Cinema Issues: The Demonisation Of The Nuclear Family

When leaving Olivia Wilde’s latest film the Invite a thought occurred, why is it we have so many films showing the death of love or of families but so few these days showing love and happiness.

Could it be the idea that a lot of people in Hollywood are unhappy in their relationships and so reflect that on the big screen perhaps. However, there is also an underlying cynicism that suggests that there is something problematic about straight couples getting together in 2026 and that the nuclear family is a tool for oppression. Hence you see far less of it, to show a woman happy within a nuclear family unit is to suggest that it isn’t the toxic, freedom stealing experience characters such as Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes 3 say it is.

You also have the open promotion of alternative lifestyles where people are shown as happier because they aren’t married. This can be seen in the Invite with the promotion of swinging culture, many modern films have suggested having multiple partners or having meaningless hook ups with no commitments is the only way to be happy, looking at you Splitizville. This reflects the cynicism we have been talking about rather than believing in love and commitment and loyalty, these are all seen as tools of oppression, the only way Hollywood thinks they can be free is to pursue their own meaningless self pleasure from meaningless sex where they can throw the person away at the end.

Look at Charlize Theron who in a Call Her Daddy episode said that she is glad she isn’t married as she could have sex with a man half her age. This is just as problematic as Leonardo DiCaprio throwing away girls when they get too old for him in their early twenties.

The cynicism we have talked about is a reflection of the deeply jaded, perverse nature of Hollywood’s ideas on sex but also the rejection of the love story, in its most traditional form as they view it as oppressive

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The Invite: A Lonely Woman’s Take On Marriage

Summary: an unhappily married couple are swayed into the swinging lifestyle

So of course Olivia Wilde a woman who ran out of a relationship to get with a much younger man, is going to tell you being in a long term monogamous relationship makes you unhappy.

Of course she is going to fetishize swinging and act like the swinging couple has a great relationship, when in fact it is an unethical therapist, Cruz, taking advantage of a man who lost his wife, Norton.

The film ends with the monogamous couple looking at slipping up, because of course they would be happier single.

The central characters are incredibly irritating and unlikeable and a collection of some of the worst modern cliches and neurosis.

The cringe comedy does manage to get a laugh from you before the loveless husk of a marriage manages becomes too much to bare and sucks all the joy from the room.

Overall, a depressing experience.

1.5/5

Pros

A few funny jokes

Okay pacing

Cons.

Deeply unlikeable characters

Yet more monogamy bad nonsense

Hollywood’s sheer lack of morals

It’s depressing

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Minions and Monsters: The True Story Behind Hollywood’s Golden Age

Summary: a minion with a dream sets out to make it big.

In many ways this film is good, it is funny, has heart and does a lot to show the good that can come from chasing your dreams. The monsters have their moments though it may have been more fun to have had the Minions go through a parade of different big bosses only to mess up and have to move on.

Part of where the film struggles is that it tries to juggle too many plots, you have the filmmaking storyline, you have the goal of the monsters, you have Dort and his love interest, and you have the meta narrative in both the sense of the tour guide telling the story as well as meta references to Minions and Monsters as a real film. There is a lot going on and it can sometimes feel like the film is jumping from one thing to the other a bit too much.

Zoey Deutch voices Dorts love interest, who is a suffragette type figure fighting for women to have the vote. When we first saw this we thought here we go, but no that is all quickly left behind as she becomes interested in Dort and instead cheers him on through his journey as he is trying to save all the world. It was a nice subversion of the modern preachy message.

Overall, another good film in the franchise but one that is narratively weak at times.

4/5

Pros.

The subversion

It’s funny

The characters are likeable

It’s well paced in terms of keeping your interest

Cons.

The tries to do too much and is overly complicated at times

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Jackass Best And Last: Getting Tired

Summary: The Jackass crew get together one last time for a few more stunts.

Whilst being a fan of Jackass for the entirety of the time it’s being around and watching the series as a child as it aired, on the opposite side of the US to me,there is a certain sense of morbidity to watching this. Whilst most of the cast are still there, you can feel the time creeping up to everyone involved. There is a question being raised about whether this needed to exist, the answer would be no.

The stunts feel less extreme and more juvenile, the juvenile nature of it you could get away with as they were younger but as they have aged it has become less and less so.

There is a sense of finality to the film though the use of archived footage, which works well if you’re a fan of the franchise.

Overall, some funny moments and good Stunts but that’s met with a sense of needlessness, and morbidity.

2.5/5

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The Last Viking: John Lennon Lives Again

Summary: a man fresh out of prison needs the help of his mentally unwell brother in order to help him find money he buried long ago.

It was during our time at the Mediterrane Film Festival that we saw this and, it was a deeply mixed film. One the one hand it was heart warming in places and had a number of funny jokes, the comedy mostly landed. However, on the other the central character is deeply unlikeable and the film tends to stray too far into the abyss sometimes. One understands it’s a dark comedy film however it must be stated that when this film gets dark it gets really dark.

Mads Mikkelsen shines as Manfred or John Lennon a man with DID, and is the emotional soul of the film you do empathise with him and believe the characters struggle.

Overall, a funny if depressing film.

3.5/5

Pros.

