Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Together Together , written and directed by Nikole Beckwith ( Stockholm, Pennsylvania ), has the sweetness and warmth of the best romantic comedies whilst flipping the conventions of the genre. It charts the relationship between forty-five-year-old San Francisco-based app developer, Matt (Ed Helms) and his twenty-six-year-old gestational surrogate, Anna (Patti Harrison). As far as I can tell, Matt doesn’t work but instead devotes his days to impending fatherhood, firstly by selecting the surrogate then by spending as much time with her as their boundaries will allow, even objecting to her one-night stand, Jacob (Timm Sharp) who flips him the ‘V’ sign. ‘His penis has been near to my baby,’ Matt protests as he stops by Anna’s apartment to present her at the second attempt a pair of clogs to protect her feet, one of a few inappropriate ideas that die on the vine. ‘You do know that your baby isn’t in my vagina,’ responds Anna, who has cashed her $15,000 cheque for the purpose of goi...

  When a film begins with the sounds of sexual pleasure, you generally expect everything else to go downhill. Shiva Baby , the debut feature of Toronto-born, New York-based writer-director Emma Seligman, doesn’t disappoint. Danielle (stand-up comedian and co-star of the short-lived sitcom, Call Your Mother , Rachel Sennott) is just bringing Max (Danny Deferrari) to orgasm with a ‘yeah, daddy,’ when her phone starts buzzing. Whether you would leave your phone on in such circumstances is a moot point, but in the 2020s, FOMO takes precedence over ‘oh, oh!’ Danielle’s mother, Debbie (Polly Draper) has called, asking if she’s coming to the funeral today. ‘You said you are, but your dad says you’re not.’ She complains about her husband, Joel (Fred Melamed) who is ‘ten months behind’. ‘He’s still at the gym so who knows if he’ll ever get there. Danielle – your father, useless.’ Draper’s delivery is punchy, cold but matter of fact. Debbie lives in a cloud of scepticism that she does not al...