to think it was still enjoyable to watch. I started to get feelings that it may be akin to "The Room". That is one of the worst movies ever, but I think it is endlessly watchable. There is a difference. Some movies are just bad. Others are bad, but in a fun way. "Madam Web", at least for me, is just bad. Part of the push to watch this was my wife. She loves superhero stuff. I never really was into superheroes until I met her. She has definitely made me a fan of some of the MCU, namely X-Man stuff. So, she wanted to see the movie, I had heard that it could be fun bad and it is now streaming on Netflix. All of these things came together one night that was free, so we sat back and watched the movie.

From the start of it I just could not find anything I enjoyed about the movie. Dakota Johnson's performance felt so phoned in. It seemed like she was forced to do this movie. I asked my wife if the people who made the movie had some incriminating evidence, and if she didn't do the movie they would let it out. Her performance was boring and hollow. And she is the main character. Adam Scott was fine, but I'm a fan of his. He did the best with what he was given. I can say the same thing about Emma Roberts. I have not seen much of her stuff, but here, much like Adam Scott, she did the best she could with the lines she was given. Mike Epps, who I enjoy quite a bit, was barely in it, and they killed him off pretty early on. The three girls that Dakota Johnson takes under her wings are as cliche as they get. They have the "bad girl", the "nerdy girl" and the "lonely girl". And they all want to do their own thing until they can't anymore. And to cast Sydney Sweeney as the quiet dork is some of the worst casting in movie history. I hate to be the typical hetero male here, but she is far too attractive for that type of role. It is impossible to buy. The villain in this movie was horrendous. I feel like the majority of his lines are ADR. Paul Scheer even said as much in the live recording of "How Did This Get Made" when they talked about this movie. Anytime he has to give extra lines of dialogue, they cut from his face and shoot him from the back. And his voice was incredibly grating and awkward. The scene at the beginning, with Johnson's mom, was awful and proves that the actor was almost all ADR. That whole scene too was a total mess. They don't explain anything that is going on, some wild stuff happens, and then we are transported to modern day. This movie also felt like a COVID movie. A bunch of scenes were outdoors. When they were inside, there seemed to be no more than a few people on screen, with the exception being the baby shower. That scene is a mess all its own. It is truly bad. The action sequences were bad. We only get to see the superheroes in their costumes in two very short dream sequences. The writing is very bad. The actors seemed disengaged and bored with what they were doing. No one seemed to buy into the whole world they tried to create in this movie. There is no post credit scene, which I am fine with but my wife was mad about. She likes that type of thing in her superhero movies.

"Madam Web" is a big miss, and I didn't even find it fun bad. It was just bad bad. I do not recommend this movie. It is just a hair under two hours, but man did it feel a whole lot longer. Skip this and watch "Godzilla Minus 1" instead. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Dolemite is My Name"

Yesterday I sat down and watched "Dolemite is My Name", and I have to say, this is one of the funniest, and most heartfelt movies that I have seen in some time. I watched the preview for it about a month ago, and I knew then that I was going to enjoy it, I just had to find the time. I had an open afternoon, and watched it while I folded laundry.

This movie totally delivered as well. I am an Eddie Murphy fan, but some of his stuff lately isn't that great. It is funny because he is in it, but it just doesn't hit like "Beverly Hills Cop" or "48 Hours" did. "Dolemite is My Name" hit, and hit a god damn homerun. When Murphy is given range to be filthy, use a ton of 4 letter words and act like a comedian, he crushes his roles. That was what made him so great in a movie like "Dream Girls". He got to act like a hyper version of himself. Casting him as famed vulgar comic Rudy Ray Moore was perfect. It was almost as if he was born to play this role. He embodied it as well. I fully believed he was Rudy Ray Moore resurrected. He was just as filthy and funny and hard working and a hustler and a perfectionist, just like Moore aimed to be. To see Murphy play him from his lowest point was exceptional. To see him play him as he makes his rise, well that was even better. Murphy was astounding. The fact that he didn't even get a sniff from the Academy for the Oscars shows how unimportant that awards show has become. To pass him up for Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is so stupid. To pass him up for anyone playing a real life person, which I thought the Academy loved, is asinine. He should have been, at the very least, nominated. I think his snub is even bigger than Adam Sandler getting nothing for "Uncut Gems". Watching this movie made me remember that Murphy is a star. He was exquisite.

But it wasn't just him. Everyone involved with this movie was great. Wesley Snipes should have also gotten awards consideration. His character was so holier than thou and high and mighty and acted like he was too good for all of this, and Snipes absolutely nailed it. Just like with Murphy, it made me remember that Snipes is a really, really good actor. Titus Burgess is wonderful as Moore's record store buddy and friend. To see him in a role like this, outside of "Kimmy Schmidt", was great for a fan like me. Burgess was funny, but he was also grounded. It was great. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, as his comedy partner, was wonderful. She was tough, beautiful, funny and I loved every second she was in this movie. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen when she was there. Even actors in smaller roles, like Craig Robinson as the singer in a band and Mike Epps as a friend of Moore's, they both shined when they were on screen. Robinson is a great singer as well, and getting to hear him do the Dolemite theme was dynamite. Keegan Michael Key, as the writer of the movie, was wonderful as well. It also helped that we got cameos from both Chris Rock and Bob Oedenkirk.

As I said, the movie is a riot, but it also has some heart in it. I feel like it is a true journey, filled with all the ups and downs, about becoming a Hollywood star, and how hard that can be. But Murphy's portrayal as Moore had me rooting for him all the way. And he was never really mean to those that helped him. He didn't treat them like lesser than him. There was no scene that shows him acting like he is better than everyone else. He was a dude that worked hard, and appreciated all those that helped him get to where he got. Rudy Ray Moore became a star, but it wasn't all him. He had help from a ton of people, and I feel like this movie did a great job of showing that.

I highly, highly recommend checking this movie out. I feel like we are getting an Eddie Murphy renaissance at the moment, and this movie is the catalyst to all of that. What a winner.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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