cstahler-47698 Reviews

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)

Good Overall, Not Great By Any Means

[6/10 · 19 March 2024]

Most of this documentary felt pretty good, the way the story is laid out at first is done well with Buzzfeed writers... I mean culture writers, giving us the rundown of the story.

The issue? Kate Taylor and Scaachi Koul take up far far far too much time telling us about what the set was like while throwing softball one-liners to people who were actually on the set. At some point we get some completely random guy who's site literally doesn't even get 20 clicks a day, talking more than people who actually experienced and worked on the sets during this time.

This documentary is filled with some gross information about Dan and his time at Nickelodeon. From gross jokes to abuse on and off set, it's a scary thing to learn about and would be better if the vast majority of speaking time wasn't give to complete randoms who's experience of the set is reading the experience that others has on the set.

When you get to the end you discover Kate is a producer, so of course the literal non-stop self-inserts happen, but this is not good for a documentary where you literally have people who lived and experienced the set.

There are interesting moments where you'll have Drake talking about his personal experience and he's cut away from to show Scaachi, Taylor, or this random dude who all weren't on set. It's genuinely jarring and probably some of the worst editing you'll ever see in a documentary of this caliber.

The allegations are crazy and when the people who actually worked on set talk about it, you can tell how it has affected their lives through the decades.

Ricky Stanicky (2024)

A Fun & Ridiculous Ride

[8/10 · 7 March 2024]

I went into Ricky Stanicky with an open mind but ultimately low expectations. Comedy movies just haven't been hitting the same as they used to, you know?

Well, I thought I would stop watching about 20 minutes in, but kept going through because it grabbed my interest, once John Cena's character comes on screen though, I was fully sold and realized I'd be watching the movie all the way through, and I'm glad I did.

Ricky Stanicky feels like a return to form for comedy movies, I would have seen this in theaters and likely invited friends to join me. It isn't perfect by any means and it requires you to take leaps of logical faith at times, but to me, comedy movies almost require a component of that, the best comedy movies for me are always just absurd and unlikely, like Joe Dirt. Maybe that's why I love this so much, there are parallels of a loveable loser doing the impossible with a pure heart.

The core friend group is made of promising actors as well who do a good job, Zac Efron has a great history of solid comedy films, Jermaine Fowler was awesome in The Blackening, and Andrew Santino has a few solid comedic roles as well.

However, the movie is really sold through Ricky/Rod's commitment and likability, when John Cena is on the screen, I'm locked in and typically laughing the hardest.

John Cena's performance is a knock out for me. He's funny, he's interesting, he's admirable in certain ways, but he's so damn likable as Ricky Stanicky that I genuinely couldn't help but side with him despite all the red flags and the lunacy of the situation.

The confrontation scene between him and Dean had me wondering how I would react in this absurd situation, I gave Dean a lot of flack during the scene, but I can't imagine reacting differently and to me that spoke volumes to Ricky for me.

The humor is crass and gross at times while other times it'll surprise you with a joke that has a well made point.

At the end of the day, I can truly say if I had seen this at 12, it probably would have been my favorite movie at the time and one I watched throughout the years. It is one I will probably pick up again, but only time will tell on that one.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

Wholesome, Funny, and Endearing

[9/10 · 8 January 2023]

I went into the movie as blind as possible, saw a single trailer and understood the premise of the movie was about Marcel, a one-inch-tall shell with shoes on in search of his family. An absurd and silly presentation only adds into the wholesomeness of the movie. I would say this movie is really great for someone experiencing a low or wanting something that will help remind them about certain things that make it all worthwhile.

I am a grown man in my 30s and I only managed to cry 4 times during this movie, maybe that's good idk, but it had so many areas where I wanted to stop and rewind, it's such an enjoyable film that flies by and shouldn't be discredited for its simple premise and silly presentation, these greatly add to the overall experience.

South Park: South Park: Post COVID (2021) Season 24, Episode 3

Can't Get Over Being Made Fun Of?

[10/10 · 7 January 2022]

So, South Park has been a favorite of mine for decades, from a very young age you could understand what the show was about, basically making fun of anything and everything regardless of the expense.

The creators of South Park are no stranger to loss in the name of their show and now it has extended to fans who are being made fun of, the entire show has been about this premise. This has cost them close friends/actors on the show, popularity among Hollywood/being a viable cameo show (remember, South Park used to have actual big name stars), and really anyone who didn't get their work's opinion.

The irony is that these fans aren't true fans because they've fallen victim to the entire premise of the show, which in a way is hilarious.

I watched this episode with 3 of my closest friends and we were all laughing through the entirety of it, even at ourselves or similarities because, you know, the meaning of South Park evidently never soared over our heads.

I'm genuinely intrigued to see if this is the end of the event or if we'll have a third part. Who knows, these two are definitely worth watching, basically, anti-vaxxers are mad because the show points out their coveted shellfish concerns.