Entertainment Binge

By Isaac White.

I’m not sure if the Halloween thing is of interest to you dear readers. Now, my family and I don’t celebrate holidays for reasons I’m sure you can all understand. For me though, there are aspects of certain holidays that I did celebrate as a child that still bring on warm and fuzzy feelings. Don’t be surprised, I’m actually quite nice. Please, please believe me. You ever see Dave Chappelle do that bit? No one will believe you but you’re really telling the truth? That always makes me laugh.

For me, autumn (I say fall, it’s likely incorrect but it’s my word since I was a kid so I’m sticking to it) is my favorite season. And I know many people say that, but can you blame them? I love that smell in the air, and though I’m coming up empty for descriptive imagery, let’s just agree that fall time is awesome. One reason is the temperature drops. As Tommy Boy says, “I have what doctors call a little bit of a weight problem.”

Fat guys in little coats don’t do so well in the heat, so when fall hits, I love the reprieve from the heat and humidity of summer. The scenery is beautiful with the leaves and such. One other thing I love about fall is Halloween. I can’t deny that Halloween is a fun time of year. It’s a holiday that isn’t so serious. I mean I guess we can all figure that out as none of us get the day off from work.

What Halloween is for me is a time of mischief, imagination, and collective wonderment. I mean that sincerely. I wager that more people dislike Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter etc., than Halloween. Why? Well to me Halloween doesn’t feel like an obligation the way other holidays do. And I’m speaking from my experiences up until I was about 22. That’s when I stepped away from those festivities.

But I never fully abandoned Halloween. I’m willing to bet large sums of money (that I don’t have yet, but I swear I’m good for it. Ha ha.) a major reason for that is the entertainment portion of Halloween. And when you think about it, much of the hoopla that surrounds Halloween is performative. What do I mean? People get dressed up, create routines to perform in their getups, have parties, choreograph dances, and many other things. One other thing people do is make shows and movies that are aimed at celebrating this lighthearted holiday.

So, I thought I’d talk a bit about a Halloween themed movie that I just watched. One that I enjoyed a great deal, even if it is a more lighthearted affair that is suitable for all. There is one swear word that I caught in there but it wasn’t too major, I’d not steer you away from this because there would be children watching it. I’m not parenting your kids, although I do think I give pretty reasonable takes on appropriateness and such.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow follows a family who has recently moved from Brooklyn to the sleepy small town of Bridge Hollow. The film is directed by Jeff Wadlow, who has directed some films in the past. I mention this because I want to give you a little context for the material this guy offers viewers.

I have seen several of his films, including the Kevin James led terribly bad movie Memoirs Of An International Assassin, and the awesome Kick-Ass 2. Don’t start yelling at me yet. Yes, I said Kick-Ass 2 is awesome because I think it is. Maybe awesome is overly effusive praise. Perhaps I should say the greatly enjoyable Kick-Ass 2. It’s not as good as the first, but I did find that movie quite a bit of fun.

Anyway, you have some reference points for this director’s work. I’m sure that most people who saw his other work before watching Bridge would be unsure what to expect. I guess that’s in every film, but I like to try to prep myself for what I’m in for. That’s why we have appointment actors and directors for ourselves. At least I do.

I don’t have many appointment actors and directors, but I know that no matter what I’m going to make sure I see anything offered by Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jake Gyllenhall, I’m going to be watching that immediately. At least I’ll watch it in as reasonable a time my schedule can afford. I mean I’m not literally going to drop everything and hit the theater because Killers of the Flower Moon just released.

Don’t get me wrong, I WILL be seeing that soon and I WILL be reviewing it for all of you. I’m very excited for that one. My son and I will be attending the theater for that one. Perhaps we’ll rent tuxedos and treat it as if it’s a real movie premiere. I really hope no one took that serious. Although I think it would be hilarious to do such a thing. Get someone to take pictures of us on the little red carpet we bring. I actually think that would be funny. Ok I’m done with that.

I’m just saying that this director is certainly not appointment filmmaking. And this movie isn’t going to change that. But it’s good. Back to the town of Bridge Hollow. The Gordons moved to Brooklyn. The father Howard, played by Marlon Wayans, is a science teacher who takes a job in Bridge Hollow. He’s seeking a change of pace, to live in a town that isn’t so full of hustle and bustle as NYC.

Howard’s wife Emily (played by Kelly Rowland) is on board, but one Gordon is not. Their daughter Sydney (played by Priah Ferguson) is non-plussed at a minimum to be leaving her home in Brooklyn. It’s understandable and yet she doesn’t come of as whiny or sullen. Just a kid who is bummed out that she had to leave everything behind. I liked that they didn’t turn her into an insufferable little jerk. You feel for Sydney, even more because she isn’t over the top complaining and acting out.

Bridge Hollow turns out to be a town that loves Halloween more than maybe any other place in the U.S. Literally every house is decorated to the nines, making the town look like a giant haunted house and grounds. I thought it was pretty cool looking. Howard on the other hand did not.

He’s a scientist and a realist. Well, Sydney is into it, and she becomes enamored of some of the legends the town holds, particularly the legend of Stingy Jack. I won’t tell you more about him because you should see the tale for yourself. I must say that I really thought the story was dang cool and a different take on some general Halloween stories.

Let’s just say that Sydney causes things to become hectic. Not on purpose but it happens, nonetheless. As the movie progresses, we see Howard and Sydney battling to overcome the mess that Sydney made inadvertently.

I thought it was great to see Howard battling his scientific mind, the rational part that works on facts and logic, try to understand what’s going on around him. I am not going to give too many details about WHAT they’re battling but I must say, it’s one of the most fun ideas I’ve seen in a Halloween movie ever. When you watch the film you’ll understand what I mean. And I’m not sure why, but I laughed heartily at the cat. Let me know if you can figure out why that tickled me so, because I can’t put a finger on it honestly.

I didn’t go into this movie expecting Hocus Pocus 1 and 2. Yes, I love both of those movies. Maybe I should go over them next week. I personally thought 2 might even be better than the first and I absolutely adore the original Hocus Pocus. Who doesn’t think those movies are great though?

This movie is obviously going for that more family friendly, lighthearted fright film, if that makes sense. Yes, there are things which would scare the heck out of you in real life, but in the movie they are brought to a fun level. After all, film is people molding and shaping a story into what they want. If they do it right that is.

This movie does it right for me. I’ve seen the ratings on IMDB and I think they’re wrong. This movie isn’t the middling thing most people say it is. I think it’s certainly worth the time and the story is fun. It’s Halloween. You’ll know precisely what I mean 10 minutes into the film. That’s when I really got hooked into this thing.

No this isn’t going to be one of my all-time favorite movies. But I give the film its due. The story is fun, the bad guys are original, there are some really funny moments. I loved the way the family of three interacted with each other too. They are democratic and their 14-year-old daughter isn’t spoiled rotten and selfish. This is a nice group of people, and I loved that in this to.

The acting is good – not great, but I thought Sydney was great and Rob Riggle plays a neighbor that is absolutely phenomenal. Hilarious, truly but I’ve always thought he was funny.

The movie worth your time. Great story and it’s Halloween. You know what I mean. See what I did?

Thanks for reading and until next week…..