D @ vA N A film filled with lies > ‘The Farewell’ film review Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist keen his summer in the era of Donald Trump, there have been a lot of recent films containing obvious references to the current US President. Almost every film that I saw this summer has a reference to Trump, which made them more predictable. Many of these films touch on themes of perception, facts, and lies. However, there is one summer film that, while still alluding to Trump, does so in a way that is more relatable and offers solutions to the situations that are happening in the US right now. This film is The Farewell. The film did very well when it premiered in the Sundance Film Festival this year and in my opinion, it is the surprise hit of this summer. Directed by Lulu Wang, The Farewell follows a woman who lives in Changchun, China known as Nai Nai (Mandarin for paternal grandmother), played by Zhao Shuzhen. Nai Nai has terminal lung cancer but she is unaware of her diagnosis because the rest of her family does not want her to know about it. This is because of a Chinese tradition where the ill member of the family doesn't get informed of their illness by their family so that the individual does not have to go through the hardships of having an illness. Nai Nai’s entire family including her granddaughter from New York City, Billi (Crazy Rich Asians and YouTube star Awkwafina), comes back to China for the wedding of her cousin from Japan, Hao Hao (Han Chen), while still not telling Nai Nai that she has an illness. Billi does not agree with the idea of keeping the secret, which results in her parents (Diana Lin and Meditation Park’s Tzi Ma) almost preventing her from going to the wedding. As the film progresses, some members of the family reveal secrets that make you Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca question the family itself. Wang uses a lot of foreshadowing to suggest to the viewer which family member is telling the truth and how the film will end. She also uses opera music to give the film a bittersweet mood. Wang’s script tackles various topics including hiding a secret which makes the problem even worse, how different cultures approach difficult situations, and traditions that create the comedic scenes in the film. Her use of repetitiveness makes those scenes even funnier. One scene in particular demonstrates that despite cultural differences, there are some things we all can agree on. In another scene, the family compares the difference e Artistic works inspired by sleep paralysis e ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ ¢ ‘The Return of Eugenia Cooney’ review ..and more Promotional image for 'The Farewell’ of being successful in China versus the US; in the US, success is often seen as doing what you love, while in China success is often linked to having wealthy parents. Some scenes that resonated with me in particular included the moments when Billi has conversations with Nai Nai and the rest of her family. In my opinion, these scenes show that the only decent people in the film are Billi and Nai Nai. The Farewell is a film that everyone can relate to regardless of ethnicity or cultural background. Also, it offers up a powerful message about what the truth can mean and the long-term consequences of keeping a heavy secret. Tune in and Dropout: It’s all fun and games until someone becomes a drug kingpin > ‘Kingpin Katie’ television review Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager wee K KY The jokesters over at CollegeHumor launched their own comedy streaming platform Dropout TV. I'm here to tell you if their exclusive content is worth the subscription fee. Bt in 2016, CollegeHumor released a sketch video called “Canceling Plans Showdown’ where two co-workers have a Western-style showdown. Instead of using pistols, however, the co-workers are both offering up reasons why the other person should cancel on their evening plan to check out a gallery opening together. It’s a great sketch, but the funniest lines don’t even come from the two leads. At the very start of the video, the woman co-worker (Kassia Miller) asks a passing- by Katie Marovitch if she has plans for the evening, and Marovitch nonchalantly says, “Ah, you know, blowing a couple fat rails.” It’s a bit that barely amounts to a subplot, and yet Marovitch’s fondness for cocaine became a recurring joke in CollegeHumor sketches. Three years later, we get Kingpin Katie. Kingpin Katie follows Marovitch playing a fictionalized version of herself who's just trying to live her best life. And by best life, ] mean one where her coke habit is slowly whittling away at her livelihood. It’s to the point where in the pilot’s opening scene, she gives a heartfelt monologue about finally getting sober, and her co- workers respond with eyerolls rather than empathy. They've been down this road with Marovitch before, but their skepticism is what ultimately drives her to round up her various stashes around the office and attempt to return them. To Marovitch’s surprise, the drug dealer’s return policy isn’t that great and she’s left with $5,000 worth of coke. Wackiness then ensues! In interviews, Marovitch frequently cites Breaking Bad as the inspiration for Kingpin Katie, and the similarities are everywhere. Both shows follow an unsuspecting antihero Screenshot via College Humor who's more or less interested in doing the right thing, but those intentions become increasingly morally grey as the show goes on. Kingpin Katie also leans into the hit AMC show's style very heavily, with nighttime desert meetups and slowed- down close-ups during intense moments of character development. Kingpin Katie has a lot going for it. Marovitch strikes a nice balance between hapless drug dealer and struggling comedy writer to deliver a protagonist worth rooting for. Her performance alone is worth the price of admission and she gives us some terrific sight gags, including dressing up as a Miami Vice-style drug dealer— baggy suit, sunglasses, cigar, and all—to sell coke in a public park. The show also looks fantastic, from the variety of set locations to the stylistic filming. Kingpin Katie feels like a show found on any traditional television network—a product of the increased budgets allotted for Dropout’s exclusive programs. I’ve been consistently impressed with how great Dropout’s shows look, and Kingpin Katie continues that upward trend. But for all the parts that gel, there are a few aspects that hold Kingpin Katie back from being truly great. Primarily, the supporting characters are never as interesting or fun to watch as the titular kingpin. In particular, co-lead Betsy Sodaro’s meter maid constantly delivers a cartoonish performance, sucking all the oxygen out of the scenes and leaving little room for the other characters. CollegeHumor staple Mike Trapp also has a prominent role, playing a perpetually stressed out boss-figure who's worried about the company’s financial prospects. Trapp is someone who usually oozes charisma and funniness, and it’s unfortunate seeing him bound toa character so one-dimensional, reduced to spewing one-liners about budgets and Marovitch’s work ethic. Some of the jokes also come across as tired or shock-value humour that carry little weight. For example, Sodaro’s character repeatedly mentions that she’s a recovering sex addict, while also implying that her sexual experiences have been fairly limited. Jokes like this might be passable as one-offs, but for some reason Sodaro repeats some variation on this joke each episode, as if there’s a quota demanding it. Where the show shines the most is when Marovitch is on her own, navigating the world of amateur drug dealing and combining the dramatic elements with quick quips. In one particularly memorable scene, there’s a mix-up involving explosives, which would’ve fit right in on Breaking Bad as an intense, cliff-hanger ending; instead, Kingpin Katie wisely just shrugs it off in a hilariously anticlimactic moment. Moments like these, and Marovitch’s character, help elevate Kingpin Katie into a funny, light-hearted romp in slapdash drug dealing. Not bad for a television series based on a throwaway line of dialogue from 2016. Clips of Kingpin Katie can be found on CollegeHumor’s YouTube page, but full episodes are currently on Dropout exclusively.