"88" // TRIBECA 2022

BY MATEO MORENO

The political drama 88 has a lot on its mind and a lot of lofty ambitions, many of which it tackles quite well. The setting is during the next Presidential election of 2024. And although this isn't a Donald Trump world, this reality has plenty of similarities with ours. Femi Jackson (Brandon Victor Dixon) is our eyes in, a financial director of a Super PAC called "One USA." The main purpose of the Super PAC is to get Harold Roundtree (Orlando Bloom), a charismatic Democratic candidate for President and the real frontrunner. He believes in his candidate and his message of change, but his wife Maria (Naturi Naughton) doesn't buy into his rhetoric. One day, Femi begins to notice an irregular pattern appearing within the Super PAC donations. He needs a second set of eyes, so his friend Ira Goldstein (Thomas Sadoski), an investment banker, takes a look at it and is equally mystified by what he sees. What are these irregularities and donations all equaling up in various ways to the amount of 88? It's too strange of a pattern to be a coincidence. And once the investigation gains traction, an entire conspiracy begins to unravel.

88 is a high-stakes and high-concept political thriller that has a lot to say about the ick factor of behind the scenes government action, donations and also a lot to say about race in America. A subplot finds Maria trying to get a customer a loan who happens to be a black ex-felon, someone who's put his life back on track and works incredibly hard. Yet, no matter what she does, his future loan seems like an impossibility. Equal opportunities do not seem to exist to everyone. She also has a pointed conversation regarding race with her husband and the fact that their son loves Black Panther. While they both agree that he's an empowering character, Femi states that, "It's made a billion dollars" to which his wife counters, "For who?" Many conversations tackle question after question regarding race, even racism within their own community. They're powerful moments, paired with a worm hole of a conspiracy plot that just seems to get deeper and deeper. Not all of the twists work, not does all the dialogue but the very strong performances from the cast make it shine, especially Brandon Victor Dixon, Thomas Sadoski and Naturi Naughton. Dixon and Sadoski have a great chemistry together and are both thrillingly engaging and relatable. Naughton's performance is strong and assured, with a loving grace that matches her caring mother/wife character. Even though this is a fictional story, much of it feels real (especially with the plot being peppered by real life organizations and issues). It's a strong directorial effort from Ermose, one that should leave quite a sting once it all wears off.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Eromose STARRING Brandon Victor Dixon, Naturi Naughton, Orlando Jones, Thomas Sadoski, William Fichtner, Amy Sloan SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: 88

BROKEN PICTURE // A FILM REVIEW OF "TAKE CARE"

BY MATEO MORENO

Meet Frannie (Leslie Bibb). She's just been hit by a car and is being taken home to recuperate. She of course lives on a 4th floor walk up and being that she has a pretty shitty friend & an uncaring sister, they allow her to stay there instead of insisting that she stays with them. They also leave her high and dry immediately, not caring to help her out in her time of need. Her ex-boyfriend Devon (Thomas Sadoski) is now rich, has left her, and moved on with his new girlfriend Jodi (Betty Gilpin). So what's a girl to do when her friends and her sister can't help her out? Why blackmail her ex into helping her of course! Thus begins not the plot of a failed sitcom pilot, but the new feature film TAKE CARE Written and Directed by Liz Tuccillo (Sex and the City, the novel He's Just Not That Into You). Buckle up, it's a terribly bumpy ride.

What surprises most about TAKE CARE is how terribly unfunny it actually is. I honestly never laughed once. Tuccillo has crafted an ensemble of truly unlikable characters, starting with the grating and truly annoying lead character of Frannie. The first five minutes you hate her, and just because she eventually stops acting like a jerk doesn't make you start to like her in any way. Thomas Sadoski, so good in The  Newsroom, is bland and flat here. Not that it's his fault; he's saddled with a character without any insteresting character. We're meant to root against his new girlfriend Jodi and call her "jealous" but she's the only person that seems real. Gilpin is also the only actor showcasing charm here. Perhaps Jodi would be less jealous if her boyfriend would stop spending every single night with his ex. Just a thought. Add in a truly stupid subplot about a noisy neighbor (Michael Stahl-David) that disappears for most of the movie and brings nothing to the overall picture.

Other inconsistencies also annoy, like where the hell the Nurse who is supposed to be there every other day disappears to, and why Frannie never learned how to use a phone or a computer to call delivery. Somewhere buried deep in this terrible script is a better directed film, one where maybe Frannie is actually relatable and isn't waiting for a flawed knight to save her or take care of her. Instead, she discovers that she's strong and can take care of herself. And perhaps this version of the movie won't look like it was Directed by a Clerks era Kevin Smith (Sit the camera down and walk away..... forever). Alas, that movie is not what we have. What we have is TAKE CARE, and you're gonna want to give it back this holiday season.

MATEO'S GRADE: F

Written and Directed by Liz Tuccillo

Starring Leslie Bibb, Thomas Sadoski, Betty Gilpin, Michael Stahl-David. CONTENT ADVISORY: Adult Language, Adult Situations

FINAL THOUGHTS: TAKE CARE is truly a rom com that forgot all of the com. Or the rom.

MATEO MORENO is an actor, playwright, and director in New York City. He owns and runs TheArtsWireWeekly.com and has had four of his plays produced, including BOHEMIAN VALENTINE, HAPPILY AFTER TONIGHT, WITHIN OUR WALLS, & LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK. He is currently working with Boomerang Theatre on a short play piece, workshopping a new musical, and spends his days working on the Broadway hit MATILDA.