Coastal Elites

I'd read a few snooty reviews that dismissed Coastal Elites as smug, self-satisfied, preaching to the choir... etc. The predictable put-downs of critics and commentators who always have to know better. In fact, it's smart, incisive, extremely timely and ultimately quite moving - and while being simultaneously depressing and uplifting. It's exactly the kind of whip-smart political theatre we need right now, when we can't even go to a theatre. Bette Midler is her usual powerhouse self as Miriam, a feisty Jewish momma who channels the collective rage at he who shall not be named. Dan Levy gives a nuanced turn as an actor with mixed feelings about his auditions for a gay superhero. And Kaitlyn Dever gives a restrained, yet masterful performance as a nurse on the front line. All five monologues are exceptionally well-written and brilliantly acted. And all the dopey 1/10 reviews from witless MAGA-hat wearing morons only go to prove that they are, as ever, utterly clueless and doomed to wallow in their cluelessness forever.

Each of the five pieces is a tour de force. The writing and the acting are incredible and it all fits together powerfully in the end. I recommend viewers watch it in a quiet place where they can really pay attention and appreciate the performance. This isn't a show that will do well in a room of distractions.

Everyone in this unusual film is good, although Bette Midler is a bit "Bette Midlery" (but how could she not be?) But the standout is Daniel Levy, whose work I only know from Schitt's Creek. He's really good.

The actors just keep on talking and talking. Nothing else happens. They seem to make a political statement, but I have no interest in it.

Long since done with the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents franchises, Jay Roach has spent the past twelve years directing political-themed movies: "Recount" (about the 2000 election), "Game Change" (about the 2008 election), "The Campaign" (depicting a heated campaign for a congressional seat), "Trumbo" (about the blacklisting of Dalton Trumbo), "All the Way" (about Lyndon Johnson's efforts to pass the Civil Rights Act) and "Bombshell" (about the women at Fox News who exposed Roger Ailes as a sexual predator). Now he gives us "Coastal Elites", in which five people give monologues describing their displeasure with the Trump presidency and the coronavirus.

Opinions of this movie will almost certainly be split along ideological lines. Personally I found Sarah Paulson's character's monologue the most impressive. The movie isn't any sort of masterpiece, but I enjoyed it.