Pretty Problems

Had NO idea what to expect when I tuned into this movie. It didn't take long before I was finding myself impressed by this movie. A story about class distinctions, and about happiness, I was intrigued right off the bat by the two main protagonists, Lindsey and Jack. A married couple seemingly washing up on the rocky shores of boredom and perhaps dissatisfaction with their relationship - and their lives. When an unusual woman enters the store where Lindsey works, things take a turn. An unusual friendship is struck up, and Lindsey and Jack are unexpectedly invited to a weekend in the country, where they find themselves the guests of some very rich people. The screenplay, written by Britt Rentschler and Michael Tennant, who star in the movie, is terrific. No wasted words. Everything helps to move and communicate the story. It's entertaining, and engrossing. The surreptitious looks between the protagonists also communicates to us, the viewers, their discomfiture and embarrassment. And their comfort with each other. Things only get more complicated as the weekend away progresses, with situations that astound and fascinate Jack and Lindsey, but only serve to increase their own sense of inadequacy. The predicaments are uncomfortable, but they're also funny. Some are VERY funny. The roles of Jumping Jack (Michael Tennant) and Lindsey (Britt Rentschler) are SO terrifically well played, pulling off just about every scene with understated finesse and terrific comedic timing. The weekend just gets odder and stranger as these two string along in the swirl of a very monied milieu. And while the people seems impossibly strange, it's all somehow very plausible, and it works. As the film careens along, dormant fault lines crack open between Jack and Lindsey, and they seem to get further apart. Too far apart to stay together? There's a lesson to take away from this weekend away. Very much worth the watch to find out!

source: Pretty Problems

I get that this movie won't necessarily resonate with everyone but it hit nearly every single button with me. Pretty Problems is about average, struggling student-debt-saddled Millennials growing older, and feeling lost this is about expecting romantic relationships or sex or money to make you happy, this is exactly what rich LA people are like - I mean the person who wrote this film clearly had some kind of experience (as I did) of being poor or middle class in LA but crossing over in worlds randomly with the ultra-wealthy. I read some sociology thing one time about how this phenomenon is unique to Los Angeles as a city, compared to other US cities, maybe to all the cities in the world. There aren't any really tight or strong class barriers. It is possible to go away for a weekend at a wine tasting or yoga retreat and there will be celebrities or multi-millionaires mixed in the group. I feel like even some upper middle class people in Los Angeles act this way, though in Pretty Problems they are literally billionaires who can afford anything (including an entire brewery distributor). I laughed out loud so, so many times during this movie and there are so many memorable one liners. There's even a reference to the Hotel (LA) season of American Horror Story "Bolivian marching powder" in the first 20-30 minutes. I'm still amused by the fact that Milton apparently does not actually exist.

Movie location - three/four/five years ago, this region had weird wildfires that burned wineries and took out hundreds of houses. It is great this film captures the beauty that remained and is regaining in Sonoma County California. The actresses are fun to watch on screen - they are entertaining as flappers. The plot has a little tension, as a viewer considers what will culminate from the plot swings one might anticipate. But what a viewer might expect at the coming climax is creatively passed on to an elegant simple conclusion. The conversations are garish examples of some of the chat that - on occasion - can actually occur in Sonoma / Napa. So the parody was kinda entertaining. The lead "Jack" is well played by the show runner. Pretty, weird, funny, beautiful farce - spin up with skill and levity. So happy to have encountered this film.

