Music Movies To Stream This Weekend
'Yesterday' opens in theaters today, so watch these eclectic music-centric films
Yesterday opens in theaters today. It has one of the better movie premises in recent memory: What if you woke up one day and found that the Beatles had never existed? No Abbey Road. No Sgt. Pepper’s. No nothing. How would things be different? Would you claim their brilliant songs as your own in an effort to become successful?
With this new musical comedy in mind, we are recommending music movies today. These will be films that use music as a subject or theme. So, music documentaries, musicals, movies set to killer soundtracks, all of these are fair game this week. Let’s get to it.
Drew recommends…
Amy (streaming on Netflix)
I was only slightly familiar with British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse before I saw Amy, the powerful documentary about her life and death. I’d heard “Rehab,” of course, and a few other songs, but I’d hardly call myself a fan. After Amy, you suddenly feel an immense empathy for a significant talent tragically struck down by fame and addiction.
One of the better (and sadder) music documentaries you will find, Amy journeys through Winehouse’s life from childhood to career breakthrough to untimely end with intimate and heartbreaking video and photos, as well as interviews with those that knew her best. It’s uncomfortable, but necessary, to see what drugs, alcohol, and the pressure of living a celebrity life did to her. You can’t help but consider where that wonderful voice and honest songwriting would have taken her. More than one person interviewed claims she was one of the most genuine artists they have ever seen.
It’s very difficult to watch all the way through without getting a bit emotional, both because Amy the documentary is so lovingly crafted and because Amy the person didn’t even make it to age 28.
Guava Island (streaming on Amazon Prime)
Earlier this year, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) released a curious little film on Amazon Prime on the same day as his Coachella performance. He described the secret project co-starring Rihanna as a “tropical thriller” that also featured Childish Gambino songs. When Guava Island landed on the streaming platform, it didn’t spark much conversation, which is a shame because it’s an extremely watchable exercise with something to say.
If you like Glover or Childish Gambino’s music, Guava Island is for you. But even if you’re not a fan, it makes for an enjoyable summer watch. Set on a tiny fictional Carribean island, Deni (Glover) is a well-known local musician that dreams of hosting a music festival for the whole island. However, Guava Island’s business magnate Red, who owns most of the island, prohibits this dream and threatens him. Deni’s girlfriend, Kofi (Rihanna), fears for his life as Deni plans his festival.
At a breezy 55 minutes, Guava Island is less of a feature-length film and more of a lovely and melancholy standalone TV episode. The musical sequences are well-staged and carry the story along well. Director Hiro Murai (who also shot Gambino’s “This Is America” video) fills Guava Island with attractive and enchanting images. I mean, what’s not to love about a twilight beach scene between Childish Gambino and Rihanna? The only head-scratching decision is that they don’t have Rihanna sing. When you have an international pop star in a musical, you should probably let her perform a little.
While Guava Island runs less than an hour, it’s still capable of delivering some ideas about capitalism and art. These themes make sure this film isn’t simply a summer beach hang; it hits harder because it actually has things to say. But if you’re just here for the #vibes, Guava Island is chill with that too.
Billy recommends…
Swingers (streaming on Netflix)
Ever since I saw this movie my favorite compliment to give a friend is “you’re like a Big Bear.” In a scene where two buddies (Vince Vaughn and Patrick Van Horn) are encouraging their incredibly insecure and fragile friend (Jon Favreau) to talk to a pretty lady, this felt like the perfect compliment and it works in real life if your friend is feeling down or insecure. In order to get into the psyche of different characters in Swingers, director Doug Liman uses music as an obvious cue.
Each of the characters in the movie have moved to LA to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in some capacity. Naturally, because of that aspect, there are many references to different movies, one of which is Reservoir Dogs. They have a hilarious conversation about if Tarantino rips off all of Scorsese’s movies and it transitions into a shot that is ripped off from Reservoir Dogs. The song choice is different than what is used in Tarantino’s film, Instead we hear jazz music that encompasses the scene that gives the same type of vibe.
That is what is so unique about Swingers. They don’t steal the music from other movies. They instead take a different style of music, in this case jazz, to convey pretty much any feeling you can think of. The fragile friend I spoke of earlier is named Mike and is played brilliantly by Jon Favreau. He is in complete disarray and needs constant affirmation from his friends Trent and Rob. They just so happen to be played by a very young Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston.
The audience sees the complete range of emotions from Mike. Sadness, doubt, fleeting happiness, and then a hope of lasting happiness. The end of the film is an amazing sequence of a couple dancing to the music of a jazz band. For the first time in what feels like forever both the audience and Mike feel confident that joy is attainable. The musical cues are the driving force for these feelings and they are strengthened by the amazing performances from all of our actors. Swingers is the embodiment of a hard break-up that is condensed into an hour and thirty minute movie. Each moment may not be easy, but it is memorable and brings about an intense range of emotions. That is why I love Swingers.
Streaming TV Corner
What we’re watching this week
Drew: Big Little Lies (streaming on HBO Now)
We’re three episodes into the second season of Big Little Lies and there’s been quite a few unforgettable moments already: Meryl Streep’s grief-stricken scream at the dinner table, Madeline’s (Reese Witherspoon) very frank opinion about homeless people, and everything Laura Dern is doing right now. I can’t think of a current show that can so effectively deliver these meme-worthy and compulsively watchable moments, but also dive so deeply into the choppy waters of domestic violence, trauma, and infidelity. I’m not entirely sure a second season was essential, but I’m glad we have it.
The Office Episode of the Week
Billy: “Threat Level Midnight” (Season 7, Episode 17)
Well, it’s official. The Office is leaving Netflix and we need to mourn by watching the most unique episode in all of The Office. In this one we finally get to watch the movie Threat Level Midnight. Threat Level Midnight follows Detective Michael Scarn who is trying to take down his mortal enemy Golden Face. Golden Face’s threat? To blow up the NHL All-Star game. This film has everything. Innuendo, exploding heads, amazing dialogue, and unintentional laughs for days. Well, for Michael they were unexpected and unintentional. He wanted it to be a legit film, but turned out to be a movie that his coworkers wanted to mock. The backdrop of Threat Level Midnight beautifully brings out the insecurity of Michael for his inevitable departure and smartly builds comradery amongst the whole office cast so that the show can continue on after Steve Carrell leaves the show.
Links to get you hyped
If you’ve been enjoying season two of Big Little Lies, get ready for more Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep on screen together. The two will star in an upcoming Netflix movie called The Prom, alongside Awkwafina, James Corden, Ariana Grande, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells.
Scorsese and DiCaprio are teaming up once again! This time they will adapt David Grann’s excellent non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon, which tells the story of the mysterious murder of the Osage Indians and the birth of the FBI.
The first footage of Bond 25 (Daniel Craig’s final turn as 007, due in April 2020) has been released. It’s not much, but at least proof that this thing is happening.
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