Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.
[Manage newsletters]( [View in browser]( [The logo for Daily Beast's Obsessed] Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture. with Kevin Fallon This Week - You should have all [seen The Fall Guy](. - A beautiful game show fail. - Carrie Bradshaw is back. - Broadwayâs big secret. - J. Lo⦠Go Watch The Fall Guy! Considering that one of my greatest joys in life is to smugly shame people, this should be a joyous moment. And yetâ¦I feel so sad. Exasperated. You know that phrase, âIâm not mad, just disappointed?â The bozo who came up with that clearly had made lots of people angry and was trying to make himself feel better about it. No, I want all of you to feel bad because, frankly, you deserve it. Earlier this week, the spectacular [Ryan Gosling]( and [Emily Blunt]( action rom-com [The Fall Guy]( was made available for rent and purchase on digital platforms. On the one hand, yay: People will have easier access to what, in my mind, is the best movie of the spring. (Sorry to [Challengers](! No offense, [I Saw the TV Glow](!) On the other hand: The should-be blockbuster is available to rent so wildly soon after its release date because not enough people saw it in theatersâand that [will have ramifications]( that reverberate throughout the industry and, more importantly, my life and its happiness. Now that Iâve evolved into my final form as a finger-wagging dad-type, I might as well keep going with the tired phrases: Actions have consequences, people. This is why we canât have nice things. The Fall Guy hit theaters on May 3, less than three weeks ago, [armed with reviews]( that movie studio execs would offer their first born for and following a buzz-making [premiere at the SXSW festival]( in March. It boasted Gosling as the leading man, after a year in which he was arguably the biggest and most popular movie star in the world, thanks to his work as [Ken in Barbie]( and [epic Oscars musical performance](. Blunt was the leading lady, herself a pivotal part of the other half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon and also an Oscar nominee. Theoretically, you pack all of those elements into a cash cannon and watch the dollar bills fly. Did the money dispenser get jammed or something? The box office was abysmal, especially for a film that cost $140 million. Hopes that ecstatic word of mouth would lead to, at least, a robust longer run in theaters clearly were just that: hopes. A shocking 17 days after its release, itâs now available on digital. This was supposed to be the film that heralded the start of a huge summer movie season. Instead, at least commercially, itâs a whimpered [warning of disaster ahead](. I have to admit that I donât often understand why people do or donât watch certain things. Some gems are ignored. Some turds are confusingly embraced. But everything about this film seemed as much of a sure-thing as there could be these days. Gosling plays a stuntman named Colt whose careerâand romantic fling with a camera operator named Jodie (Blunt)âends abruptly when he breaks his back in a stunt gone wrong. Eighteen months later, the former lovers reunite on a film set where Jodie is getting her big break as a director. They work through their acrimonious baggage while also weathering a murder cover-up subplot that ensnares Colt and Jodieâs movie production, a meta plot twist thatâs a riot to ride with. The film is the answer to so many complaints. âEvery movie these days is based on a superhero or existing IP. Iâm tired of it.â This one is not. âThey donât make movies that are fun for everyone anymore.â This one is the epitome of a [four-quadrant movie](. âI miss when movies had actual movie stars.â Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt would like to say hi. âThey donât make great romantic comedies like they used to.â Well, they do. It was this. And you didnât go see it. The chemistry between Gosling and Blunt is an It Factor that rarely happens in a film of this scale. Speaking of scale, the onslaught of stuntsâmost of which were practicalâare more impressive than whatâs in most Marvel movies. In fact, The Fall Guy [set a world record]( with one of its set pieces, for most times a car rolls over in a film. There is also: a needle drop where Ryan Gosling listens to [Taylor Swift](âs âAll Too Wellâ while crying; a parakeet that dances along to DJ Khaledâs âAll I Do Is Win;â references to Notting Hill and Love, Actually; a dog doing stunts; a split-screen sequence thatâs as impressive as the stunts; a karaoke/car chase hybrid scene; and a shot of Ryan Gosling emerging from water in slow motion while wearing a white tank top and jeans with the Sydney Opera House behind him. (I gasped, âMy god,â when I first saw it.) There are myriad barriers that contribute to people not going to cinemas to see a film. Yetâ¦sometimes they do. They did last year, in droves, for Barbie and Oppenheimer. They do it for superhero movies all the time. The Fall Guy was exciting because it was an original premise and it was good. It was supposed to be a hit. Then, more original, great movies would be put in development for us to eventually see, curing our comic-book franchise fatigue. The quick move to digital is a sign of a lack of faith that The Fall Guy would be able to, even with great buzz, get butts in seats. Itâs also a sign of how the industry will view the filmâas a failureâand retreat from investing in more like it. Thatâs a shame! I have no doubt that once people see the film, theyâll love it. Do I think theyâll shell out $19.99 to rent it, more than movie tickets cost in most markets? Not necessarily. But I will feel vindicated when Iâm flying Delta cross-country and The Fall Guy is playing on every in-flight movie screen. Where were all of you when it mattered? No one really knows what to make of the business anymore. The theatrical market is erratic. Studiosâ whims are indiscernible. And, clearly, what excites potential moviegoers remains a great mystery. So I try to stay rooted in what I do know, and keep delusional hope that it matters. The Fall Guy is a great movie, and the future I want is one where more movies are great again. Advertisement
