From Back To Black to Heartbreak High Season 2, Should You Add These To Your Watchlist?
From the life of a troubled musical icon to the drama of an Australian high school, should you add these new shows and movies to your watchlist? Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado explains why these are a skip.
Back To Black
Late singer Amy Winehouse is the latest musician to get a biopic with Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black. It tackles her complicated relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, which inspired her groundbreaking album “Back to Black.”
Marisa Abela plays the troubled musician, even singing in place of using Amy Winehouse’s real audio tracks. While Abela puts her all into the role of Winehouse, the film struggles due to its lifeless script and direction. It doesn’t do anything new or interesting and you’ll leave knowing less about Winehouse than you came in with. The film picks around at what to showcase of Winehouse’s life in a dragged out and sanitized story, with no stakes and unearned emotional arcs. Back to Black suffers from the same issues as Bob Marley: One Love which is that it only focuses on one aspect of the artist’s life and doesn’t feature nearly enough music. In both biopics, I left feeling like I learned nothing meaningful about the artist. Perhaps it’s time to pump the breaks on biopics, or bring in a team with a truly unique creative vision.
Back to Black hits theaters on May 17.
- Kristen Maldonado
Drive-Away Dolls
Two young women embark on a spontaneous road trip to Tallahassee, FL in search of a clean slate. Things quickly go awry when they discover that the drive away car they are using is hiding some sinister secrets. Crossing paths with a group of inept criminals, the duo attempt to escape unscathed and return the stolen contraband to its rightful owner.
Drive-Away Dolls has all the ingredients for a good time queer comedy but it didn’t come together. The humor in the beginning was choppy and jumped in a little too fast, and the pacing didn’t stay consistent throughout. The wonky editing and transitions feels completely out of place. While Margaret Qualley is the undeniable star, even she felt overpowered by the chaotic story.
Drive-Away Dolls is streaming on Peacock.
- Jordan Bohan
Heartbreak High Season 2
Heartbreak High stole my heart after its first season. It was funny, edgy, and authentic, flipping the narrative on stereotypes while delivering real and empowering representation. Full of high stakes and high energy, you couldn’t help but fall in love with this cast of characters. They weren’t afraid to go there.
Now back for season two, the students of Hartley High are engaged in a battle of the sexes, while someone is out to get Amerie. While there are some laugh out loud moments in the first episode, I found the humor to fall flat the rest of the season. The first three episodes drag on and the season doesn’t start to get good until the camping trip in episode four, which is one of the stronger episodes. There are new and continuing relationships that keep your interest like fan favorite ship Darren and Ca$h and opposites attract couple Spider and Missy. Malakai finally accepts his bisexuality, while Quinni remains a stand out as she explores a new mystery around Bird Psycho. But there are a lot of storylines and motivations that feel shoehorned in at the last minute, especially around new characters Rowan and Zoe. These new additions didn’t work for me and felt lazy, while deeper storylines like what Harper is dealing with felt cut down.
All in all, I wish Heartbreak High season 2 stuck with exploring our already full cast on a deeper level versus taking away from them to bring in the lackluster addition of Rowan. While there are important lessons about self improvement, toxic masculinity, and playing by your own rules, they feel more heavy handed this season.
Both seasons of Heartbreak High are streaming on Netflix.
- Kristen Maldonado
