Mikayla's Media Corner #9

This week has been a huge movie week for me and my mother’s worst fear has occurred, my brain is officially mush. However, this means I have a few solid recs for you.

• Okay, picture this, Katherine Langford, exploding high schoolers, and lots of blood. Now if that interests you at all, go watch Spontaneous on Hulu. If you’re still not convinced, add in great cinematography, witty and dark humor, a sweet love interest, and solid performances all around. The movie follows Mara (Langford) through her senior year of high school as students begin spontaneously (wink, wink) exploding. No one has any idea as to what is causing these students to explode and the government quickly swoops in to run tests and find a cure. All the high school seniors in the town are quarantined together in bubble huts where students continue to explode. As all this is happening, we watch Mara fall in love with Dylan (played by Charlie Plummer). The two are a sweet and quirky pairing that offsets the darker themes. Specifically, how the film explores collective grief in small towns. This movie somehow balances elements of comedy, horror, and teen drama to create something absurdly funny, sharp, a little bit sad, and thoughtful. (Link to image)

• As a major fan of satirical teen comedies and all things camp, I am disappointed in myself for only now discovering the 1999 cult classic Jawbreaker. The movie begins with three of the most popular girls in school kidnapping their friend, Lizz Purr, on her birthday and accidentally killing her with a jawbreaker. Afterward, they try to cover their tracks but are caught by Fern who is unpopular, uncool, and unattractive. In exchange for her silence, Courtney, the meanest of the group and played by Rose McGowan, promises to make Fern popular. Fern agrees and is reborn as Vylette. The movie’s dark humor is wrapped in bright colors and amazing fashion. It is campy and fun and I loved watching it. Julie, played by Rebecca Gayheart, was by far my favorite character, but Courtney’s budding sociopathic tendencies and teen queen attitude was perfect. She was sexy and shocking and blatantly unapologetic for her wickedness. The movie pays homage to teen dramas that came before with nods to Carrie, Grease, Heathers, and Rocky Horror Picture Show without copying or mimicking them, gaining cult status in its own right. For people who are like, “Duh, Mikayla everyone loves Jawbreaker how are you just finding out about this now?” I know, I’m sorry, but I’m here now. What if I told you that Jawbreaker is free on Pluto TV, forgive me? (Link to image)

• Straight Up is a witty film with fast paced dialogue and stars James Sweeney and Katie Findlay. Not only did James Sweeney star in the film, but he wrote and directed it as well. The film follows Todd and Rory (Sweeney and Findlay respectively) as they begin dating. The two are intellectual soul mates bonding over shared interests, high intelligence, and compatible idiosyncrasies. Together they excel at all the domestic and habitual elements of a relationship. They are seemingly a very compatible couple, the catch is Todd is gay. Early in the film, we see Todd explain to his friends that he no longer believes himself to be gay, that he has been socially conditioned to be gay and is actually straight. Todd effectively convinces himself of this truth and subsequently enters into a relationship with Rory. This film is an interesting look at sexuality and how people choose their partners. It posed the question of what do different people need from life partnerships and what can compromise on. (Link to image)