Yes, Papa Vito’s restaurant in downtown Belleville is in a haunted historic building. It has a colorful history, but more importantly, the ghosts remain active. I was just there Saturday evening at a birthday party, and we heard from employees who have had encounters.
Here’s the backstory published in the Belleville News-Democrat today:
What a delightful young woman! I was thrilled to be able to write about Berklea Going for last week’s Webster-Kirkwood Times. The Nerinx Hall graduate and Muny veteran of 19 summers is in the national tour of “Frozen” and will be at the Fox as soon as her run in “42nd Street” at the Goodspeed Opera House is over this weekend. Here is my feature on this talented St. Louis native
Here is my feature in Friday’s print edition of the Webster-Kirkwood Times:
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
What a weekend ahead – especially all the festivities to celebrate Halloween. Here’ s a round-up of events, movies, music, TV and more.
Local Spotlight: Our National Landmark
Our Gateway Arch was completed on Oct. 28 in 1965. America’s tallest monument, The Gateway to the West, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, is the grand symbol of our region and riverfront.
I was 10 when they put the final link in place. Now it’s 57! I remember coming home from college, and as soon as I saw the Arch, I knew I was home.
Here’s more from the History Channel about this day in history: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Movies: Slashfest at the Skyview Drive-In
Belleville Oct. 28 and 29, box office opens at 6 p.m.
Screen 1 – Family Slashfest – Hotel Transylvania PG 8:00 and Gremlins 2 PG13 9:40 Midnight – Rocky Horror Picture Show
Screen 2 – Hardcore Slashfest – Texas Chainsaw Massacre R 7:15, Friday the 13th 7: New Blood R 8:50, The Fog R 10:25 and Killer Klowns from Outer Space R 12:00
They will start the Hardcore Slashfest at 7:15 and the Family Slashfest will start at 8:00. This is so they can play four movies on the Hardcore side. At midnight, you can choose to stay on screen 2 or move up to screen 1 to see RHPS.
Live and Local: Saint Charles Legends & Lanterns® is taking over Main Street this weekend – Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
More info: https://www.discoverstcharles.com/events/legends-lanterns/
Local Content: Broken Strings
The first episode of a planned local series on artists’ journeys as they search for harmony will be screened at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust Avenue, at 7 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday.
Created as a part of the Kranzberg Artist in Residency program, writer/director Catherine Dudley-Rose has gathered multiple local artists and activists. First one features Dr. Marty K. Casey, Don McClendon, Sydney Russell, and Chrissie Watkins along with supporting cast. Crew: cinematography by Mallory Ingles, edited by Abbey Heise, sound by Bailey Hilmes and assisted by Once Films, and the Regional Arts Commission. Find out more about the development of this community series and how you can participate. Tickets are $15.
More info: https://www.kranzbergartsfoundation.org/events/broken-strings-preview-screenings/
Live: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra “Psycho”
Oct. 30, 7 p.m., Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd.
SLSO is checking into the Bates Motel as Alfred Hitchcock’s classic psychological thriller “Psycho” will be on the big screen, and they will play Bernard Herrmann’s suspenseful score – with its shrieking strings and slashing chords – live.
Beforehand, a costume contest will take place in the foyer, with prizes for best overall, scariest and most creative.
Tickets: https://shop.slso.org/7612
Streaming: “Stars at Noon” on Hulu
Here’s PopLifeSTL film critic Alex McPherson’s review of “Stars at Noon,” currently streaming on Hulu.
TV Movies: Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, there is a new Christmas film to view. Here’s this weekend’s line-up:
Friday – A Cozy Christmas Inn Saturday – Jolly Good Christmas Sunday – Ghost of Christmas Always
Movie: “Decision to Leave”
Now playing at Plaza Frontenac, writer-director Park Chan-wook’s mystery-thriller uses his distinct visual style to weave a love story and murder case, with flashes of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” and using nature as a character. The official South Korean selection for the Oscar’s Best International Feature, this will indeed be in the awards conversation at year’s end. Park won best director for this at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
We move on to Sicily this time, for a take on the staff at an upscale resort and the wealthy guests who stay there. Cast includes Aubrey Plaza, F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, and Haley Lu Richardson, with Jennifer Coolidge reprising her role as the ditzy socialite Tanya McQuoid.
Playlist: Million Dollar Quartet
With the death of Jerry Lee Lewis Friday, one of the pioneers of rock ‘n roll, I am reminded of the one historic night where Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Lewis gathered at Sun Studios in Memphis for one heckuva recording session on Dec. 4, 1956.
