October | 2024 | A Screenwriters Perspective: Current and Past Movies.

As a screenwriter, coming up with a new idea can sometimes seem impossible. This is why off-the-wall ideas can be the only way to break new ground with a premise that has never been done before.

In the new movie “My Old Ass”, a group of teenagers get high on mushrooms at night while camping, and Elliot, a teenage girl played by Maisy Stella, suddenly finds herself sitting next to her older self, “older Elliot”, played by Aubrey Plaza. What is even more crazy is that this older version of Elliot does not leave once the effect of the mushrooms wears off. Older Elliot visits Elliot several times, and even calls her on her cell phone. The entire reason for this idea is to create an environment that answers the question, “what would you do, if you could talk to your future self when you are young”? What would happen if you could ask questions of your older self? Would these questions alter the direction you take in life? This highly unusual premise creates a profound message, that is only possible because of the risk taken with this screenplay.

This film is the second writing and directing credit for Megan Park, her first being the movie “The Fallout” about the aftermath of a shooting at a high school, released in 2021. The acting throughout this movie is good, with Aubrey Plaza in a rare mostly serious role.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are a very high 92% with my rating a solid 85% and a recommendation, mainly for the acting and the profound message at the end.

The new movie “Lee” is about World War II correspondent and photographer Lee Miller, and stars Kate Winslet. My first impression about this above-average movie about World War II and the dangers of covering a war by a civilian is that the chain-smoking throughout this film, by Lee Miller was way overdone. The world knows that smoking was constant and most common during all the years until the time when the Surgeon General declared that cigarettes cause different kinds of Cancer in 1964. However, this level of constant smoking was not necessary just to show that this bad habit was prevalent during World War II. Lee Miller did in fact die at age 70 of lung Cancer in 1977 at the age of 70. If she smoked as much as she did in this movie, it’s amazing she lived as long as she did.

As far as this film, it is well done and well acted by Winslet who has several scenes that could be considered worthy of Academy Award recognition. However, with ratings as low as 63%, on Rotten Tomatoes it is unlikely either the film or Winslet will receive any nominations. This film did a good but not great job of showing the insanity of a civilian with no training or a weapon who runs around taking pictures during a battle. In World War II, no less than 127 war correspondents were killed. Why this practice of putting civilians in harm’s way during a war for a story, picture, or video, is baffling, considering the safe workarounds of putting cameras on war equipment or even on the helmet of a trained soldier. We do not need a civilian standing in front of a tank while a bomb goes off, to know that there is a war going on.

One big surprise in this serious drama is the appearance of comedic actor Andy Samberg, who has a serious role as Lee Miller’s friend during the war. His acting was very well done, and believable despite his many years of doing nothing but comedy.

I thought the Rotten Tomatoes ratings for this film were too low 63%, with my rating about 75% and a mild recommendation.