Here Today movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE:   HERE TODAY

This dramatic comedy is currently playing in select theaters and on Amazon Prime.

You can get a FREE 30-day trial of Amazon Prime by clicking on this link!

RATING:  PG-13

LENGTH:  1 hour 57 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:  B

IN A NUTSHELL:

When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz meets New York street singer Emma Payge, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.  I’ve adored Billy Crystal for decades and it was such a pleasure to see him again. It has been way too long since we’ve seen him sparkle on the Big Screen.  He wrote this movie, directed it, and starred in it, blending humor with heart.

I’m always fascinated when the critic scores and audience scores are SO different on Rotten Tomatoes.  Critics hate this movie, giving it a low 48% on the Tomatometer, while audiences LOVE it with an enthusiastic score of 93%.  Comment down below and tell me what YOU thought of it after you watch it!

THINGS I LIKED:

• Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish have delightful chemistry. I’ve heard that they’re good friends in real life and they genuinely seem to get a kick out of each other.
• The very first scene shows us the challenge of aging and dementia that Billy Crystal’s character is experiencing.  His character’s situation hit me hard because my parents are currently going through the same thing. It’s truly heartbreaking.  I’ve mentioned them on my reviews before and so many of my YouTube channel subscribers have sent me such sweet comments.  Thank you all for being so supportive.  I truly appreciate your kindness.
• It was great to see Bob Costas, Sharon Stone, Kevin Kline, and Barry Levinson in cameo performances.
• You get to see beautiful New York City in the fall.  I always love it when The Big Apple is a character in a movie.
• I liked how the flashbacks were filmed from Billy Crystal’s character’s point of view and I absolutely loved the look on his face when he was remembering moments in the past with his wife.
• You get to attend a Bat Mitzvah.
• We’re honored to see a cameo performance of violinist virtuoso Itzhak Perlman.
• There are some very touching moments that got me teary-eyed. The dementia part of the story feels manipulative, but did it work?  Yes, it did.  It still made me cry.
• I appreciated the fact that race had very little to do with the story.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Tiffany Haddish’s character is a singer.  Unfortunately, she can’t really sing very well.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t have a very pretty singing voice either.
• The pacing is uneven.
• Billy Crystal’s character writes for a comedy sketch TV show like Saturday Night Live.  We get to see some of the sketches but none of them are very funny.  The thing about SNL is that many of their sketches aren’t very funny either. Billy Crystal actually wrote the script with the help of Alan Zweibel, who was a former SNL writer.
• For a movie about comedy, not all of the humor lands.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:    

• So many sexual innuendos, gestures, and inappropriate humor for a PG-13 movie.
• You see a woman’s rear end with a tattoo that says, “Slippery when wet.”
• Lots of profanity and 2 F-bombs.  Almost all of it comes out of Tiffany Haddish’s mouth, which Billy Crystal’s character says he wants to rinse out.

THEMES:

• Friendship
• Generation Gap
• Dementia and aging
• The value of a great mentor
• Memories
• Family
• Support

FUNNY LINES:

* “You have medicines to help you with that and you can always give yourself an enema.” – Dr. Vidor   (Anna Deavere Smith)     “I’m saving that for my birthday..a little something extra special just for me.” –  Charlie Burnz  (Billy Crystal)

• “Thanks for bringing me a bag of laundered money.” –  Charlie Burnz   (Billy Crystal)
• “You don’t stop for commas, do you?” –  Charlie Burnz    (Billy Crystal)          “Life’s too short for commas.” –      Emma Payge     (Tiffany Haddish)
• “I haven’t taken a nap since the Carter Administration.”  –  Charlie Burnz  (Billy Crystal)
• “The great outdoors would be a lot better if it were indoors.” –  Charlie Burnz    (Billy Crystal)

INTERESTING LINES:

• “Don’t let your denial overrule your sense of reason.” – Dr. Vidor   (Anna Deavere Smith)
• “How’d you become a writer?” – Emma Payge   (Tiffany Haddish)      –   “I don’t think you become a writer.  You just are.”  – Charlie Burnz   (Billy Crystal)
• “There’s a music to comedy.” –   Charlie Burnz   (Billy Crystal)
• “Being good ain’t got nothing to do with luck.”  –    Emma Payge  (Tiffany Haddish)
• “I’m writing something for her and I gotta finish before I lose my words.” –   Charlie Burnz  (Billy Crystal)
• “And the sexiest thing about her – she makes me laugh.”  –     Charlie Burnz   (Billy Crystal)
• “Anyone born in a museum is bound to be smart.” –   Emma Payge   (Tiffany Haddish)    I thought it was super cute that the married couple named their son “Rex” because he was born right next to a dinosaur exhibit in a museum.

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