All About Nina

I had no clue what this movie was about before I watched. Of which I'm very glad. It was refreshing to see such a real, honest, moving story...it had been a while. Great performances. I still think about this movie long after I first saw it.

"All About Nina" (2018 release; 98 min.) brings the story of Nina, a struggling stand-up comedian looking to break through. As the movie opens, Nina is doing a very R-rated gig in New York, and afterwards we see her with her abusive (and married) boyfriend. Nina decides that she needs a complete change of scenery, and moves to LA. After her first stand-up show there, she gets to know Rafe, a guy who seems to be too good to be true.... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the feature film writing and directing debut of Eva Vives (from Spain). Here, she takes some of her own life experiences and turns them into what initially appears to be a very raunchy comedy. However, the movie changes gear several times. As Nina (who claims she doesn't date) and Rafe get to know each other better, Nina finds herself in a confused spot."You keep being honest, what is wrong with you?", Nina exasperates early on. Later, Nina confesses to a friend that "He's just the right amount of screwed-up". Yet deeper into the movie, we find out more about Nina... All of this might be a bit too much or even suspicious, if it weren't for the dazzling performance of Marie Elizabeth Winstead as Nina. She leaves it all out there (literally) for this role. Common plays the mysterious Rafe a little too aloof in my book. The stand-up scenes (of which there are quite a few) feature both Nina and a number of other wannabe's and are quite good actually. Bottom line: this lil' movie turns out to be quite the character study (as deeply flas as that character may be), with along the way quite a few raunchy stand-up comedy.

"All About Nina" premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, and it finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend (for a limited 1 week run, according to the theater). The Sunday early evening screening was attended so-so (about 10 people). That's a shame, but maybe the movie will do better when it opens on other platforms. If you are interested in a character study that is at times dark and at times raunchy funny, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it at the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

The title says it all: Mary Elizabeth Winstead is excellent in this role. The movie itself, however, is not good. The characters are not developed. The flow is not organic. The structured reveals that lead to the movie's denouement are so forced that authentic emotional truth reduces to cliche. I am less forgiving of movies like this because they (attempt to) manipulate the audience. A better movie would illicit compassion and empathy through the identification with the character, perhaps. All About Nina, rather, vomits telegraphed "depth" (which is, in truth, shallow) all over the screen in an effort to bypass development, story, character arc, and narrative and get to the "point". The truth is that few people are going to climax if their lover doesn't pay attention. Here, the "lover" is the screenwriter/director who doesn't pay attention to any of the needs of the viewer, In an attempt to "move" the viewer, we're manipulated at every turn. The big moment of the movie, however, fell on its face. There was nothing true about it for the story; there was nothing true about it in the development; there was nothing true about it for the character. It was just meant to shock, and by implication explain the rest of the movie. Without the "foreplay" of good writing and characters, I wasn't turned on, and the big climax didn't give me the pleasure or satisfaction that I would have wanted after spending two hours in bed with this movie.

That said, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is terrific as the sexy, acerbic, wounded comedianne. There is more enjoyment in watching fragments of her routines than there is in the rest of the movie.

Is it worth a watch? It isn't. Do I recommend? I most certainly do not. Would I like to see more Mary Elizabeth Winstead? Without a doubt.

This movie was alright, it featured strong performances from the lead actors but ultimately ends up falling short of its potential.

It has a few chuckles throughout but plays out as more of a romantic drama than any form of an actual comedy. By trying to navigate between multiple genres, it loses potency in both.

Also, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead does an excellent job in her role, Nina is written as such a profoundly unlikeable character that it makes it somewhat difficult to empathize with her even after the big twist.

Common also does a great job with his role but his character comes across as more of a Dogged Nice Guy trope than a realistic depiction of a person.

Saw Mary Winstead in Brain Dead, which is the only reason I watched this film. She absolutely killed it in that role, so there was a lot of good will and openness for me going in. 6/10 is generous, but for some reason I still like her.

For starters, she was playing a stand-up comic and I didn't think she was all that funny, and to go out of your way to bring up gross images that are supposedly funny regarding women may be part of the point of the film, but I didn't like it at all. Maybe women try to be as gross as men with comedy, I don't know 'cause I don't go to comedy clubs, the other female comediennes seemed to be going for that effect as well.

And, once again, maybe this was deliberate, but to have her pacing around topless in her apartment rehearsing for her act was a real turn off. I would guess that 10% of the population at large looks good naked or nearly naked (at least for me), and it takes away somewhat from my seeing her as attractive, as in an attractive leading lady. Guys are guys (unfortunately, I wish I wasn't so affected by the visual), but a film is a visual medium, I didn't appreciate having that bit of mystic removed.

That it was revealed this film was a vehicle for victims of abuse towards the end explained alot. But overall, I didn't feel that much for this character, I didn't feel like I got to know her, just saw mostly her acting out and having a very defensive approach to life- overall something women may relate to more, but it sure wasn't entertaining.