This week:
- Why I’m thankful for Bridgerton.
- A historically bad movie.
- My interview with a horny teddy bear.
- Nicole Kidman, never stop being weird.
- Ryan Gosling, never stop being charming.
The Sexy Distraction We Deserve
One need not elaborate on the myriad reasons people are seeking an escape these days.
Thankfully, they’ve found respite and release—in more ways than one, wink-wink—at the cottage. They’ve been whisked away to the Scottish highlands, where mayhem and muhr-durrr seemed like a fanciful frolic in comparison to reality. Heck, even the circus of trauma and gore in a Pittsburgh emergency room has seemed more inviting.
I’ve been most grateful this week, however, for my trip to the Ton.
The second half of Season 4 of Bridgerton was a swooning, sumptuous, sexy sojourn away from modern madness (I ran out of words starting with ‘s’, but wanted to keep the alliteration going) that ended up being quite healing.
It turns out that grand declarations of love, a few titillating love scenes, and the return of Jonathan Bailey can do wonders to stave off concerns of World War 3. Anachronistic orchestral interpretations of a Billie Eilish song as handsome people in floofy costumes prance around can tune out even the most violent obtrusive thoughts, bless you, Shonda Rhimes.
Mostly, I was swept away because these episodes, after a snoozy Season 3 and an iffy start to Season 4, were so good.
The Cinderella love story between maid Sophie (Yerin Ha) and eligible Bridgerton bachelor Benedict (Luke Thompson) gratifyingly escalated its stakes. Sophie is betrayed by Benedict’s proposition that she be his mistress, the entire Bridgerton family falls in love with Sophie without knowing her scandalous secrets, and Sophie’s former family is hellbent on having her arrested and destroying her life. I want a romance from this show, sure, but I also crave a soap opera—and this was serving.
(Warning: Some spoilers ahead.)
These episodes were smart in quickly delivering exactly what fans, or at least this fan, want: Benedict unfurls one of those classic romantic speeches about the moons and the stars and existence only mattering if the woman he loves is present (I’m paraphrasing), and then proceeds to go down on Sophie and they bang. Perfect television. No notes.
There is something profound about the carnal attraction between the two, and how by defying their forbidden connection, they are able to be more vulnerable and open about themselves. It’s like secrecy somehow blooms honesty.
I appreciate that every once in a while, Bridgerton reminds us that, at one point, it was transgressive and Benedict was bisexual, even though he’s now acting out a hetero romance inspired by a literal fairy tale. Benedict confesses as much to Sophie, who replies with the loveliest of lines: “Love is always a thing to be proud of. The world needs more of it.” She then capitalizes on the sharing session to tell him that she is an illegitimate child.
(I did giggle at the whiplash of him being like, “I’ve banged guys,” and her being like, “That’s OK, my mom was a whore.” But it was sweet.)
Thompson and Ha are a reminder of how much fun these romance shows can be when the actors have real chemistry. Brooding, yearning, and abject horniness are talents not every hot young performer possesses, as we learned during the show’s previous season. Getting an audience to root for a couple both lasciviously and wholesomely—give us that naked tumble in the sheets and the traditional wedding—is no easy feat.
There were other errant things that stood out to me about this season.
We knew there would be only brief appearances by Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, given their busy schedules, but the show made the most of it. Seeing Bailey cooing with his newborn baby while in bed with his wife made my ovaries quiver. Perfect use of limited time.
The friendship storyline between Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte was unexpectedly moving—and more sophisticated than I’d expect from Bridgerton. Nicola Coughlan is one of the finest performers on TV, so I wish Penelope had meatier things to do on the show. And I was struck by how invested I am in the Bridgerton matriarch Violet’s own love storyline.
And, of course, there’s the highlight of the season: the sex tub. That is the kind of scene people tune into Bridgerton for.
There’s no word yet on where Bridgerton will go next, or which sibling will be featured, but I’m just glad that I got to visit the Ton and these characters. It was just four hours on a recent weekday evening, but four hours of much-needed distracting bliss.
A Movie So Bad, Now I Want to See It
There are core moviegoing experiences. The film, how it made you feel, and what it was like to be among other people sharing in that moment becomes foundational. It changes you. You become a new person.