The basis for a 20120 jukebox musical
It has played at the Fox Theatre (2013) and at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (, and will be part of Stages St. Louis’ 37th season next summer. Here is the Broadway cast performing at the 2010 Tony Awards. Levi Kreis, who played Jerry Lee Lewis, won the Tony for best featured actor in a musical.
Word: Stephen King
“We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.”
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus It is easy to be dazzled by Cate Blanchett’s virtuoso performance as a brilliant maestro whose rise in the cutthroat world of classical music will be thwarted by a spectacular fall from grace.
But overall, the excruciatingly bloated melodrama “Tar” is a pretentious exercise.
Set in the international world of classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and first-ever female music director of a major German orchestra. But just as her professional career is soaring, her personal life is going to crash, and she is in danger of getting burned.
As played by the two-time Oscar winner, the unsympathetic Lydia is at once brilliant and brittle. Haughty and vain, her carefully cultivated image is going to take big hits in the age of social media outrage and swift cancel culture, for –spoiler alert – she’s a sexual predator.
Cavalierly, she wields power over the vulnerable women she grooms while they curry favor with her. But she doesn’t attend to the messiness that will expose her true nature, and this fatal flaw, for being arrogant enough to think she is untouchable, will be her downfall.
Yet, there is no redemption and little accountability. We’re not going there, but where we’re going is a rather muddled and bumpy journey where we’re kept at arm’s length.
However, Blanchett is fierce as the formidable composer and conductor. She conducts with a ferocity, plays piano nimbly, and speaks several languages. She is on screen nearly the whole 2-hour, 38-minute runtime (which feels like 6 hours), and she’s a thoroughly unlikable character.
The acting is uniformly first-class, as are the production elements moving us between her homes, the concert hall, and the streets of Berlin, New York, and Thailand. Florian Hoffmeister’s cinematography captures the moodiness, the bleak gray skies, and growing unease as well as the upper echelon in the arts and the associated lofty lifestyles that production designer Marco Bittner Rosser has conveyed so well.
The main frustration here is that writer-director Todd Field has decided to concentrate on repetitive minutiae with a backdrop of mundane everyday life details, which drags the story.
At home, she lives with her wife Sharon, the Philharmonic’s concertmaster (an outstanding Nina Hoss), and their daughter Petra (Mila Bogojevic), but she also keeps another place.
And not only is the film’s pacing uneven, but Field is stingy with answers while questions keep proliferating. By the time it’s over – sweet relief (and some of the movie seems in real time) — there are baffling loose ends that prevent it from being a satisfying experience.
That seems indulgent, and a lengthy opening lecture with the New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik and a master class at Juilliard are in desperate need of editor Monika Willi (wait – there is an editor listed in the credits?).
Field, a three-time Oscar nominee who hasn’t made a film in 16 years, isn’t clear about his feelings for the protagonist, or how he wants us to feel. Normalizing her would be a mistake, for she’s a monster. Nor is she deserving of a pity party. Her undoing is entirely her own fault.
For those of you playing at home, do we want to watch a prickly personality pontificate for several hours?
Time and time again, life shows us that you can only run so far before fate catches up with you. What should happen – a comeuppance, criminal charges, civil lawsuit, apology?
That is not where Field is headed. Nor is he compelled to flesh out the vague backstory of Krista (Sylvia Flote), a supposedly ‘unstable’ protégé who committed suicide.
As a fan of Field’s acclaimed “In the Bedroom” (2001) and “Little Children” (2006), this was confounding. But others accept it and have lavished widespread praise. I would hope a second viewing isn’t needed for more insight and clarity.
The music, of course, is gorgeous. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, whose work on “Joker” won her an Oscar, may earn another nod with this sleek score. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, as the chosen piece to record, is sumptuous.
Other noteworthy performances include Noemie Merlant as Tar’s assistant Francesca and Sophie Kauer as the hotshot young cellist.
There is a story, of course, in the intriguing take on male-female power dynamics, and out-of-control actions made worse in the era of cellphones and social media. And suspense does build, if only in fits and starts.
Full of nagging holes, “Tár” is imperfect, and that’s not acceptable, no matter how sophisticated, given the people associated with this project.
It again, if anything, raises the issue about separating the art from the artist, but that opens a dialogue best served in another more succinct movie, as who wants another paradox after this disturbing – and cumbersome — portrait?
