With the term turned in and some rest on the roster, Prerana offers some new streaming suggestions in the latest edition of Next on Netflix.
His Girl Friday
While Netflix is known for letting us watch (relatively) new shows and films, it does have its fair share of classic movies to keep you entertained for those cozy nights in, this winter. Which leads to the first pick this week: His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.
This romantic comedy revolves around Grant’s Walter, a newspaper publisher attempting to stop his ex-wife from quitting her job as a reporter and marrying the “dull insurance agent”. Luckily for him that’s the day when the biggest news story is about to break and it gives him the perfect chance to show Hildy (Russell) exactly what she will miss.
The movie, despite having been released in 1940, has a sense of humour to it which is somewhat timeless. The witty rapport between the two leads is something that could easily have one rooting for the ex-husband and not for the good guy, which is a unique trait that His Girl Friday boasts. Also, Cary Grant is obviously not hard to look at for an hour and half.
Bo Burnham: what.
If you enjoyed our previous stand-up suggestions, Aziz Ansari’s Buried Alive and Louis C.K. – Live at the Beacon Theater, then you’ve most likely had this one pop on your Top Picks on Netflix.
Bo Burnham: what. is by far one of the most rewatchable comedy shows on Netflix, purely for its musical elements. Discovered as a popular YouTube personality, Burnham’s songs, as well as his jokes, are surprisingly thought-provoking in their taboo subject matter and dismissal of politically correct commentary.
With his shock value, he forces you to take a second to register exactly what was just said, and so, there’s often a split second when you have to really think if it’s okay to laugh before you just burst out laughing.
His comedic talent doesn’t limit itself to one type. He moves from singing songs like “From God’s Perspective” to poems called “The Squares”. While some jokes do border on the weird side, Burnham delivers such a rhythmic flow to them that is so quick, before you know it, he’s moved on to the next one.
Louis Theroux
If you’re looking for something a little bit more informative, then Louis Theroux’s collection of documentaries that are available would be strongly advisable. Though released back in 2007, the issues that the documentarian raises still resonate today.
Theroux manages to observe and comment on a range of matters in his work, most notably the Westboro Baptist Church in The Most Hated Family in America, which follows his time spent with members of the group noted for their extreme ideologies. The documentary goes on to show the day-to-day life of the members, interviewing the leading Phelps family in order to get a sense of their justifications.
We see them conducting their sermons, as well as how they go about picketing the funerals of American soldiers. Theroux manages to ask the burning questions on many critics’ tongues, though he doesn’t always receive the answers anyone’s expecting.
The Most Hated Family in America is Theroux’s only documentary that manages to get a follow-up when he returns four years later to discover that some members are no longer part of the church. Yet, this can’t be said for all, as Shirly Phelps-Roper, daughter of the church’s founder Fred Phelps, has remarked in an interview that her only regret about her family’s representation in the documentary was “If he had just called it, ‘The Most Hated Family in the World'” instead.
Theroux’s work is widely regarded, and a bulk of it is begging to be binged if you can handle some sometimes challenging topics that he so brilliantly brings to the foreground.
Prerana Srungaram
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