IFC Films
The Luckiest Man in America (2025)
“The Luckiest Man in America,” about a long-forgotten American gameshow scandal from the mid-’80s, has landed in an exhausting moment of American history. Audiences seeking escapism from the problems of the now might enjoy a few hours’ refuge in the much lighter problems of the past. Other than that, the main appeal of “The Luckiest Man in America” is wondering why it has been made at all. Is it about how the systems are rigged against the little guy? Is it about how, when the systems are rigged, cheating becomes an honorable thing?
Continue reading “Beating the Game” »
Searchlight Pictures
MOVIE REVIEW
Theater Camp (2023)
A mockumentary chronicling the 3-week-long AdirondActs summer camp for drama kids, Sundance entry “Theater Camp” immediately brings to mind cult favorites like “Waiting for Guffman” and “Wet Hot American Summer.” Naturally, the film brings the premise up to date: Crypto-bro-esque vlogger Troy (Jimmy Tatro) takes the reins after the founder, his mother, Joan (Amy Sedaris), suffers a seizure from a strobe light during a middle school play and becomes comatose. To make matters worse, AdirondActs is on the brink of bankruptcy; Caroline (Patti Harrison), a venture capitalist type, sees this as an opportunity to help expand a neighboring camp. But in spite of these signs of the Millennial times, the film inexplicably has the look of 1970s archival footage from the documentary “Crip Camp.”
Continue reading “Child’s Play” »
Tiffany Roohani/Sundance Institute
MOVIE REVIEW
Together Together (2021)
It is not a truth universally acknowledged that a single man, in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a child. And yet Matt (Ed Helms) can’t help himself. He is the 40-something creator of a successful dating app which has given him the fortune to purchase not only the egg from an unnamed donor, but also the services of a surrogate. He chooses 26-year-old Anna (Patti Harrison) for reasons that shortly become clear: She is the only person in San Francisco lonelier than him.
Continue reading “Baby Mama Drama” »