Page 6 February 9, 2017 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Entertainment Film Review In The Incredible Jessica James, Jessica Williams’ Star Burns Bright By Morgan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com The closing-night film of the Sundance Film Festival has the pressure of being the last thing that audiences will remember after 10 days of nonstop movie-hopping. And while that pressure may be too intense for some, the joyously crowd-pleasing The Incredible Jessica James is a film that’s more than game to take on that challenge and honor. Writer/ director Jim Strouse’s (People, Places, Things) comedy-vehicle stars Jessica Williams as a young, aspiring New York City playwright struggling to let go of the past and embrace the uncertainty of her future (and all while dancing her way through it) and is exactly the type of light-fared yet empowering film that will delight all who see it. Opening with a hilariously on-point, awkward Tinder date, Jessica James (Williams) Jessica Williams in The Incredible Jessica James. Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute. shakes it off in the film’s following title sequence, oozing charisma and spirit as she marches –but in this case, dances– to the beat of her own drum. Her upbeat energy gets her through receiving rejection letters for her original playwriting from every major theater company and carries over to her job as a non-profit theater teacher, educating and inspiring youths in Hell’s Kitchen--which barely pays the bills of her “deep, deep, deep Bushwick apartment.” All this, while trying to regroup after a breakup with an ex (Lakeith Stanfield) that leads to a date set up by her pal (Noël Wells) with the recently-divorced app designer Boone (Chris O’Dowd). A connection sets in, forcing each other to navigate a confusing new world where their exes loom large in memory and professional frustrations set in. A woman of color standing at six feet tall, Jessica Williams is a commanding on-screen presence displaying confidence to the bone with her “woke” millennial attitudes and values about gender, race and cultural identity issues that sing and soar with her cool-chick attitude and vibe. A former correspondent on the Jon Stewart-era The Daily Show, she cut her teeth delivering comedic lines, which here draw nonstop laughs from the audience throughout the film. Williams might draw a pop culture comparison as the next Lena Dunham (but don’t compare the two) for being a young actress and activist who doesn’t only check all the boxes of what American independent film needs right now, but creates them. Funnyman O’Dowd plays a great partner whose sincerity and comedic sensibilities perfectly match Williams’ (in height as well). As a fool in love who doesn’t hide the messy reality of emotions that getting over an ex-lover entails, some of the film’s strongest moments come from the honesty of modern-day dating rituals like Instagram stalking, “booty calls,” and relationship labeling. As strong as these themes and central characters are, the supporting characters in Wells and Stanfield also add to the film’s charming strengths. The Incredible Jessica James is quite – dare I say it, incredible – for a number of reasons, an obvious one being that a strong and independent woman of color takes the helm, quirks and all, and we love her for it. It’s a breakout role for Williams, who will no doubt find herself catapulting to bigger success. Since premiering at the festival, Netflix has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film for just over a reported $3 million and will stream as a Netflix Original later this year. • The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History By Thomas Harding Reviewed by Roz Templin, Library Assistant, El Segundo Public Library The House by the Lake tells a fascinating history of Germany while it spins a true tale of five families who lived in a vacation house in the village of Gross Glienicke, west of Berlin. Thomas Harding unearths the stories of his own family as well as the others who inhabited the house at different times. Harding visited the house with his grandmother and several cousins in the early 1990s. His grandmother, Elsie, had happy memories of the house and wanted to show it to her grandchildren. Twenty years later, the author returned to find the house in a severe state of neglect and dilapidation. In fact, it was scheduled to be demolished. Thomas Harding’s great-grandfather, Alfred Alexander, a renowned Berlin doctor, built the house in 1927 and it was enjoyed on weekends and as a summer retreat. Germany’s descent into Nazism forced the family to make the decision to flee to England--leaving everything, including the Lake House behind. As the years passed, several other families moved in and out. Harding interviewed neighbors and investigated archives, piecing together what threads of history he could. This book tells of his struggles to research whether his family still had a claim to the house and whether he might be able to save it from destruction. The House by the Lake also reveals the political and social climates before and after World Wars, during Soviet occupation, the division of East and West Germany and the impact of reunification of the country. Although non-fiction, there are thrills and suspense galore throughout. The El Segundo Public Library offers access to its collection of titles in a variety of formats, including traditional hardback, e-books and books on CD. To check out The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History by Thomas Harding, or any other title on your to-read list, please visit the library to apply for your library card, or please contact the reference staff for further assistance. We look forward to seeing you. • Check It Out Roz Templin. The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History by Thomas Harding. La La Land from page 5 contender in three to four years--a statement that Jeanie clearly intends to firmly hold him to when all is said and done. It has now been three years and the Lakers are nowhere close to contending. Johnson’s addition is an obvious first step in what will surely be the beginning of the end of Buss, and with him the likely departure of Kupchak, as well. As part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Johnson already has his hands full. In addition to his baseball exploits, though, the Hall of Famer has had many other offers to gain work inside of the NBA as well. “I could have been owner of the Golden State Warriors and I could have ran the New York Knicks when Steve Mills was the general manager back in the day before Phil [Jackson],” Magic explained. “And then I could have been part of the Detroit Pistons organization, and on and on and on.” What brought Magic back to the Lakers, though, was his love for the organization that he has always been the face of since arriving here as a rookie back in 1979. “Everyone knows my love for the Lakers,” the now-57-year-old Johnson continued. “My devotion to the game and Los Angeles make the Lakers my first and only choice. I will do everything in my power to help return the Lakers to their rightful place among the elite teams of the NBA.” The tentative plan for Johnson isn’t necessarily for him to take over the role of Jim and maybe even Kupchak. He’s there for Jeanie to help decide on future moves. Jeanie, though, doesn’t even have to be the one to decide on Jim’s firing. Their four siblings Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse can vote on his removal. Whether Jim and Kupchak get fired or not doesn’t take away from the fact that the club has been as handicapped as ever in attracting free agents to come play in Los Angeles. Magic will provide a magnetic personality and a huge, welcoming smile that will be much more likely to attract the league’s top players to put on the purple and gold than Jim and Kupchak’s withdrawn personalities and “old-school” mentalities had ever been. Adding Magic to the Lakers provides a charge of fresh energy to a team that has been lacking it both on the court and in the front office alike. One way or another, the Laker organization needs a change. Fans are getting tired of hoping and wishing for a good team. The empty seats at the Staples Center are as good an indication as any that a once proud, family-run franchise has lost much of its luster in a city that begs for stimulation. Johnson can provide a bridge from the past into the future for the Lakers. He can inspire a belief that things will, once and for all, get better. People like and look up to Magic. Unlike Kobe and other front office members of the Lakers, they also want to work alongside him. Magic Johnson’s addition to the franchise means that Jeanie is serious about making a Lakers team that has been torn down to its very core something to come and see in the city of Los Angeles once again. – Asixlion@earthlink.net •
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