18/19
Riding Carousel” Performed by Alexander McCabe Written by Alexander McCabe
Synopsis
A woman puts her career on hold to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her family life takes a surreal turn. The film was originally intended to be released directly to streaming on Hulu, but the positive reception from test screenings prompted Searchlight Pictures to give it a wide theatrical release. Starring in Graham Norton and the Fans: Bruce Springsteen/Amy Adams/Vanessa Williams/Bill Bailey/St. Vincent (2024). I was invited to a screening and a Q&A with the director. This film is much more artistic and obtuse than I expected.
The central family is nameless
So we’ll just have to call them Mother, Father, Son for short. The mother is a frustrated former artist with an MFA. She’s now a frustrated stay-at-home mom with a two-year-old terror. He’s blond; the mother is redheaded; and the father has brown hair. This was really annoying for me. Dad has a big job that involves traveling and he goes on vacation for a week at a time.
Amy Adams is absolutely incredible in the role
Director Heller is more interested in the magical realism part of the script than in giving us details. I loved the scene she has with her old classmates, all of whom are successes to some extent. She might as well be a fly on the wall at the diner. I also liked Mom’s scenes with the dogs, of which there are many. Apparently, each of the three main dogs physically corresponds to one of her friends. But I kept picturing Amy Schumer in the role!
Who says Hollywood is all about glamour?
I felt like the movie was beneath her. She should be in an Oscar-level movie, not this experimental madness. Scoot McNairy is great as her lousy husband. They’re an unattractive couple on the silver screen. Zoe Chao, as one of his mom friends, is a stunning beauty who completely steals every second of his screen time. Mary Holland and Archana Rajan are entertaining as his other mom friends.
Being the lead is a big deal
Jessica Harper is fantastic as Norma the librarian. The director tried to hide the location of the filming, but of course it was Los Angeles. Apparently the film was only shot there because AA lives there. I didn’t hate the film, but I was disappointed in Adams’ choice to do it. However, it seems like a waste of his talent. I wanted to scream at the sky afterwards too.