Debra Monk – This Had Oscar Buzz

We’re back again with another episode chosen by one of our sponsor-tier subscribers from Patreon, this time with a bit of 1990s gay cinema! Thank you Lance for bringing us all to 1995’s Jeffrey! Adapted from Paul Rudnick’s Off-Broadway smash play, the concept of an “AIDS comedy” made it difficult to get produced, but ultimately unique once it reached theatre audiences. Despite playing to a limited audience on film and taking a broad comedic approach to the culture surrounding gay life in the 1990s, Patrick Stewart’s performance as an interior designer diagnosed with AIDS earned some bit of buzz.

This episode, we talk about the career of Paul Rudnick and the types of gay cinema that emerged in this moment of American independent filmmaking. We also talk about Stewart’s surprising lack of awards history, Bryan Batt’s performance as Stewart’s lover, and Christine Baranski hosting a “hoedown for AIDS.”

Topics also include TikTok smash videos, “start my orange for me,” and Debra Monk talking gay stuff.

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It’s time to sit shiva with a slew of stars and 2014′s This Is Where I Leave You. Adapted from Jonathan Tropper from his own novel and directed by Night at the Museum’s Shawn Levy, the film casts Jason Bateman as a man whose life falls apart at the hour of his father’s death. His mother, played by Jane Fonda, then tasks the entire family to sit shiva in his honor and seriocomic hijinks ensue. Levy would cast a feast of famous and noteworthy names to fill out the friends and family (including Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Corey Stoll, and more), but their combined skills were not enough to lift the film’s dated humor and stuck-in-neutral emotions off the ground.

The film debuted as a TIFF gala and was critically dismissed, with audiences feeling similarly underwhelmed upon release a few weeks later. This week, we talk about how the film sidesteps around a quite non-Jewish cast and where it places in the Fonda’s late-career era. We also discuss Fey’s limitations with her many crying scenes, our favorite performances from the Girls, and the 2014 TIFF lineup.

Topics also include Fonda’s most recent Oscar nomination for The Morning After, Tonys being awarded to movie stars, and the Wine Country Film Festival.

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Tag: Debra Monk

309 – Jeffrey (Patreon Selects)

208 – This Is Where I Leave You