Tig (2015)

Director: Kristina Goolsby, Ashley York

Cast: Tig Notaro, Stephanie Allynne, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifinakis

Have I Seen it Before: I’ve heard many of the jokes and I was aware of the story behind them, but I hadn’t seen the movie before.

Did I Like It: On spec, the documentary details Notaro’s journey from C.Diff diagnosis through her mothers death and eventually through the gauntlet of cancer feels like it might be unseemly. A documentary produced by the subject will have a tough time not being an act of self-promotion.

And yet, it never feels that way.  What protects the film from a feeling of voyeurism? Primarily the film benefits from having a built-in arc for its main character. Notaro has plenty to overcome in the process of a very short time. In a scripted film, it might feel too much for a character, whereas in a documentary we as the audience will accept such an odyssey. What other option do we have?

Maybe it’s the reality that Notaro is one of the funniest people currently living, and so the proceedings are above all else funny. But I really think it is more than that. There is something fundamental to her persona that ensures she is not hungry for the attention that such a documentary would bring. She is living her life, but she would much rather you laugh at her material.

And then again, essential to her comedy is an honesty that might be considered oversharing in someone less adept at making comedic hay out of the misery that threatened to end her. And maybe that’s why the film works where other, similar documentaries feel tone deaf. It is a perfect synthesis of her comedic sensibilities into a different format. Trying to modify the context and soul of something into a completely different delivery system is a tall order. It almost always fails. It’s success here is both a testament to the resiliency of the subject and her comedy.

Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018)

Director: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson

Have I Seen it Before: It definitely represents a trend in animated sequels, but no, I missed it in the theaters.

Did I Like It: Look…

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the sequel to Wreck it Ralph (2012). The humor is on-point, if—at times—a little like grabbing for low-hanging fruit when it comes to the mercurial nature of the internet. The action set pieces and other animation are clever, as are the sequences involving the bevy of Disney Princesses…

And that might be part of the problem. Far be it for me to drag someone for thinking too much and feeling too little in the context of a story, but I think lthe problem here is that the original had such a perfectly constructed emotional through-line for its main character. In the original film, Ralph (Reilly) must come to accept who he is if he is to ever hope to be the person—and have the life—he wants.

That’s powerful stuff for any movie, much less one aimed at children that—when you scratch away enough layers—is ultimately an exercise in advanced brand synergy. Here, the closest we get to an emotional arc is the need for Ralph to be a more supportive friend. It’s along the same lines of what happened in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), where the incisive deconstruction of the nature of creativity is sidelined by a message for kids to be nicer to their siblings. It’s a fine ideal, and I suppose it may be unfair for every movie in a franchise to try to re-wrinkle my brain, but I can’t not remark on the fact that—while not embarrassing and still quite entertaining—things just aren’t the same any more.

However, if the film’s loftier ideas can somehow be incepted into a generation of children through an otherwise entertaining picture, then that might actually have a positive impact on human society, so who am I to really judge? Maybe it’s far better than I’m giving it credit.