“Tar” is a 2022 drama written and directed by Todd Field. It stars Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Mila Bogojevic, Noamie Merlant, Sophie Kauer and Mark Strong. It runs 2 hours, 38 minutes, and is rated R for some language and brief nudity. Locally, it opened in theatres Oct. 21. Lynn’s Grade: C.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Documentary: “A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting”
8 p.m. on HBO
On Oct. 27, 2018, a white nationalist gunman entered a synagogue shouting “All Jews must die!” and with four automatic weapons, killed 11 while they were praying. It was the largest antisemitic attack in American history.
Directed by and produced by Pittsburgh natives Michael Keaton, Billy Porter and Mark Cuban, the documentary interviews
An important aspect of the film is how the community came together afterwards. The process of healing, rebuilding, and moving forward
I will discuss the film with Ray Hartmann on “Mueller Furniture Presents Lynn Venhaus Goes to the Movies” on Thursday after the 10 p.m. news on KTRS, the Big 550.
Movie: Streaming Premiere for “The Good Nurse”
Netflix.
The true crime drama “The Good Nurse,” released in theaters on Oct. 19, is now streaming on Netflix.
Here’s my review: https://www.poplifestl.com/the-good-nurse-is-tension-filled-investigation-of-shocking-deaths/
Video on Demand: Studio Ghibli
Japanese animation fans, rejoice! Studio Ghibli’s catalogue of 22 films has been released by GKIDS for rental on all major digital platforms, including Apple, Amazon, Google Play, and Microsoft. Oscar winner “Spirited Away,” nominees “Howl’s Moving Castle” and are available at $4.99 per title. All are available in HD, with most being offered in the original Japanese as well as English dubbed versions.
Mini Burger Palace: A Little Hi
A Little Hi opened Sunday at 15069 Manchester on the strip in Ballwin, where one of the Silky’s Frozen Custard places once was. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
It’s a smaller menu than the parent – the Hi-Pointe Drive-In, with locations downtown, on McCausland, Kirkwood, Arnold and O’Fallon Ill., but still serving the trademark smash burgers, fries, milkshakes, and chef-inspired specials.
It’s also smaller in size. One of the features is a drive-thru window for pick-up orders.
Trailer: Ready for a Christmas Movie?
“Christmas With You” streams on Netflix starting Nov. 17
It’s about a pop star (Angelina, played by Aimee Garcia) who travels to a small town in New York to grant a young fan’s wish. She finds the inspiration to revitalize her career but also a shot at true love. Also stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Deja Monique Cruz.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Sympathies shift as does time in the twisty relationship drama “Fiction,” presented by the St. Louis Actors’ Studio as a study in the stories we tell ourselves.
Playwright Steven Dietz explores “What would you do if you had to live with a secret that you thought you would die with?”
That complicates life for sophisticates Linda and Michael Waterman, who are both writers, thus the verbal jousting throughout the two acts.
Their literate lives will be turned upside-down with the diagnosis of a terminal brain tumor (hers) and the revelation of an affair (his).
After Linda’s devastating news, she asks her husband to share his diaries with her. Who can refuse a dying person’s wish, right? He agrees – tearing out a page – and his entries disclose what happened at a writer’s retreat with a young Abby, an administrator at The Drake Colony. Rut-ro.
With his customary witty dialogue, Dietz examines the blurred lines between fact and fiction, truth and lies, reality and imagination. Does discretion spare pain or make betrayal worse? Can couples overcome deceit? Is “memory the better writer” as Michael states?
And what kind of mind game are we exactly in for here?
As cagily played by Lizi Watt as Linda and William Roth as Michael, their carefully constructed worlds come to a head when they are forced into edgy territory – and are backed into a corner.
The very opinionated and glib Waterman defends his journaling by describing it as fiction. A rather stressed Linda conjures up scenarios in her head, as she thinks she knows him well enough to figure out what happened. He described Abby as a lethal combination of beauty, danger, youth and wit.
As they revise facts, trust breaks down. Then Michael reads Linda’s diaries. Well, who is keeping secrets now? And what isn’t disclosed on the hand-written pages?
What a tangled web Dietz has weaved into two hours, adding plot twists – and a few contrivances to make this more confounding rather than easily filling in the blanks.
William Roth, Bryn McLaughlin, Lizi Watt. Photo by Patrick Huber.
What the Watermans have been telling themselves for 20 years is that their longtime relationship is built on honesty and candor. After all, they are writers. But the irony is that sometimes, those adept at the written word aren’t always the best communicators when it comes to expressing feelings and deep thoughts one-on-one.
