Author: admin

Don’t you think that some classics should receive immunity from being made into sequels? Can anyone in their right mind imagine a sequel to “Gone with the Wind” or “Westside Story” or “My Fair Lady” or “The Sound of Music” or even “Citizen Kane”? I believe “Mary Poppins” should’ve been on that list, I know Julie Andrews thought so too when she declined to appear in “Mary Poppins Returns”.

It’s not that there is anything wrong with “Mary Poppins Returns”, the story is sweet, the songs are fine and Emily Blunt is adorable as Poppins, however, the whole time I was watching the movie I couldn’t stop asking myself: why?

And if you asked yourself how the new movie tied itself to the original, I must admit that was done quite elegantly. Mary Poppins shows up at the house as in the original and meets the original kids, Michael and Jane Banks, now thirty-years older and parents to their own kids, and you guessed it,  their little ones also need help as their world is about to fall apart. 

Emily Blunt is a huge revelation singing and dancing and basically holding the whole movie on her shoulders, yet in his big-screen debut post-“Hamilton”, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is very forgettable as the lamplighter. 

The one thing that was quite disappointing to me was that I couldn’t hum any of the songs once the movie was done. I should’ve realized something fishy was going on with the flick when my kids, who are the first ones to always tell me a new Disney movie is coming, didn’t want to join me for the screening. Maybe Poppins is just not as relatable to their generation.

If we forget this is a sequel and take the movie for what it is, “Mary Poppins Returns” is very enjoyable and uplifting. Emily Blunt was awesome, but she is no Julie Andrews, I will have to give it only a THUMBS IN THE MIDDLE!

This movie feels almost ripped from the headlines, a heart wrenching story about a mother’s love for her opioid addicted son, desperately trying to help him find his way. “Ben is Back” is a compelling interesting twist on the traditional Hollywood family drama as it gives us an insight of the affects that one family members addiction has on the whole household. 

“Ben is Back” is true gem for Academy Awards winner, Julia Roberts, who has had quite a golden age in recent years.  Lucas Hedges gives a pitch perfect performance in his first collaboration, as lead actor, in a movie directed by his father, Peter Hedges.

Unfortunately for “Ben is Back”, it is not the only movie, this fall, dealing with a young man’s addiction, “Beautiful Boy”, deals with the exact same subject. And although it is hard (and not fair) to compare between the performances of Roberts and Steve Carrell or Lucas Hedges and Timothée Chalamet, when it comes to the various academy voters they will have to make a choice.

The heavy use of a handheld camera and intimate closeups by cinematographer, Sturat Dryburgh (“The Piano”) give the whole movie a very unique sense of realism, which helps setup the bleakness tone of the movie.

One of  “Ben is Back” big advantages, in my eyes,  is that it does not feel it has to be preachy on the opioid epidemic, which is the backdrop of the movie, rather it gives the audience a very personal story of one family that is representative of a bigger narrative.

Even-though “Ben is Back” could not be considered an enjoyable entertaining movie, it certainly is one everyone, especially parents, should go see. I give it a THUMBS UP!

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