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AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2020: #3 ‘Palm Springs’

Jeff Mitchell

3. “Palm Springs” – Director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara turn this rom-com – about two strangers meeting at a Palm Springs wedding – on its head with a wacky, fanciful premise that gifts more surprises, chuckles, and genuine smiles than a Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration filled with laughing gas.  Due to a pair of bizarre, out-of-this-world of mishaps, Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) are stuck with one another and need a miracle to free themselves.  Sure, Siara’s script borrows an idea (which I won’t…

AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2020: #4 ‘The 40-Year-Old Version’

Jeff Mitchell

4. “The Forty-Year-Old Version” – A star is born!  Radha Blank writes, directs, produces, and plays the lead in a charming underdog tale of a middle-aged woman trying to jumpstart her playwriting career.  Blank pens memorable supporting players – including a group of sincere but unpolished high school students, her best friend who moonlights as her agent, and a younger love interest – who mark her journey to possible nirvana.  Still, Broadway-Eden is a ways off, as Radha grapples with the uncomfortable comforts of New York City, her professional shortcomings,…

AHFW’s Top 20 Films of 2020: #5 ‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’

Jeff Mitchell

5. “David Byrne’s American Utopia” – With a minimalist stage design of hundreds of slender, elegant metal chains hanging from the rafters, 68-years-young David Byrne and 11 talented musicians/singers perform a film version of their successful show at New York City’s Hudson Theatre.  Spike Lee’s clever camerawork captures Byrne and his harmonious compadres – who all don matching gray suits – as they strut, tap, and twirl barefoot to lively, bouncy tracks and ballads from the lead artist’s new album and some absolute classics from yesterdecade, including this critic’s favorite…