Confrontations will expose vulnerabilities and appear to be ripping scabs off old wounds. And what’s with this mysterious Abby, and how long was she in contact with Michael? How does she know Linda?
Agile at rapid-fire banter, Watts and Roth are convincing, if not enitrely relatable, as the pair – his character tends to pontificate, and her healthy self can get snippy, but you do feel for her current predicament. His novels are so popular they’re made into movies while her one acclaimed book, “At the Cape,” a fictionalized account of her sexual assault in South Africa, is long in the rearview mirror, and she now teaches creative writing. Linda is tough and confident, not a pushover.
As Abby, Bryn McLaughlin plays her close to the vest when she appears before and present, shading her ambiguously. She holds her own in scenes with the older established characters.
This three-hander, deftly staged by Wayne Salomon, digs deeper into the gray areas of relationships that aren’t so black-and-white. Salomon’s a master at dissecting ordinary people and their motivations, as he has shown in an illustrious career spanning 50 years.
In recent years at STLAS, he’s done sharply defined work with “August: Osage County,” “Three Tall Women,” and “Farragut North.” This one, with its enigmatic premise, is indeed a challenge.
While the actors are smooth and obviously well-rehearsed, given the dexterity on display and their earnest analysis to make the material understandable, the stumbling block is the play’s structure.
The time shifts are not always clear, which is intentional. There are minor changes in costumes to reflect the year depicted, a smart move by costume designer Carla Landis Evans.
When we first meet the couple at a café in Paris (really?), they seem to have a comfy rapport. Dietz’s idea to start with a high-spirited argument on best rock vocal performance is clever, for we immediately ascertain they’re Boomers, with each taking a side – he’s adamant it’s John Lennon in “Twist and Shout,” and she’s making a case for Janis Joplin for “Piece of My Heart.”
Music, being the universal language, helps us size up the characters. But turns out, this is their first meeting, and they eventually marry. It sets up their rhythms, for couples tend to have their own shorthand..
This shift in time will keep us off-guard, particularly with the back-and-forth on the Abby sequences, and perhaps more at a distance that we should be as we’re trying to keep straight what’s accurate.
Then, there is the matter of mortality. The reason she’s reading his diaries is that she’s going to die soon (three weeks, or as she puts it, “twenty meals.”) Spoiler alert: But then, lo and behold, doctors say ‘oops!’ and never mind — due to an “oncological misapprehension,” she’s given a reprieve, so that makes things stickier for what’s out in the open. But then… (won’t spoil the rest). And if she has a malignancy tumor, undergoing treatment, wouldn’t that affect her behavior?
These choices are debatable, and the off-kilter nature can be frustrating, if that’s how you sense it. I can see where deciphering the relationships can become chore-like.
In all narratives, talking about writing can get in the weeds with theatergoers, while showing the writing process is even trickier. I can see responses vary about the two.
Should our lives be an open book in our intimate relationships? Dietz brings up questions, but are his points persuasive?
Are the characters unreliable narrators? Things are open to interpretation, depending on your viewpoint. And given human nature, perspectives will vary.
The setting, designed by Patrick Huber and carried out by Andy Cross and Sarah Frost, is minimally staged to focus on the verbal fireworks. No bookshelves, such as those artfully staged for Zoom, for the backdrop.
St. Louis Actors’ Studio, now in its 15th season, is looking through the lens of life’s fundamentals in several productions this year.
Their selections always bring up provocative issues that make a viewer consider how they think and feel, which results in an interesting experience worthy of discussion.
“Fiction” was produced in a workshop setting through ACT Theatre in Seattle in 2002, then presented at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., and later, off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre in 2004.
Active for 30 years, the prolific Dietz is one of the most widely produced playwrights in the U.S. Locally, his works “Bloomsday” and “This Random World” have been performed by the West End Players Guild. “God’s Country,” “The Nina Variations,” “Lonely Planet,” “Shooting Star” and “Private Eye” are among his many plays, often staged in regional theaters. Always witty and frequently insightful, Dietz’ comedy-dramas intrigue.
This much I know is true – the truth is uncomfortable but lies are worse. Although this brings up thought-provoking topics, whatever Dietz was going for in “Fiction” doesn’t land wholly satisfactorily, although the performances are genuine and the production work sincere.
William Roth, Lizi Watt. Photo by Patrick Huber
The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents “Fiction” by Steven Dietz from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 p.m. at The Gaslight Theater at 358 N. Boyle in the Central West End.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
A fun weekend can be had on Main Street in St. Charles.
