Friends With Money: Review of Beatriz at Dinner

Beatriz at Dinner

Director: Miguel Arteta

By Alex Watson

The theme of white privilege is tackled hard in Miguel Arteta's Beatriz at Dinner.  Despite not taking full advantage of the increasing animosity on display, there is a powerful and tragic message underneath. At heart, this is a hard-hitting character study of a woman who still feels oppressed in the country she lives in. It is also a wonderful satire of Donald Trump's America and the tactlessness of the social elite.

Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a healer and masseuse living in Los Angeles, who love the environment and animals. After a tough start, she travels out to Newport Beach for her appointment with client Cathy (Connie Britton). When car trouble prevents her departure, Cathy invites to stay for dinner much to the aggravation of her husband Grant (David Warchofsky). Once the party begins Beatriz has the displeasure of meeting boorish billionaire Doug (John Lithgow) whose views soon make her feel very unhappy.

The intentions of Beatriz at Dinner are carefully laid out early on. During the movie's opening, Beatriz finds that her beloved pet goat has been strangled to death. Even after years in America, she is still viewed as a guest and being accepted is a faraway dream. Her views on the world are that it is too be loved which almost immediately puts her at odds with her affluent hosts. Arteta does an excellent job of letting the anger simmer. Although Cathy claims to love Beatriz like family after aiding her daughter through cancer, their relationship is purely monetary. Even her attempts to bond with fellow rich guests Alex (Jay Duplass) and Shannon (Chloe Sevigny) are met with mockery. Her outcast status is made painfully obvious and her strained attempts at conversation threaten to pop the happy capitalist bubble.

When Doug arrives he firmly represents everything Beatriz despises. He's rude and arrogant, happily exploits workers, kills animals for fun, uproots people's homes to make way for his new hotel's and worst of all, he pollutes the earth. Yet despite all these shortcomings, his fellow co-workers and their wives adore him for providing the cash to live their wealthy lives. Almost immediately the pair butt heads and Mike White's script makes full use of the mutual hatred. Beatriz is the one compassionate voice in a room full comfortably blind followers. Although it begins to feel increasingly stagey, Arteta does a fine job of keeping this showdown between two world's feel brutally relevant. Doug is a man whom people will always admire no matter what wrongs are committed. The increasingly sharp dialogue lands the intended blows each time, but we wonder how much steam Beatriz really has left?

Although this is a brilliantly executed piece, Beatriz at Dinner feels way too short and the fact that Arteta refuses to give us the desire explosions leaves us feeling deflated. However, take nothing away from the shocking ending that occurs because the final image is one that will haunt you afterwards. Throughout the movie, there is a sense of injustice that carries well in Trump's America. Hard-working and kind people like Beatriz are considered a dying breed whose voice is gradually fading away. Her hosts will happily take all the wrong roads as long as the money keeps coming in. Arteta also gives a powerful social commentary at the difficulties immigrants now face and the uncertainty of what could be.

One of Hollywood's most underrated talents, Salma Hayek gives a performance of pure class as Beatriz. A very new age soul, Hayek injects a great deal of heart and feeling into this character. Believing that all humans are connected, her views are dismissed as ludicrous and her ever increasing disillusion is heartbreaking. John Lithgow makes a fine verbal duelling partner and as the repulsive Doug, he gives us the most gut-wrenching character 2017 will bring. Giving his character a sickening smugness, Lithgow forgoes any kind of charm and gives us the ugly face of Corporate America.

Beatriz at Dinner is a movie that although it leaves us wanting way more, is still a movie that deserves recognition.

Food For Thought: Review of Sausage Party

Sausage Party

Director: Conrad Vernon & Greg Tiernan

By Alex Watson

While this does have the odd chuckle thrown in for good measure, Sausage Party isn't quite the laugh a minute affair many would expect. At first, this rowdy and raunchy supermarket comedy is amusing but before long the innuendo jokes begin to reach their expiry date. In the later stages, directors Conrad and Tiernan do show some great maturity and restraint on the level of humour, but its poor taste of food stereotypes makes it lose points.

Frank (Seth Rogan) is a hot dog who along with his friend Carl (Jonah Hill) and stumpy friend Barry (Michael Cera) live inside a package within a supermarket. On the Fourth of July, he is delighted when he and his bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) are chosen by a shopper are destined for the mythical 'Great Beyond'. When the encounter a traumatized jar of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) the group finds themselves separated. Soon some bitter and traumatic truths come forward when the discover precisely what happens to them in the real world.

Sausage Party is the first ever R-rated animated movie and for those who like rude jokes and unashamed potty humor, this is right up your street.  Opening with a song and dance number that ranges from funny to downright bizarre, this sets the tone. When Honey Mustard shatters Frank and Brenda's delightful hopes and jumps to his death, things turn into a battle scene replica which does tickle the ribs when you see Peanut Butter crying to a jar of jam "I'm nothing without you!" From there, things dissolve into a variety of food-related puns as we meet Salma Hayek's Taco character who has an especially close eye on Brenda, David Krumholz's grumpy Middle Eastern bread Vash and Edward Norton's Sammy Bagel Jr.

Vernon and Tiernan seem of the opinion that if they drop the F-Bomb as frequently as possible it will guarantee laughs. Here, it often falls flat and after a time just becomes tedious and its lack of subtly hinders what could have been something great. There are some glimmers of hope like the hilarious character Douche (Nick Kroll) , who is an actually a Douche. A funny and relevant Italian-American stereotype, watching him get juiced up on juice is very hilarious. His quest for vengeance against Frank for ruining his chance at the great beyond is endlessly watchable. The moment where Barry and friends are at the same shoppers home are smartly played. Watching an Irish potatoes horror as the human rips down the peaceful facade by peeling him makes way to some horror film like moments as we see Nachos being made and carrots wailing in pain at being shredded. Moments like these are rare and it is during these sequences where the most comedy is found.

Sausage Party tries to engage with the idea of people believing in something higher and what it really means to be human? Meeting Firewater (Bill Hader) an old bottle of spirits breaks ground on the real truths of the supermarket, but doesn't raise any sufficient laughs. Also stranded is a wad of gum that looks and sounds like Stephen Hawking. In the right hands and deft comic touch this movie really could have been far stronger, here were stuck with German mustard resembling the Nazi's and such flat lines as "Ketchup, catch up!" When the movie morphs into an extended food orgy scene, those weary of the constant sex references will be sighing internally. It's not to say that this film will be one of the worse that will be reviewed this year, just it could have been toned down rather than just go for all out explicitness.

Seth Rogan is able to bring his usual lazy charm to the role of Frank but neither he or Kristen Wiig are stretching themselves by doing this type of role. You can see the appeal for a whole range of Hollywood stars to get paid handsomely by talking dirty all day. Edward Norton's voice is nearly unrecognizable as he sounds closer to Eugene Levy or Woody Allen. Nick Kroll steals the show as the mad and bad Douche, who now has a thirst for revenge. Michael Cera's naive charm as Barry does make us smile, particularly when he meets James Franco's junkie whose high on bath salts.

Sausage Party will satisfy some tastes, but others will probably spit this food right out. Overall this could have been given a little more flavor.