FILM | Reviews
COMEDY SUPER TROOPERS 2 (15) 99min ●●●●●
Arriving a long while after the 2001 original, Super Troopers 2 offers a strong advert for crowdfunding; a studio might see no obvious reason to embark on a sequel, but fans of Jay Chandrasekhar’s stoner comedy clearly did. Willing to fork out not only the $4.7m required to get it off the ground, they also turned out in droves to secure a healthy US box ofi ce haul.
Rehashing the same fast and loose structure of the i rst i lm, it sees a cartographical error mislay the border between America and Canada. The original band of troopers, recently stripped of their authority as cops, are given the task of patrolling the disputed area. Under the command of their hard-drinking captain (a game Brian Cox), the troopers aim to best the local Mounties by cracking a drug-smuggling operation, but the plot is just pretext for an anything-goes assembly of sometimes stale, sometimes amusing gags. Despite the advancing years of the cast, Super Troopers 2 successfully captures the adolescent tone of its predecessor. Audiences excited by the comic possibilities of a bear pursuing a trooper into a chemical toilet will get exactly what they want, and more, from this lightweight, decidedly low-brow sequel. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 15 Jun.
DOCUMENTARY STUDIO 54 (15) 98min ●●●●●
An essential part of New York’s cultural history, legendary nightclub Studio 54 has been abundantly proi led. Still, Matt Tyrnauer’s excellent documentary proves that its story is as interesting and relevant as ever and that, crucially, there’s plenty more to say. He’s helped by the fact that one of the club’s founders, Ian Schrager, now feels able to share his experiences for the i rst time in four decades: from optimistic beginnings to a terrible end. And although the extroverted co-owner Steve Rubell died in 1989, his presence looms large throughout. While Studio 54, which opened on 54th Street in 1977, became a magnet for the rich and famous, its success came from the fact that it offered something of a safe haven for New York’s LGBT scene. The club's free-spirited attitude also proved to be its biggest weakness. Schrager and Rubell were so successful and so beloved by the city, that they seemed to think themselves invincible. The documentary presents a golden-moment snapshot of diversity and inclusion, while also offering up a cautionary tale. Delving behind the Lycra and strobe lights, it’s an illuminating look at how arrogance and entitlement can derail even the most glittering of careers. (Nikki Baughan) ■ General release from Fri 15 Jun.
HORROR HEREDITARY (15) 127min ●●●●●
Welcoming us into the bosom of a truly nightmarish clan, Hereditary’s onslaught of monstrousness and misfortune puts even the most dysfunctional broods in perspective. Writer-director Ari Aster’s feature debut is an unnervingly oppressive genre piece in which the family bond acts as a suffocating seal. Toni Collette plays Annie, an artist crafting a dollhouse of horrors, unflinchingly depicting the traumas of her life. Her domineering mother is buried at the outset and yet her presence lingers – in the shape of a half-seen apparition and in the disconcerting behaviour of Annie’s daughter (Milly Shapiro), who shared a special relationship with her grandmother.
Although it ticks myriad tropes off the genre checklist, Hereditary spends a great deal of time delving into the inner workings of these tortured souls, particularly Annie's and her son Peter's (Alex Wolff). By mapping their pain, Aster takes aim at the overbearing older generation and explores the terrible burden of maternal guilt. While Annie turns investigator and tries to maintain her sanity, Gabriel Byrne plays the feckless horror-movie husband. Ostensibly reassuring, he’s ultimately dismissive, watching his family disintegrate without lifting a finger. Though rooted in the supernatural, Hereditary specialises in chills rather than hell-for-
leather horror. Boasting a score that bellows, creaks and moans there are nevertheless a fair few frights on the way to an ending which, in its outlandishness, will delight some and disgruntle others. Collette is flawed, affecting and ferocious in one of her best roles for years. As the mild-mannered Annie swings between protector and aggressor, it’s a film that both unearths, and lives out, our worst fears. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 15 Jun.
COMEDY BOOK CLUB (12A) 104min ●●●●● The sex lives of seniors are rarely discussed onscreen but when four old friends gather to read Fifty Shades of Grey it unleashes a torrent of innuendo, delivered with relish by a deliciously game cast. Played by Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen, these women are fabulous but, in their own ways, struggling. And what sounds like a concept dreamed up by EL James’ marketing team is merely a ‘novel’ hook that inspires very little in the way of kink. Rather, it prompts the group to reassess their lives, getting frank with each other and their partners.
Directed by Bill Holderman, Book Club is devoid of subtlety and set in a series of absurdly lovely locations. Although the men are twinkle-eyed charmers, the foregrounding of these formidable dames is the selling point, with Bergen stealing the show from stiff competition. As the foursome become sidetracked by their relationships it loses some zip, yet united they are magnii cent, bouncing off each other and each bringing something different to the table. And the positive, liberated depiction of later-life is heartening indeed, in a i lm that’s as seductively cheeky as it is shamelessly cheesy. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 1 Jun.
82 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018