Legends & Lanterns® is a “spirited” journey through Halloween History is an annual event that finds its inspiration from the past.
“From the vintage charm of Halloween in the 1910s-1930s, to the historical rituals and customs brought to the holiday by the Druids and Victorians, to the ethereal atmosphere depicted in American ghost stories and Brothers Grimm fairy tales; this event will offer treats and tricks for guests of all ages. A little bit silly. A little bit macabre. But all in fun,” so it states on the website.
The Black Mirror Theatre Company presents “Roll With It!” at Kranzberg Arts Center black box theater
Katie Rodriguez Banister
Katie Rodriguez Bannister was paralyzed from the chest down in an SUV rollover accident in 1990. She was 25. This is her story. Only three more performances left – Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
For more about Katie, read the Webster-Kirkwood Times article by Julie Brown Patton: https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/roll-with-it/article_b6cb1ef8-4591-11ed-aced-37baaa30c353.html
Movie: Julia and George Together Again
Megastars Julia Roberts and George Clooney, who’ve made five movies together, reunite in “Ticket to Paradise,” for a formulaic rom-com that is pure escapism, the kind of “Mom movie” that women of a certain age will enjoy. Here’s my review:
New Year’s Eve Plans: Nikki Glaser tickets on sale
Tickets went on sale this morning, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster for Nikki Glaser: One Night with Nikki Glaser at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, at the Stifel Theatre.
“Jamie Lee Curtis is Laurie Strode in “Halloween Ends
Drive-In Time: Slashfest is Oct. 28-29 at the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville, officially ending the season. However, this weekend, you can enjoy Pre-Slashfest with a combo of new and old movies.
Here is the schedule for, October 21 & 22…
Screen 1 – Halloween Ends R 8:00 and Frankenstein 1931 NR 10:00
Screen 2 – Poltergeist PG 8:00 and The Lost Boys R 10:10
The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. Ads and previews start at 7:50. Good idea to arrive early.
If you want to request a reserved spot for an additional $10, send an email to skyviewdrivein@att.net. Tell us which movie you want to see, which night you want to attend, and the year/make/model of your vehicle. Be sure to include all information or your request will be returned to you.
Trailer: The Crown Season 5
Season 5 will drop on Nov. 9 on Netflix, with Elizabeth Debecki as Princess Diana, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip.
Playlist:
Taylor Swift Dropped “Midnights” — here’s a tract: https://youtu.be/kWFJni0H774
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus With their mega-watt star power and effortless charm, George Clooney and Julia Roberts are just so darn cute together that they make the high-concept rom-com “Ticket to Paradise” go down as easy as a fruity tropical drink while watching an island sunset.
“Ticket to Paradise” follows the formula of many personality-driven light-hearted escapes set in an exotic locale and depend on thorny romantic complications with an easy-going cast having fun with each other.
As a bitterly divorced couple, they team up and travel to Bali to stop their only daughter (Kaitlyn Devers) from making the same mistake they think they made 25 years ago.
In their fifth film together, Clooney and Roberts appear to be having a ball, even while pretending they hate each other’s guts. That fine line between love and hate, you know. They were college sweethearts and married for five years. Their house burnt down, and their relationship flamed out.
But they had a daughter, Lily, whom they dote on, and are forced to be together for those kind of family rituals like graduations and weddings. The ever-reliable Kaitlyn Dever plays recent law school graduate Lily, who is on a long holiday with her roommate and best friend Wren in Bali before embarking on real-world careers.
Party girl Wren is given some oomph by Billie Lourd, the late Carrie Fisher’s daughter. She’s mainly around to be supportive of her buddy, but it would have been nice for her to have a storyline too. She and Dever were both in “Booksmart,” and work well together here.
Roberts’ character, Georgia, an art gallery owner, is engaged to a handsome younger pilot, endearingly played by French actor Lucas Bravo (a delight in “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” this past summer and on “Emily in Paris.”) He’s a good sport, even as the butt of some jokes.
The lovestruck Lily throws everything into chaos when she breaks the news that she is engaged to an Indonesian seaweed farmer, Gede (Maxime Bouttier), a sweet and sincere islander she fell head over heels for – and is ready to build a life faraway from what she’s known. They make a cute, believable couple.
Bali is a stunning location with gorgeous sunsets, warm hospitality and a relaxed way of life. What’s not to love?