Greetings again from the darkness. I have always assumed the familiar phrase "green with envy" was somehow related to green being the color most associated with money. Director Kestrin Pantera's latest film does nothing but reinforce this. The script and story come from co-writers Britt Rentschler, Michael Tennant, and Charlotte Ubben, each who also play a key character in the film. We first meet married couple Lindsay (Ms. Rentschler) and Jack (Mr. Tennant) as they finish up "good try" morning sex before heading off to work. Their lack of enthusiasm for intimacy is matched by the rest of their daily lives. She is a clerk at "Gift of Garb", assisting others with selecting outfits, all while silently dreaming of designing her own fashions and running her own place. Jack (Mr. Tennant) is in an even less desirable spot. On probation stemming from an assault, he has been disbarred and can no longer practice law. He now sells solar energy door-to-door. The set-up gets more interesting when oddball store client Cat (a terrific JJ Nolan) befriends Lindsay with some textbook positive image philosophy, and then invites 'Linz' and Jack to spend a weekend at her place in Sonoma. Jack finds the idea of spending the weekend with people they barely know to be unfathomable, yet relents when Lindsay persuades him and says they need new friends and experiences. When they arrive, both Lindsay and Jack are stunned at the beauty and size of the estate. He references PURGE and calls it "a murder house", while she is anxious to see how the other half lives. Another surprise greets them when it turns out to be Cat's birthday weekend, and it's to be shared with Cat's husband Matt (Graham Outerbridge), and their friends Kerry (Alex Klein) and Carrie (Charlotte Ubben) ... yes Kerry and Carrie. Also present for the weekend are Cat's and Matt's servants, Dan (Clayton Froning) and Becca (Katarina Hughes) ... along with enough drugs and alcohol to supply a Los Angeles rave. No cell or internet service and the bizarre personalities of these ultra-rich friends has us believing Jack's initial assessment could be spot on. The constantly vaping Cat buddies up to 'Linz', while the drugs and booze lead to behavior that allows us to understand no amount of money leads to happiness - even if the parties can get pretty wild and the houses are spectacular. Yet another surprise unfolds thanks to the presence of Dan, the possessor of an enviable nickname. In other words, the escapist fun bears a price to pay, and it puts definite strain on the relationship between Lindsay and Jack. Keeping up with the Joneses is rarely an admirable direction to take, and here a certain sadness permeates most scenes of indulgence. The newcomers experience feelings of inadequacy and respond quite differently - Jack understands they don't fit in and simply wants to leave, while Lindsay also sees they don't fit in, but is drawn to the "better" life and the idea of wallowing in affluence. This could have been biting satire were it a bit more clever. Instead, we are left watching as unhappiness takes shape across multiple economic sectors. The poor are overtaken by envy, while the rich are desperate to feel. Director Pantera's film follows the template for a successful low budget film festival flick, and in fact, won an Audience Award at SXSW. Opens in theaters October 7, 2022.

While this movie has a lot of heart, I laughed out loud through most of it! The characters are so unique and funny! My heart went out to Lindz and Jack because they had no idea what they were getting into when they accepted the invitation to vacation with people who are so rich they have lost touch with reality, but not with the same human problems that tie all the classes together. I rooted for Lindz and Jack and really wanted them to come together in the end (no spoilers!). Overall, this movie is so entertaining and I will definitely watch it multiple times - it's just that good! It's "Bridesmaids" funny!

I streamed this soley because of the very high 7.1 rating. Too ad the ratings must be fake because this movie is horrible. It's tediously slow and not anchored in any reality whatsoever. The characters are cardboard curouts at best. Nothing real there either Ten minutes in I was border out of my mind. I've noticed there are a lot of these movies being released lately. Very cheaply made and directed like a TV movie from the 70's and that's not a compliment. I had a very hard time getting through the film. Just wasnt into the sotory or the phony poorly drawn characters. I sure do wish something could be done about phony reviews.

I get that this movie won't necessarily resonate with everyone but it hit nearly every single button with me. Pretty Problems is about average, struggling student-debt-saddled Millennials growing older, and feeling lost this is about expecting romantic relationships or sex or money to make you happy, this is exactly what rich LA people are like - I mean the person who wrote this film clearly had some kind of experience (as I did) of being poor or middle class in LA but crossing over in worlds randomly with the ultra-wealthy. I read some sociology thing one time about how this phenomenon is unique to Los Angeles as a city, compared to other US cities, maybe to all the cities in the world. There aren't any really tight or strong class barriers. It is possible to go away for a weekend at a wine tasting or yoga retreat and there will be celebrities or multi-millionaires mixed in the group. I feel like even some upper middle class people in Los Angeles act this way, though in Pretty Problems they are literally billionaires who can afford anything (including an entire brewery distributor). I laughed out loud so, so many times during this movie and there are so many memorable one liners. There's even a reference to the Hotel (LA) season of American Horror Story "Bolivian marching powder" in the first 20-30 minutes. I'm still amused by the fact that Milton apparently does not actually exist.

Ripe with potential gushy gush, let's cut to the cheese: Pretty Problems seizes the class differentiation and marital sneeze smorgasbord with its clusters of dry jammy juicy and spicy. Written, directed and acted with giggly panache, there was one ironic characteristic about Pretty Problems I'm not sure I could say about any other movie: Thank God I watched it streaming on a laptop, in bed next to my wife who had already seen it. Because I was laughing so hard and so often it would have ruined a theater screening unless it was a laughter yoga crowd. The rewind 10 seconds button had a record setting number of punches, after the cheek wipes and OMG fits had subsided. Just binged The White Lotus and it would make a fine pairing for this deliciously persnickety weekend of what happens when the posh pool and the couple poo collide in Sonoma's wine country. Congrats - so bright and pink!

source: Pretty Problems