Film: Catching Up on Some of the Films Vying for International Feature at the Oscars Including Jordan’s Exceptional “All That’s Left of You” and South Korea’s Popular “No Other Choice”

The Secret Agent (c) NEON

The Oscars accept a single film submission from each foreign country. How the countries pick their film varies. This year, there are 92 films submitted and that list will be pared down to 15 when the shorts are announced next Tuesday, but here are my thoughts on six of the hopefuls. I did review Norway’s Sentimental Value earlier in the year. Also, I have been hearing good things about Belén from Argentina, Sound of Falling from Germany and Sirāt from Spain, all three I will surely review soon. Some of the films listed are currently in theaters or on streaming, if you want to catch up on some hopefuls. 

Theater: One Of My Favorite Plays of the 21st Century (“Majorie Prime”) and a Favorite Playwright’s Lesser Efforts (“Gruesome Playground Injuries”) Get Reassessed in Starry Revivals

Marjorie Prime (c) Joan Marcus

Broadway: Marjorie Prime 
2nd Stage Production at the Helen Hayes Theatre 

Memory is an elusive thing in Marjorie Prime, Jordan Harrison's 2015 exceptional play now making its debut on Broadway, and even when we have a portable encyclopedia and essentially our life’s timeline (via social media) in the palm of our hands, it doesn’t help. Somewhere in the near future, Majorie (Academy Award nominee June Squibb) is in a retirement home, and while the year is never specified, the eighty-something Majorie mindlessly sings Beyonce, which her daughter Tess (Cynthia Nixon) and her son-in-law Jon (Danny Burstein) don’t recognize (come on Harrison, Beyonce is timeless). One of the services that this retirement home provides is an AI avatar of someone in the resident’s life to help them with either loneliness or as a memory jog. For Marjorie, it’s her late-husband Walter (Christopher Lowell), but as he appeared in his 30s. Walter appears in what seems to be a hologram (as portrayed in the 2019 film version) and can be accessed by anyone who calls for him. Majorie knows she’s being manipulated by Walter’s Prime (as they are called), but she occasionally indulges in the nostalgia of their shared history when he recounts events uploaded to its Prime’s memory. Tess is suspicious of this service, but Jon thinks anything to help Marjorie in her final years is worth it. Where the play goes from there, I won’t spoil, but Harrison does a wonderful job giving us variations on his themes, which illuminates and beautifully humanizes the timeless sadness surrounding death and dementia. 

Reviews: Catching Up on Theater, Including an Enjoyable “Laowang,” the Emotional Nostalgia of “Gotta Dance,” Trying to Figure Out the Early Closing of “The Queen of Versailles,” an Affecting Family Drama in “Little Bear Ridge Road,” and “Oedipus” Is Quite the Motherfu--- Shut Yo Mouth!

Gotta Dance (c) Bjorn Bolinder

Theater: Gotta Dance 
At Theatre at St. Jean 

Revues are odd theater beasts. I don’t know why some are wildly successful (Ain’t Misbehavin’, Smokey Joe’s Café) and some don’t catch fire (Dancin’, Lennon). Gotta Dance, the new revue presented by The York Theatre and American Dance Machine, is a retrospective review like Jerome Robbins’ Broadway in which musical numbers from hit Broadway shows or Hollywood films are meticulously recreated and presented as close to the original as possible. As the title promises, most of the numbers, picked by directors Nikki Feirt Atkins and Randy Skinner, are dances from memorable shows/films, but they might not be the most famous. For example, Gotta Dance comes from the great 1952 film Singing in the Rain, but the directors didn’t choose that number (or the iconic title song), but “Moses Supposes” and “Broadway Melody.” Instead of “The Dance at the Gym” from West Side Story, “Magic to Do” from Pippin or “Rich Man’s Frug” from Sweet Charity, we get less splashier numbers like “Cool,” “Manson Trio” and “I’m a Brass Band,” respectively. (I wish they had chosen "The Rhythm of Life" from Sweet Charity, the movie version, which had a groovy happening vibe by Sammy Davis Jr.). But they do have some big hits, including “One” from A Chorus Line, “All I Need Is the Girl” from Gypsy and the most recent show on the roster: the Pas de Deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s An American in Paris. The biggest thrill for me was Susan Stroman’s Contact. I never thought I would ever experience her electrifying “Simply Irresistible” live again, but the minute the woman in the yellow dress appeared, I had goosebumps. Of course, all of this would not be half as enjoyable without a fantastic ensemble of singer/dancers, and each of the 14 members (a mixture of Broadway and ballet talents) get at least one number to shine. Without much introduction beyond the title of the show and the choreographer projected on the back screen, the numbers flow seamlessly. And as a holiday offering, Gotta Dance is perfect to enjoy with friends and family after a day of shopping and sightseeing. 

Film Reviews: “Merrily We Roll Along” Is a Toe-Tapping, Fathom Presentation of the Successful Broadway Revival, “Wake Up Dead Man” Is the Next “Knives Out Mystery” (Full of Catholic Guilt) and “A Private Life” Is Jodie Foster’s New French Film and Her Giddiest in Years

Merrily We Roll Along (c) Sony Pictures Classics

Film:  Merrily We Roll Along 
In Cinemas 

As we wait for Richard Linklater’s film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical, Merrily We Roll Along, with the estimated release date of 2039 (!), we get a fine alternative with the live capture of the hit Broadway revival from 2024. Why is the film adaptation going to take so long to be released? It’s because the action of the film, about the trials and tribulations of a trio of friends, takes place between 1976 to 1957 (oh, right, the story is told backwards in time), and Linklater will be filming the scenes in real time, as he did with his film, Boyhood, so stars Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein will age before our eyes on screen. Thankfully, the Tony Award-winning revival, has been directed for the screen by the Broadway revival director Maria Friedman, and she has captured what made this production such a success: the actors. Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe (both Tony winners) and Lindsey Mendez (Tony nominated) star as friends with most of the action centering on Frank (Groff), a successful composer turned film director, whose success (and many personal dramas) takes a toll on his former musical collaborator Charley (Radcliffe) and Mary (Medez), a writer who has always been in love with Frank. The funny thing about the musical is that it’s advertised as a story about these three, but a character who has more stage time is Gussie (Krystal Joy Brown), a fame hungry actress who marries Frank for his talent…I mean love. This version really solidifies Gussie’s status as the villain of the piece, getting more motivation than Charley (sullen and rejected) and Mary (drunk and rejected) in George Furth’s script. But Charley does get the showstopping number, “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” which Radcliffe performs with relish, and Medez’s acid line reading in the first scene is her highlight. But it’s all Groff’s show, and he doesn’t shy away from Frank’s selfish tendencies. The songs are all well-sung and will be ear worms for days after you see it. I saw the production off-Broadway but decided to pay my rent instead of seeing it again with Broadway prices. If you missed it as well, this presentation is a perfect (and affordable) way to enjoy this Sondheim show. 

The Interested Bystander’s Oscar Predictions: November 2025

Nouvelle Vague (c) Netflix

Before the critics’ groups start handing out their awards in December, here are some unbiased thoughts on who might get the Oscar nominations in January. The Oscars shortlist for a lot of the technical categories in mid-December will give us clues as well. I’ve seen the majority of the films being touted and here are my thoughts as of this Thanksgiving weekend. This month’s highlight category is the newest one for Best Casting. 

Enjoy.