The parents are determined to sabotage the wedding, and unite to carry it out, but as expected, things aren’t going according to plan in the story by Ol Parker and script co-writer Daniel Pipski.
The parents have time for reflection and look back at their tattered relationship, which the two Oscar winners carry out well.
Maxime Bouttier, Kaitlyn Dever
It seems like a predictable patchwork of other rom-coms – a dash of “Crazy Rich Asians,” a touch of “Mamma Mia!”, a sprinkle of “Gidget Goes Hawaiian,” and a smidge of “My Best Friend’s Wedding, as well as a litany of Hallmark movies involving matrimony, but that doesn’t make it less palatable.
When you sign on for a romantic comedy, you know what’s ahead. This is a Mom movie – one you can take your mother too and not worry about salacious content. If it appeals to a certain demographic, so be it.
The pleasures here are enjoying the shimmering panoramic vistas in the south Pacific and two charismatic movie stars who are adorable when lighting up the screen. Their chemistry is so smooth that you’d watch them just sitting and talking to each other (at least I would).
The last movie they made, “Money Monster,” was a middling crime drama-thriller in 2016. Clooney was a financial TV host and Roberts played his producer who are in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes over the studio.
But their casting as Danny and Tess Ocean in the “Ocean’s” movies – 11, 12 and 13 — caught fire in that entertaining caper franchise. They first appeared in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” which Clooney directed in 2002, an adaptation of game show impresario Chuck Barris’ cult memoir about being a CIA hitman.
Although capable of crafting fine characters in their legendary careers, they are well-suited for romantic comedies. After all, that’s where Roberts broke through (“Pretty Woman”) and had considerable box office power (“Notting Hill,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding, “Runaway Bride,” among them.) They have their dramatic cred – and Oscars to prove it, too.
The outtakes shown during the end credits seem unnecessary and rather silly, but other than that, it’s not a waste o’ time.
Ol Parker, best known for “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” in 2018 and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” in 2011, directed “Ticket to Paradise” with a light touch, careful to not make the proceedings too slapstick-y (but not above some goofy moments, like a dolphin attack and a snake bite).
He knows and respects his audience, and so do the lovable movie stars. If you are looking for a pleasant trifle to wile away a couple hours, “Ticket to Paradise” will amuse. It isn’t destined to become a classic but will stay in fans’ rotations.
“Ticket to Paradise” is a 2022 romantic comedy directed by Ol Parker and starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Kaitlyn Dever. Rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief suggestive material, it runs 1 hour, 44 minutes. Opens in theatres on Oct. 21. Lynn’s Grade: B-.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Truck Centers is sponsoring the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Vietnam Memorial Wall in Troy, Ill.
It will be open to the public from Thursday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. (opening ceremony 5:45 p.m.) until Sunday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m., on the grounds of the TCI Training Center. It will be accessible 24 hours a day with online name locator resources, and a locator booth will be available daily between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The traveling wall is an 80% scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. It is 8′ tall, spans 360 ft. in length, and is the largest traveling tribute in the nation.
My friends in the Flagman’s Mission are placing American flags on the ground before the exhibit opens and will take them down Sunday. For more information or to volunteer, visit their Facebook page.
Joan Lipkin, 1989
On Stage: Reunion of first LGBTQ+ Theatre Performed in Missouri
One Night Only! Tonight from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum. It’s free.
Before there was Ellen or Will & Grace, there was “Some of My Best Friends Are,” the 1989 landmark production by Joan Lipkin and Tom Clear that was the first LGBTQ+ theatre done in Missouri.
It was also before marriage equality, the Missouri Sexual Misconduct Law was repealed or LGBTQ+ people could serve openly in the military. And in the midst of all this, the AIDS epidemic was raging.
Yet in the basement theatre of a United Church of Christ congregation, the St. Marcus on Russell, they put on a musical theatre revue that sold out every performance, attracted very diverse audiences and was voted Best Play of the Year by the Riverfront Times. By turns scathingly funny and poignant, it changed the cultural landscape in St Louis.
They will perform some of the original numbers and scenes. Members of the original cast expected to be on hand include Kate Durbin, Bill Ebbesmeyer, Terry Meddows, Steve Milloy, Mary Schnitzler, and Christy Simmons. Larry Pressgrove is music director, and Joan will emcee.
Happy Hour starts at 5:30 p.m. and the stage comes alive at 6:30 p.m., with songs, skits, and some reminiscing by both cast and audience.