It’s funny

There are heartwarming moments

It is well paced

Mikkelsen

Cons

It is depressing

There are tonal inconsistencies

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Clarkson’s Farm Season 5: Bittersweet

Summary: Jeremy and co are back to show you the highs and lows of farming.

This was a surprisingly emotional season of what is normally easy comfort viewing, from the TB stuff to the news of Jeremy Clarkson’s continued ill health the last few episodes of the season pack a hell of a gut punch.

However, the season as a whole isn’t depressing even in moments of deep distress there is still a joke a few minutes away that can restore people’s spirits. This is not done in a way that stops there from being tensions or emotion but in a way that tries to cheer you up after giving bad news.

The wider focus of the season is on the changing world for farmers and the need to become more tech savvy in order to stay alive in an economic world that increasingly seems hostile to them. You do feel for the farmers and see the interesting things the new tech can do.

Of course the jokes are still there as ever and are always good to brighten up your day. They mostly land which is a rare thing to say for a comedy show these days.

Overall, a bittersweet season of TV

4/5

Pros.

It’s funny

It shows you the real world issues effecting farmers

The farming tech

The people and their bonds

Cons.

It is quite sad towards the end so get ready for that

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Lesbian Space Princess: Yawn Haven’t We Been Here Before

Summary: Making one aspect of who you are your entire personality.

So in an era where we should all be supporting independent animation, this film makes that hard to do so.

Firstly, there is nothing fresh about it, this film seems to act like having a lesbian front and centre is some sort of new novel idea, when it has been done for a long time and is no longer new. Believe us when we tell you that this film will really push down your throat the fact the character is a lesbian just in case you forgot.

Secondly, as far as adult animation goes it looks very similar to a lot of other projects, whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with sharing an animation style, it would be nice if there was something to differentiate it.

Thirdly, you have the fact it is adult animation which means cringe and at times edgy jokes, which are met with a sigh.

Overall, if you want to see an incredibly bland film that thinks having a lesbian in it is something new and novel when it isn’t then this is the one for you.

1/5

Pros.

It’s short

Cons.

The humour

The characters

It rama DEI into every pore of the film

It is cringe

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Office Romance: Jennifer Lopez Can’t Act Like A Professional For An Hour And A Half

Summary: a career woman realises she wants romance.

The idea of the career women suddenly realising she’s lonely and in need of romance is an old cliche that surely we are all tried of. The idea of HR being bad and needing to be rewritten is also an old idea but one that does have some precise relevance in 2026.

Jennifer Lopez can’t act, she is playing Jenifer Lopez and arguably Goldstein is playing Roy Kent/himself as well. The chemistry is dead as well.

There is a scene with a dude having an erection because it’s okay to objectify men but not women now. Moreover, there is a childbirth scene shown pretty much in full so buckle up and get ready for that.

Netflix needs to stop their association with Lopez, their films are already looked down on as terrible for the most part and slop for the other part, having her around doesn’t reduce that.

Overall, just awful.

0.5/5

Pros.

A few unintentionally funny moments

Cons.

The acting

The lack of chemistry

The child birth scene

The double standard

The clichéd storyline

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Scary Movie 6: Giving The Woke Movement It’s Just Deserts

So there are a few laugh out loud moments here, and a few cheer worthy ones such as seeing people come together on screen to push back and dismantle woke culture. It is nice to see filmmakers finally start to get it.

However, that is not to say it was a perfect film, a number of the jokes don’t land, there is a real cringe sequence about performing oral on a woman, and a strange K-Pop inspired sequence that just seemed bizarre. It must be stated that comedy is subjective.

In many senses this film was made for fans of the series if you have watched the other 5 scary movies then you’ll get something out of this. The entire 3rd act mentions the 3rd and 4th film a lot, and it factors into who the killer is. So that’s rewarding if you are a long term fan.

Overall, don’t believe the hysteria from all the left wing folks saying this is the worst film ever made as it offended them. It is a reward for fans of the franchise and has a few good funny moments.

3/5

Pros.

A few funny moments

The broader franchise connections

The older characters returning, particularly Anna Faris

Cons.

Not all the jokes land and some are quite cringe

The K-Pop sequence

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Savage House: A Bit Too Bleak For It’s Own Good

This was a standout of SXSW in London, however that is not an indicator on quality, but rather a general unenthusiastic attitude to the line up more broadly.

That is not to say the film is bad, it has interesting ideas the idea of the eclipse and bad spirits is fun. The social climbing storyline has been done before and better, but Richard E. Grant still carries it out with relish. He is a gem.

Claire Foy continues to take career risks and star in smaller films and commit earnestly, you believed that she loved her husband in her own twisted way.

The comedy of the film is where things start to fall down, there are a few funny moments, such as Foy’s character getting a rim job, however by and large the film’s comedy falls flat.

The ending of the film is a touch bleak and could do with being redone to be a bit more upbeat, as it stands it leaves the moviegoer in a dower mode once the credits roll. Not what you want for a comedy film.

Overall, good ideas and good performances can’t save weak comedy.

2.5/5

Pros.

The ideas

Grant

Foy

Cons.

The ending

The comedy

It’s a bit bleak

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