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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Golden Couple in Books
Aug 25, 2021
The synopsis for The Golden Couple reeled me in. The plot was solid albeit a little farfetched towards the ending when everything is revealed. Still, the writing was done fantastically, and I was instantly transported to this world Hendricks and Pekkanen had created. With all that was going on, I felt like there was one main storyline and two minor storylines going on. It was fun reading The Golden Couple and trying to figure out who all was guilty. In fact, there were times I thought it may even be Marissa creating problems for herself to make herself look more like the victim. While this book is more predictable and doesn't have as many plot twists as Hendricks' and Pekkanen's previous novels, the plot twists in this novel were interesting to say the least. I kind of suspected the culprit of the story, but then again, everyone was a suspect in my head. The ending is tied up nicely with no loose ends which is always a plus for me.
Hendricks and Pekkanen know how to write some stellar characters! I felt as if every character in The Golden Couple was fleshed out enough to feel realistic instead of just some writing on paper. Marissa showed that she was only human through her mistakes. (Personally, I don't think I would be as forgiving as her husband, Matthew, appeared to be if my spouse cheated on me.) I felt that I would probably be like Marissa if I were in her shoes. She was fairly easy to relate to. I loved how much love she had for her young son, and I liked how willing she was to work on her marriage. I felt sorry for Marissa's husband, Matthew, when Marissa revealed she had cheated on him. I did like how forgiving he was and how much it seemed that he wanted to work on the marriage even though he wasn't the one who cheated. Sometimes I did think he tried to hard though to make Marissa feel loved. Polly, Marissa's assistant, was definitely an interesting character for sure. I didn't know what to make of her or if she could be trusted. She seemed to eager to please Marissa and like she was trying to hard to be Marissa. Still, she was a well written and likeable character. I enjoyed Avery and her very logical mind as well as her very different approach to non-traditional therapy. Her tactics she used were definitely different (and probably illegal), but they always seemed to work. I also admired how dedicated she was to her clients and how much she wanted to help them. Avery came across as very smart and sophisticated.
Trigger warnings for The Golden Couple include infidelity, profanity, alcohol use, some violence, gun violence, death, and murder.
Overall, The Golden Couple is a highly entertaining read that you will not want to put down. It will leave you guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen to those aged 18+ who are after a fantastic thriller that will stay with them for awhile.
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(A special thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC eBook of The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.)
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Booksmart (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
I tend to struggle to find a really good comedy to add to my top 10 of the year. Last year it was “Game Night” that made my list. One that is definitely heading there this year is “Booksmart”.
A retread on a well-travelled tyre.
The coming of age school comedy has been rehashed multiple times. These include films as varied as “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Superbad”, “Easy A”, “Mean Girls”, “Never Been Kissed” and “10 Things I Hate About You”. In tone, “Booksmart” is probably closest to “Superbad”, but it manages – under the direction of actress Olivia Wilde, in her debut feature – to establish a quirky likeability all of its own. An instant classic in the making.
Not for the prudish.
The story concerns two BFF’s – Molly (Beanie Feldstein, sister of Jonah Hill) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever). They have both spent their young lives trying to score A’s at school in lieu of all other distractions. On the eve of their graduation, Molly realises that this was not a binary option. Her school companions have managed to get all of the success without any of the self-sacrifice! She calls “Malala”! And the duo proceed on a drink and drug-fuelled night to catch up on all the school social life they have missed out on!
Part of this catching up includes sex, and with Amy as a naive wannabe lesbian, in awe of tom-boy skateboarder Ryan (Victoria Ruesga), coming out has never seemed so painful.
I first saw this on a plane and guffawed so much that I went out to buy the DVD for a family viewing. Watching it again though, it is really very, very rude. If you were to categorize it, I think “sex comedy” would be a primary tag. A clumsy but realistic scene between Amy and the “hot girl” Hope (Diana Silvers… who really is) is excruciatingly hard to watch. This can therefore prove an uncomfortable co-watch for ‘young folks’ who – despite all the obvious evidence! – assume their parents / in-laws have done nothing in the past other than hold hands!! 🙂
In a great ensemble cast, Kaitlyn Dever is a revelation.
Kaitlyn Dever has cut her teeth with supporting roles on a few B-grade movies this year including “Beautiful Boy” and “The Front Runner“. But here she takes centre stage and is an absolute revelation as the sexually bemused teen. While Beanie Feldstein has the more obvious comic lead role, it is Dever who continually grabbed my attention with her acting skills. This young lady is added to my “one to watch” list.
This is not to decry the rest of the cast. For this is a great ensemble performance from a pretty unknown cast. The only familiar faces are Lisa Kudrow and Jason Sudeikis, but they only have bit parts.
The only role that didn’t quite work for me was that of the kooky drugged out hippie Gigi (Billie Lourd). It was all a bit too over-the-top for me in a movie that didn’t really need that sort of manic angle. (However, this did set up a Marwen-style drug scene that made me snort… with laughter).
As a comedy, will this by the whole you think it is?
I think this will prove to be a firm young person’s favourite for many years to come. Whether you will find it funny or not will probably depend on the setting of your ‘crudometer’ and your resilience to bad language on screen.
For me, personally, I am clearly still 17 on the inside! I loved it. Not only do I think it a good comedy. It is also a feel-good movie about best friends; a coming of age lesbian adventure; and a film that treats the multi-coloured spectrum of modern sexual variety as something entirely normal and to be celebrated.