08/26/22
This week: The book rec and TV rec we’ve been itching to share with you for SO long. Plus, the most criminally overlooked movie of the year.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube THE HANDMAID’S TALE - Season 5
Letterboxd NOPE
Spotify PINK VENOM - BLACKPINK
Netflix LOOK BOTH WAYS
Twitter #InternationalDogDay
Trailer PINOCCHIO
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Kevin Hart is expanding his empire again—this time with a vegan version of McDonalds. The actor and entrepreneur launched Hart House yesterday in Los Angeles. The restaurant offers typical fast food like burgers and chicken nuggets, but it’s all plant-based. Hart plans to open 10 to 12 restaurants in California by the end of 2023, with hopes to eventually bring locations to San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Florida and Philadelphia.
Unsurprisingly, Meta is planning to r̶i̶p̶ riff off Gen Z’s latest obsession, BeReal. The app, which has over 10 million global users, sends users a notification each day prompting them to take a candid photo with their front and back cameras at the same time. Instagram is prototyping IG Candid, which (you guessed it) prompts users to take a photo at a specific time each day. Just like BeReal, users will be prompted that they have two minutes to take a photo to share with friends in the moment. That said, after the news was leaked, Meta shared that what people are reacting to is an internal prototype, so it’s up in the air if users will ever see it.
If you’re looking for more original ideas to sink your teeth into this weekend, I recommend checking out this intriguing New Yorker piece about two brothers who work in tech answering the question “Is selling shares in yourself the way of the future?”. The answer is…complicated.
My favorite bits of the internet this week include a follow up from our August 5th edition where we shared this interview of a kid who simply loves corn. It’s since blown up and led to this very catchy song that masterfully mashes up his thoughts on corn. It’s so sweet but be warned the song will be stuck in your head all weekend—at minimum. I also loved this video of two coworkers spotted dancing in their office, and this dumb but hilarious series where a man tries to buy the grocery divider at a grocery store.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Film
One of the best and most criminally overlooked movies of the year is the surreal and endearing STRAWBERRY MANSION (trailer here). Kentucker Audley (who also co-directed alongside Albert Birney) gives a hilariously understated lead performance as James Preble, a bureaucrat whose job is to audit the dreams of citizens so that their contents can be taxed by a dystopian government. When James begins auditing the dreams of elderly artist Bella Isadora, the monotony of this job is quickly shattered by his growing feelings for the younger version of Bella he sees in her dreams—and by the discovery of a government conspiracy that puts his life at risk. This plot is fun enough on its own, but the stunning cinematography and pastel colors used to distinguish the real world from the dreams that James audits elevate it to a whole other level. The movie also contains some of the most intriguing uses of green screen I’ve ever seen, and I would be remiss not to mention the unexpectedly effective and undeniably bizarre use of paper mache masks to bring some of the strange characters that occupy Bella’s dreams to life. If you’re looking for a clever, sentimental movie that will punch you in the heart without ever losing its sense of fun, I’d absolutely recommend checking out STRAWBERRY MANSION as soon as you can.
—Nick Schoenbrodt, Development Intern
TV
I had the privilege of watching the pilot episode of LITTLE DEMON (trailer here) at Comic Con this year, and I can finally tell you about it because the animated series premiered on FXX this week! The series kicks off with 13-year-old Chrissy (voiced by Lucy DeVito) trying to fit into middle school life (so you should already feel bad for her). She gets caught up in a custody battle between her human mother, voiced by Aubrey Plaza, and her father, literally Satan and voiced by Danny DeVito. This turns out to be a story about puberty and coming into your own with all the external pressures in the way—whether that feels as grounded as your parents separating or as out-of-this-world as finding out that you're the Antichrist, Warning! This series is violent and raunchy…so not for co-viewing with your young kids…but I literally laughed out loud so many times during the pilot and it's truly one of a kind.) From the minds of Darcy Fowler (who is a part of the PS family—hi Darcy!), Seth Kirschner, and Kieran Valla, LITTLE DEMON is already proving to be a breakout adult animated show. After all, I think we can all agree-- growing up can be hell.
—Erin Harris, Development Assistant
Comedy
Last night, fellow PS assistant Dustin and I caught Carmen Christopher's “Live in LA” show at The Elysian. Everything about Carmen and his set is stupidly perfect, from the way he sort of talks like he's badly reading from a teleprompter to the involvement of the song SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS by Postal Service—the specificity of which, for some reason, made me involuntarily bark. He makes little cartoon noises. He pokes fun at public apology culture in an actually funny, non-stale way. He generally presents as a guy with a loose plan that he’s a little proud of but mostly given up on. There’s no cool or clever way for me to say it, but I just laughed so hard watching this performance. If you ever get the chance to see Carmen live, you’d better go.
—Alicia Devereaux, Development Assistant
Book
Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again! CARRIE SOTO IS BACK was one of my favorite reads this year. It's a tightly paced sports drama about tennis star Carrie Soto's determination to prove to the world that she is still extraordinary. However, as she fights to protect her record and title as the greatest female tennis player of all time, she begins to realize how reductive living for a record can be.
Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I was instantly sucked into the world of professional tennis despite never having picked up a racquet! I also couldn't turn the page fast enough when it came to all of the intricate personal hurdles in Carrie's life.
It has the high stakes of the epic tennis matches, deeply emotional beats between Carrie and her father (who happens to be her coach!), and a fun unexpected romance. Ultimately, CARRIE SOTO IS BACK is a gripping story about how the definition of greatness can mean more than one thing. Run, don't walk to get your copy this Tuesday, 8/30!
—Lisa Ramon, Manager, Television
I’m not usually a mystery reader, but I just started Sujata Massey’s wonderful novel THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL and I cannot put it down. The book is the first in a series and takes place in 1920s Bombay as Perveen Mistry, the city’s only female lawyer, investigates a client’s very suspicious will. My favorite element of the novel is the changing relationship between Perveen and her best friend from her time at Oxford, British socialite Alice Hobson-Jones. As friends from college do, the two notice their friendship shifting with time and distance, but things grow even more complicated when Alice travels to Bombay to visit her parents—who are government officials serving under George Lloyd. I’m absolutely loving this book and can’t wait to read the next two in the series.
—Rosemary Brennan, Marketing Consultant
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ
