Netflix Streams Romance & Friendship For Autumn: At The Movies With Kasey
Before autumn gets into full swing, bringing longer nights perfect for filling with spooky movies, the cozy weekends provide ample opportunity for feel-good films. So this September, Netflix released two films focused on love.
In The Wrong Paris, Dawn (Miranda Cosgrove) has been dreaming for years to go to art school in Paris, but when her acceptance letter finally arrives, she has spent the money she needs for school to pay medical bills for her grandmother, Birdie (Frances Fisher). Her younger sister, a big fan of a reality dating show, The Honey Pot, concocts a plan to get Dawn on the show so she can use the talent fee to pay for school. To her surprise (if not the audience’s), Dawn finds herself really falling for the cowboy bachelor, Trey McAllen (Pierson Fode), as she competes for his love against a group of contestants straight from central casting. Oh, and they were told this Honey Pot season would be filmed in Paris, France, but they land in Paris, Texas.
While watching The Wrong Paris, I remembered the show Unreal, a biting and scandalous series that centered on a fictionalized version of The Bachelor. This movie takes a much gentler approach but still makes a few jabs at the dating show genre. I also remembered that my daughter has a Fancy Nancy book that centers on a mix-up involving Paris, Texas. Formulaic and clichéd, The Wrong Paris has the general vibe of a Hallmark Christmas movie.
That said, if you are in the mood for a romcom of this low calibre, as many of us are from time to time, The Wrong Paris delivers the genre well. Dawn is lovable and down on her luck. Trey has an absurd six-pack. The two have decent chemistry. Miranda Cosgrove sustains the film by giving Dawn both strength and charm. She is likable, but it is hard to believe she would give up on art school, which sustains the suspense. As her producer, Rachel, Yvonne Orji provides a steady voice of reason, while as influencer Lexi Miller, Madison Pettis is sometimes too ridiculous to make a good villain. I wanted more from Frances Fisher as Birdie, as her character seems to be wholly encapsulated by her grandmotherly milkmaid braids.
Is The Wrong Paris a good movie? No. But for a cozy autumn afternoon, it is a lot of fun to watch.
The Wrong Paris was written by Nicole Henrich and directed by Janeen Damian. It runs 105 minutes and is rated TV-14.
Moving On reunites Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two friends, Claire and Evelyn, who reconnect at a friend’s funeral and decide to seek revenge on Howard (Malcolm McDowell), her awful widower. The film has the tone of a buddy comedy, mixed with some heavy thoughts about aging, and, possibly, murder.
Netflix has re-released this 2023 film, which largely flew under the radar when it first came out. It is easy to see why. Although Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda make an amazing pair, the writing gets off to a tedious start. For much of the story, as Claire and Evelyn catch up on their regrets from the past and fears for the future, it is unclear if there will be more to the story than the duo’s banter.
In terms of production quality, the film has a steady, polished quality embodied by its leads, but it does not offer anything interesting in terms of set design, cinematography, or narrative structure. I rarely wish for movies to be longer, but it felt like this film could have used a different perspective, flashbacks, or something to break up the uniformity of the style.
Midway through the film, when I was starting to wonder if there were any real stakes or substance to the story, the narrative breaks loose and reveals a deeper backstory, and some surprisingly morbid humor. Jane Fonda gives a moving, angsty performance as Claire grapples with decades-old wounds. Opposite her, Malcolm McDowell is perfectly egotistical, and Lily Tomlin provides much-needed comedic relief.
For much of the film, Moving On feels like an extra-long television episode. When it picks up, however, it delivers some shocking and darkly comic twists that, paired with the charismatic leads, make it worth seeing through to the end.
Moving On was written and directed by Paul Weitz. It runs 85 minutes and is rated R.
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