Game Show Fails Are the Best Fails Apologies if, at around 7:45 p.m. Thursday night, you heard a faint high pitch noise that lasted for a full minute. That was me shrieking while watching Wheel of Fortune and witnessing a Greatest of All Time inappropriate answer to a clue. The clue was âPhrase,â and it was one of those rounds where the letters are filled in one by one. If a contestant knows the answer, they can ring in. Please, for context, see the image below, to fully [understand the hilarity]( of what a contestant named Tavaris answered. âRight in the butt.â Thatâs what Tavaris said. âRight in the butt.â Nevermind that ârightâ has five letters. Nevermind that this is Wheel of Fortune, a family game show. I canât get over what his friends and family are going to do to poor Tavaris. They will mock him from now until eternity. On his gravestone, it will say, âHere lies Tavaris. Right in the butt.â Outrageous game show answers are a passion of mine. Itâs an entire genre of entertainment that is, honestly, better than most entertainment. In the âbuttâ genre of wild answers, the classic is, of course, the Newlywed Game contestant who [answered the prompt](, âWhere is the weirdest place youâve made whoopee?â withâyou guessed itââin the ass.â Oh, game show fails are a magical rabbit hole to lose yourself down. Thereâs the Family Feud contestant who was asked to name a yellow fruit and [answered](, âOrange.â A personal favorite Family Feud goof is when a woman was asked what month of pregnancy does a woman begin to look pregnant and she [answered](, âSeptember.â Classic Family Feud fails are the best, but Iâve also had moments of âWait, itâs 2 a.m.?!â after watching TikTok after TikTok of ridiculous answers during the [Steve Harvey]( era. A Ken Jennings classic is when the [Jeopardy!]( clue was, âThe term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker,â and Jennings answered, âWhat is a hoe?â (Not wrong!) Speaking of Jeopardy!, Iâll never forget where I was when a contestant [confused]( Chaka Khan for Shaka Zulu, or when Janet Jackson [was confused]( for Ariana Grande, because both instances took years off my life. This is all to say that, Tavaris, youâre in good company, and I look forward to seeing you soon in one of the â[game show fail](â compilation videos I watch on a weekly basis. Itâs Hip to Be a Square Because itâs Tony Awards season, and Iâm a culturally minded gay, Iâve been flitting about the Great White Way the last few weeks to sample some of the finest theater. Iâve seen some of the most raved about productions. [Merrily We Roll Along](, [Appropriate](, Mary Jane, and [Stereophonic]( truly live up to the hype. Iâve found myself weeping while stars belt out Alicia Keys songs during Hellâs Kitchen and when twinks in tank tops fight in the mud during The Outsiders and thought, âWhat is wrong with me?â But the most fun Iâve had? That was at The Heart of Rock and Roll, a jukebox musical featuring songs by Huey Lewis and the News that was (egregiously!!!) not nominated for a single Tony. As a person who finds Mamma Mia! to be the greatest work of art of our lifetime, it shouldnât be surprising that I love jukebox musicals. But Iâve also become somewhat of a connoisseur of them. Iâm aware that they can be so patronizingly, cynically, unforgivably bad. But when the show is in on the joke, has a tight script, and has figured out a way to match a story to the vibe of the music, itâs heaven: the ideal version of a very expensive dance party. I laughed more during Heart of Rock and Roll than I did during any other Best Musical nominee. I cried when I was supposed to cry. I danced in my seat when I was supposed to dance in my seat. Sometimes you just want a show that does it all for you, thatâs polished and fun and escorts you on the journey without you having to do the work. Anyway, if youâre wondering why Huey Lewis is spiking on Spotify, itâs me. I Couldnât Help But Wonder⦠Itâs the greatest time of the year: [Sarah Jessica Parker]( being photographed on the streets of New York wearing batshit [Carrie Bradshaw]( outfits while filming [And Just Like That](. New York only feels like New York when this is happening. Thereâs an indescribable energy in the city right now. I can only attempt to explain it as, âSJP is wearing a big hat again, so we feel safe to be feral, selfish, and unhinged.â Speaking of big hats, take a look at this beaut: Itâs shading her from the sun, and also from the evil of the world. And what about these sheer sleeves? Itâs sending a message to all of us New Yorkers: Letâs be hideously oversized, but also transparent about it: And the biggest sign that weâre so back: Aidan is [outside an apartment stoop]( screaming at Carrieâs window. We are at our best when that mania is feeding our energy. Itâs gonna be a good summer. Important Information Every Jennifer Lopez superfan has his limits, and mine may just be this new Netflix movie Atlas. However, I must share with everyone information that blew my brain, made me cringe harder than I have in my entire life, and now Iâm talking through with my therapist about. Get ready: The film is called Atlas because her characterâs name is âAtlas.â What in the name of Selena?!?! More From The Daily Beastâs Obsessed Garfield: a fat, lazy cat who hates Mondays and is the epitome of America. [Read more](. I love Trying on Apple TV+, and talking to its (now expecting!) stars was so lovely. [Read more](. The Good Doctor ended this week preposterously, as it should have. [Read more](. [See This] - Furiosa: We [love a movie]( that allows us to use the word âbadass.â (Now in theaters) - Queen of the Deuce: We [love]( a chain-smoking, Jewish grandma who lorded over a porn empire. (Now in theaters) - The Beach Boys: Wouldnât it be nice (get it?!) if we all properly appreciated this all-time great band. (Now on Disney+) [Skip This] - Atlas: J.Lo! I am always rooting for you, but sometimes you [make it so hard](. (Now on Netflix)
- Tires: This Shane Gillis bros-will-be-bros sitcom [so lazily leans into]( that idea we should all be offended. (Now on Netflix) Like our take on what to watch?
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