"Coastal Elites" (2020 release; 87 min.) brings 5 monologues (the opening credits actually call them "rants") about what life in the COVID-19 and Trump era is like. In the 1st piece ("Lock Her Up"; 25 min.) Bette Midler plays Miriam Nessler, a liberal Jewish widow. She is in the interrogation room of the local jail, following a complaint by a Trump supporter that Miriam intimidated him. Miriam goes from cold to hot, ranting and raving against Trump and his Kool-Aid drinking supporters. "That man's name", she hisses, unable to say Trump's name... Subsequent monologues are "Supergay" (18 min.), about a gay actor playing a gay superhero; "The Blonde Cloud" (15 min.) about a Black women who went to boarding school with Ivanca, who now wants to befriend her again; "Because I Have To Tell Someone" (16 min.), about a liberal woman attending a family reunion, where everyone is a Trump supporter, and last but not least "President Miriam" (13 min.), about a nurse getting to know Miriam (yes, the same Miriam as in the first piece) as she battles COVID-19 in a NY hospital.
Couple of comments: this is the latest film directed by Jay Roach (the Austin Powers franchise; the Meet the Fockers franchise; etc.). This, though, is unlike any other film he has made. It brings 5 monologues that are filmed in a Zoom-like setting. Very little production. Instead we listen to these intense and for the most overtly political rants and raves that address what life is like in the current Trump and COVID-19 era. As you can well imagine, not many kind words are said about Trump. OK, none. So if you are someone who is drinking the Trump Kool-Aid by the gallons, you may want to watch something else, as your Dear Leader is chewed up and spit out. While Bette Midler's piece is the longest and highest profile, I thought the very last piece, about Midler's character Miriam as experienced by a registered nurse (played to great effect by Kaitlyn Dever, is in fact the best or at least the most moving. I'm not going to say anything more. Just watch!
"Coastal Elites" premiered this weekend on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you are deeply troubled by life in the COVID-19 era and under the (so-called) leadership of Dear Leader Trump, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