Tonight is the Season 5 premiere of the comedian’s award-winning show (9 p.m. Comedy Central and Paramount +). There haven’t been new episodes since 2016. Tonight, Ellie Kemper, Olivia Munn and Jesse Williams are among the guest stars in this blend of sketch comedy,vignettes, stand-up and man-on-the-street interviews. Here’s the trailer:
https://youtu.be/9czJbkBKnoU
Playlist: Day-O!
In 1955, Harry Belafonte recorded “Day-O” (Banana Boat Song). This Jamaican folk song became his signature song, and is an example of popular calypso music at the time. It hwas been covered many times, and is featured in a very funny sequence in Tim Burton’s movie “Beetlejuice.”
On This Day in St. Louis
Eighteen years ago today, Jimmy Edmonds hit that 12th inning home run to put the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series for the first time since 1987!
What a shot! What a game!
Of course, we were then swept by the Boston Red Sox. Getting that postseason monkey off their back. But after ’04 we had some very good years, including World Series championships in 2006 and 2011.
#cardinalnation
Word: HUAC
On this date in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee began nine days of hearings into alleged Communist propaganda and influence in the Hollywood motion picture industry.
“In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me – and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
With the best of intentions and a powerful personal story of transformation to tell, the Black Mirror Theatre Company fully commits to a world premiere that can make a difference in the region and beyond.
Scratch the ‘can’ and insert ‘will,’ for you will be convinced that sparkplug Katie Rodriguez Banister will change the world after you share this unforgettable journey featuring her friends, family, caregiver, and allies.
In collaboration with the Banisters’ Access-4-All, Black Mirror has produced “Roll With It!”, an original work that sheds light on disabilities and creates more acceptance and inclusion by using the tools of live theater to connect.
Artistic Director J. Michelle Rebollo adroitly staged this well-constructed exercise, which makes an impact through its realistic vignettes and heart-tugging account of a young woman’s odyssey from able-bodied at 25 to being paralyzed from the chest down in an SUV rollover accident in 1990.
Banister is a speaker, author, poet, playwright, and disability educator. She has lived independently since 1992, and with her husband, Steve, founded Access-4-All in 1997. Their mission is to educate and empower their audiences through their publications, programs, and trainings.
Rebollo has known Katie for more than 20 years, and that familiarity guides this passion project. Both were in sync on making social statements.
A natural performer, Banister has theatrical experience with Joan Lipkin’s That Uppity Theatre Company and her DisAbility Project, which she was a part of for six years.
Katie Rodriguez Banister and Tyler Gotsis. Photo by Bradley J. Rohlf
This play sprang from a piece co-authored with Lipkin called “Go Figure,” and Banister, whose autobiography is titled “On a Roll,” teamed with local playwright Michelle Zielinski to shape the story into what is now being performed.
“Roll With It!” not only educates but entertains, in an interesting way, departing from a standard formula. Katie’s candor, honesty, and humor is apparent as she and her former self struggle with physical, emotional, psychological, and financial challenges during her recovery.
The playwrights present intimate details, anticipating questions people may not want to ask aloud. They’ve ensured that this play, above all, highlights human connection.
The actress portraying Katie is none other than the woman who lived the story – and her hard-fought truths and valuable life lessons resonate as she ultimately finds purpose, beauty, and love in everyday living.
She is aided by fellow live-wire Hannah Geisz, whose affection and enthusiasm for this material is matched by the indefatigable O.G. Geisz embodies her former 25-year-old self, the voice within who encourages, and sort of a spiritual whisperer reminding her of who she was and still is.
And there are daunting obstacles, no sugar-coating those frustrations, and the inner voice prevents her from giving up, no matter how dark it gets.
As a devoted activist, Katie sincerely embraces her role as the production’s flag bearer. With an unwavering fervor, she lets us in – yes, it’s difficult, but behold an ‘influencer’ with a considerable ‘B.S.’ detector.
The play includes flashbacks, visuals, and music to aid the storytelling. Rebollo took care of the projection design, she and Rodriguez Bannister collaborated on the sound design, Ryan Luedloff designed the lighting and the tech, Erin Schwob took care of wigs, and Rachel DeNoyer was the stage manager.
An earnest eight-person ensemble portrayed different roles – mainly health care professionals, family, friends, and lawyers: Kelly Ballard, Dennis Calvin, Tyler Gotsis, Kristen Hays, Hannah (Mo) Moellering, Claire Sackman, Luke Steffen, and Rob Tierney. Gotsis played Katie’s future husband Steve.