For example, the movie Cats.
What an abomination of a movie. A malicious attack on the senses and the very notion of taste, it was a thrill to watch. Every disturbing quiver of a CGI whisker, lick of an uncanny paw (which was sometimes still a human hand), and warble of a note amplified the torture until the volume of badness transcended; almost like a white-noise machine, the racket of horror became soothing. I felt the molecules of my body rearrange, my soul have an existential crisis.
This is why I am so intrigued by The Bride!, the new film starring Jessie Buckley and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal that is being pilloried with such bad reviews that I fear the nation may soon suffer a tomato shortage.
It’s to the point that I feel like I simply must see it.
The film is, apparently, a superficially punk, cartoonishly feminist chronicle of Frankenstein’s Monster’s request for a companion and the resulting Bride’s raucous radicalization of the community around her.
In his Daily Beast review, Nick Schager called the film “a schizophrenic beast—all flailing arms, contorted bodies, and roaring blood-stained mouths—that constantly feels as if it’s coming apart at the seams.” He was one of the kind ones.
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Sometimes a bad movie can be as meaningful as a masterpiece. The whiff of a big swing that misses can hit you with a force as powerful as watching something profound—the visceral reaction makes you think.
Dare I buy a ticket to The Bride! this weekend? I’m tempted.
Teddy Bears Say the Darndest Things
I had the unusual opportunity this week of interviewing an anthropomorphic stuffed animal.
Ted, the foul-mouthed, forever randy teddy bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane, responded to my questions about how his life is going now that the second season of Peacock’s Ted, the TV series prequel to the movie franchise, is streaming. Let’s just say, Ted was quintessentially himself.
On any nerves he had for Season 2 of Ted: “I was nervous, yes. But then I texted my good friend Blake Lively and found myself embroiled in a very public lawsuit. I shouldn’t have referred to Justin Baldoni as ‘Temu Aladdin,’ but my attorneys feel confident in my case. And I’m looking forward to Season 2 because ‘two’ means poop.”
On whether he thinks he’s a good influence on teenager John: “Whether I do or I don’t, the important thing is what Jesus thinks. Can you put that in? I’m really trying to bang this Christian chick.”
The whole thing had me cracking up. You can read it here.
What Can’t Nicole Kidman Do?
“If I need to, I could perform the autopsy. I could remove all the organs. I can name them all.”
There are typical things you expect actors to talk about when they do their perfunctory talk show interviews: The cast was like a family, who pranked whom, maybe a silly anecdote about something that happened off-camera at a recent award show. You don’t necessarily expect them to reveal that they could find out how you were murdered, in a pinch.
Nicole Kidman plays a medical examiner in the new series Scarpetta, and told Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show that she worked with a real-life professional on how to perform an autopsy, to the point that she nearly agreed to perform one on camera. (And she was only half-sure they were talking about on a dummy.)
There’s a reason Kidman is one of the best—and weirdest—TV interviews.
A Real-Life Project Hail Mary
It’s actually a banner week for hilarious celebrity interviews. I giggled my entire way through this interview with Ryan Gosling by a reporter whose bus broke down on the way back from the Grand Canyon, so he was asking his questions on the side of the road in the desert. Gosling’s disbelief and refusal to let the outrageous circumstances go are peak movie-star charm.
More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed
Two of my favorite married actors gave Obsessed a hilarious interview. Read more.
Can Sinners really win Best Picture at the Oscars? Read more.
Speaking of Ted, he stars in the year’s most bonkers sex scene (so far). Read more.
What to watch this week:
Peaky Blinders: Immortal Man: Always fun to watch Cillian Murphy brood. (Now in theaters)
Outlander: I watched the final season premiere with fans, and they lost their minds. (Fri. on Starz)
Hoppers: It’s flying under the radar for a Pixar movie, but it’s very charming. (Now in theaters)
What to skip this week:
The Bride!: Or maybe it’s so bad it’s good? (Now in theaters)
Vladimir: Considering its smoking hot stars, it should be way sexier. (Now on Netflix)
