Janet Planet

I have really enjoyed Annie Baker's plays & was looking forward to seeing her feature film debut with JANET PLANET. And while I always admire Julianne Nicholson's work (she is incredible in everything from I, TONYA to MARE OF EASTTOWN) this film & Baker's script just moves along with no structure or no drive. I have no problem with films that take their time, or move slowly as long as there is some kind of emotional or cerebral pay off but sadly, I did not think this film had one. There are small nice, very real moments between some of the characters and I liked Sophie Okenedo's scenes but overall the story is not compelling and yes, the character's keep others at arms length but the viewer wishes they could get a bit closer to the characters and their thoughts and emotions. Overall, a rather lackluster summer coming of "age" from a very talented playwright.

Greetings again from the darkness. Mother-Daughter relationships have been the theme for many fine movies throughout various genres over the years. Some of the best that come to mind include: LADY BIRD (2017), THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017), MAMMA MIA! (2008), LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006), THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993), TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983), MOMMIE DEAREST (1981), CARRIE (1976), and going back many years, the classic MILDRED PIERCE (1945). The common thread here is the complicated, yet unbreakable bond between mother and daughter. Writer-director Annie Baker, who won a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play "The Flick", has managed to create a film with a mother-daughter relationship that fits right into the above list, while also bringing a unique perspective.

Eleven-year-old Lacy sneaks out of her summer camp cabin, and through the darkness makes her way to the office payphone. The first line of dialogue we hear is Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) saying, "I'm going to kill myself if you don't come get me." The next morning, mother Janet (Julianne Nicholson) arrives and a packed up Lacy discovers she actually had made a friend, but since it's too late to remain at camp, she questions why mom had to bring boyfriend Wayne (Will Patton) along. "Wayne" is the first chapter of the story, but as we learn, single mom Janet has had a revolving door of lovers and friends. It's 1991, the summer between fifth and sixth grade for Lacy, and as an outcast in her age group, she desperately wants to be close to her mom.

Their rural home is surrounded by nature, and Janet runs her acupuncture business while Lacy hikes to piano lessons ... when she's not asking if she can sleep in mom's bed. Wayne doesn't last long, and Chapter 2 "Regina" bounds in next, thanks to a local art colony performance that allows old friends to reconnect. Regina (Sophie Okonedo) appreciates the free room and has some nice moments with Lacy - except for the shampoo and long stints in the shared bathroom. When Regina moves on, Chapter 3's "Avi" (Elias Koteas) begins getting close to Janet. By now we understand that everyone loves Janet, and that's an emotional hurdle for young Lacy.

The adults are a bit tiresome, and Janet even confesses that she worries about her parenting approach. Yet, those concerns don't impact her free-wheeling ways, and we see she's as lonely and broken as her daughter. Lacy says, "I don't have any friends", and we don't doubt it. As an outsider she's very observant, if not a bit depressed. Julianne Nicholson is exceptional as always, and first-timer Zoe Ziegler is a rare find. We can only hope she finds her way into a Wes Anderson movie before she grows out of this stage. Cinematographer Maria von Hausswolff has a style that perfectly complements director Baker's slow pacing and the unusual setting. As the summer turns to "The Fall", a local square dance provides the perfect ending ... and reinforces all that we've learned about mother and daughter. Another little gem from A24.

In select theaters on June 21, 2024 and nationwide on June 28, 2024.

There's a difference between minimalist and vacuous, and writer-director Annie Baker doesn't seem to know the difference. The playwright's debut feature, to put it simply, is boring, pretentious, meandering, unfocused and a big, fat waste of time. It's so dull, in fact, that the film makes the works of Kelly Reichardt appear utterly fascinating. Set in 1991 in the hippie-dominated arts community of rural western Massachusetts, the film follows the story (if one could even call it that) of middle-aged acupuncturist Janet (Julianne Nicholson) as she struggles to sort out what appears to have been a wayward, meandering life. And, as this tale plays out, it faithfully sticks to that course, too, an influence that's clearly wearing off on Janet's equally clueless, incessantly brooding, 8-year-old daughter, Lacy (newcomer Zoe Ziegler). Along the way, the duo experiences an array of cryptic, inconsequential involvements with others who are apparently fascinated with Janet (though goodness knows why), all of whom (Will Patton, Sophie Okonedo, Elias Koteas) are just as lost and boring as Janet is. So what's the point in all this? Who knows - and, not long into the picture, who cares? The raves that have been showered on this tedious, tiresome piece of filmmaking are a complete mystery to me, given its prevailing mundane nature and monotone performances by players who all sound like they've been shot up with sodium pentothal. Nicholson, in particular, comes across as so disengaged that she probably could have just as easily phoned in this performance (despite claims that this is the breakthrough role that she's supposedly been waiting for - please, watch her in "August: Osage County" (2013) instead). What's more, this picture probably has some of the worst sound quality I've ever seen in a contemporary production - so bad that I had to struggle to be able to hear what was being said (and I was sitting in the theater's second row). And the film's feeble attempts at trying to incorporate some kind of subtle, nuanced metaphysical undercurrent fail miserably as well, treated almost as if their inclusion was an afterthought. If you dare to consider giving this one a look, make sure you don't watch it when you're tired - you just might fall asleep soon after the opening credits roll, an understandable reaction, to be sure.

I am pretty baffled by the critical response to this movie, as I usually see pretty eye to eye with them. This thing was so dry and boring that I could hardly believe it. There is hardly any moment that breathed any kind of life or spark, apart from an admittedly sweet and nostalgic JC Penny's sequence - which felt more like it benefitted from just being a trip down memory lane than anything else.

There is hardly any story movement, and what few lines of dialogue can be heard are almost completely useless. Half of them are just the little girl asking basic questions which don't get answered. And lines like "I'm going to kill myself if you don't come pick me up" and "It's funny, every moment of my life is a living hell" are just obnoxious in this day and age.

Now granted, the AC was broken in our theater so that may have also had something to do with our discomfort. But we still walked out of the theater after 40 minutes. The filmmaker is talented I'm sure, but this one just wasn't for me at all.

This isn't a terrible movie, but is lacking in originality. I think that, given time, director Annie Baker will find her own voice instead of trying to be Greta Gerwig. If she works with Zoe Ziegler again, she'll hopefully stop trying to turn her into the new young Saoirse Ronan, too, and let Zoe act in her own way, as I suspect she can.

The basic plot here has been done, in various ways, in many, many far better movies. Baker tried to stuff too much in here, too. The subplot, if you can call it that, about the mother was incomplete and distracted from what the young girl was going through as she was dealing with the changes she was experiencing. Sure, the relation between the mother and daughter was integral to the film, but seemed incomplete, never resolved. It was never really examined in the depth it could have been. That might have been due to the slow pace of the movie. Too little happened over too much time.

The men in the movie were never really fleshed out, either. Most obvious was "Wayne", who was sort of a good guy, but at the same time, not. We never really got to know anything about him, other than he had a nice daughter.

By sheer coincidence I just saw "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." a couple of days before I saw "Janet Planet". One could argue they are wildly different movies, but at the same time, they do cover similar topics. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." is far better, more entertaining, and more realistic. It's fun. "Janet Planet" is dull in comparison.

But the biggest and most obvious comparison that jumps out at you as you watch "Janet Planet" would be between it and "Lady Bird". They are much more similar films than the one I mentioned above. And "Lady Bird" is much, much better.

As I said, this isn't a terrible film. I look forward to seeing what Baker can do in the future. I'm sure she has a much better film in her.

As an aside, the best song in the movie was "Miracle Man" by Bob Carpenter. Too bad it was associated with the "Wayne" character.