With its positive attitude and indelible heroine, “Roll With It!” delivers insight – and warmth. It must be a call to action, for it’s not enough to describe it as inspiring.
Photo by Bradley J. Rolf
The Black Mirror Theatre Company presents “Roll With It!” as a one-act without an intermission on Oct. 13-14 and 19-21 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 15-16 and 22-23 at 3 p.m. at the Kranzberg Arts Center Black Box Theatre, 501 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. Tickets are available through MetroTix. For more information: www.blackmirrortheatre.org
To learn more, visit Katie Rodriguez Bannister’s website, www.awomanonwheels.com
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
To celebrate its 55th anniversary, “In the Heat of the Night” is getting the TCM Big Screen treatment.
The Fathom Event, with special insight from Turner Classic Movies’ Ben Mankiewicz, will be at Marcus Ronnie’s Cine at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The Oscar-winning film was set in Sparta, Miss., but most of the movie was filmed in Sparta, Ill. Many of the film’s landmarks can still be seen.
Director Norman Jewison shot part of the film in Dyersburg and Union City, Tenn., and the rest in Sparta, Chester, and Freeburg in southern Illinois.
The Plot: While traveling in the Deep South, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a black Philadelphian homicide detective, becomes unwittingly embroiled in the murder investigation of a prominent businessman. Finding the killer, however, proves difficult when his efforts are constantly thwarted by the bigoted town sheriff (Rod Steiger). But neither man can solve this case alone. Putting aside their differences and prejudices, they join forces in a desperate race against time to discover the truth.
Freeburg IL location
Nominated for seven Academy Awards, the film won five. Besides Best Picture and best performance by an actor, the film picked up the Oscars for screenplay from another medium (Stirling Silliphant), editing (Hal Ashby), and sound.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. Its consensus states, “Tense, funny, and thought-provoking all at once, and lifted by strong performances from Sydney Poitier and Rod Steiger, director Norman Jewison’s look at murder and racism in small-town America continues to resonate today.”
The movie is available through DirecTV, and for rent on various streaming platforms.
“Going to the Movies!” made a video of the places: https://youtu.be/-6uD-hvHhE8
Streaming Theater: Seedfolks
Metro Theater Company presents “Seedfolks” live through Nov. 6 at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Center, but can also be viewed via streaming video beginning today.
This is a heart-warming play about neighbors drawn out of their lonely isolation to rediscover and celebrate the community around them.
From award-winning novelist Paul Fleischman, the story is about a vacant lot in a broken neighborhood in the middle of the city that becomes a source of hope, with a dozen different characters bringing their stories to life. Kim is one, a nine-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who plants six precious lima beans. One by one, characters, many also immigrants sow seeds of hope amid the dirt and grit, tending dreams to full bloom. As the garden grows, so does the community, blooming into something bigger, better and beyond all expectations.
The play is 60 minutes without an intermission and is best enjoyed by those age 9 and up.
Local actors John Mayfield, Michael Thanh Tran and Tyler White are featured. It’s directed by Jess Shoemaker.
Performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. (socially distant), and Sundays at 2 p.m.
A Virtual Q&A with author Paul Fleischman is set for Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. Registration is free at metroplays.org.
For more information and to get a virtual streaming link, visit www.metroplays.org
Movie: True Crime Thriller
“The Good Nurse” opens today in select theaters and will drop on Netflix on Oct. 26. Starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, this suspenseful film is based on the true crime story of ICU nurse Charles Cullen. Here’s my review:
In 1985, the groundbreaking music video to the synth pop song “Take On Me” gave the Norwegian group a no. 1 hit in America. The innovative video, greenlighted by Warner Brothers executive Jeff Ayeroff is a combination of illustrations and live-action, directed by “Billie Jean” director Steve Barron. It was in heavy rotation on MTV, and won six Video Music Awards, including Best Special Effects, Best Concept, and Viewer’s Choice
The husband-and-wife creative team of Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger used rotoscope to create the realistic movements, showing a-ha frontman Morten Harket getting a girl to visit his cartoon world. The song and video remain popular to this day.
Here is the remastered music video:
https://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914
Word: National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
“Growing up, I was constantly reminded to not to air our family’s dirty laundry. Part of why domestic violence is allowed to continue is because there is often an unwritten rule in many families of abuse: Don’t ask. Don’t tell. Keeping quiet does no good. I found that sharing my story liberated me from my past. There is power in storytelling and, in that, healing. Owning my truth also empowered me. I will no longer be manipulated or controlled by guilt or shame.” — Kambri Crews
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
