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I hate this movie. I love this movie. As a pro-life Democrat, I love this movie. As a documentary, I hate this movie. I am incensed by seeing how Christians have poisoned the gospel of Jesus the Christ. I am angry at how the Christ will be vilified by the toxicity of Christian Nationalism. I am so disappointed we still have not learned from our far past in the Crusades and the recent past in Nazi Germany.

As a pro-life Christian, I resent politicians seducing Christians to equate trying to provide for unwelcome births with voting for a felon who mocks a Pope, who wonders if he has to follow the Constitution. As a social liberal, I resent Christians turning the gospel of love and inclusion into a vendetta of retribution for hyped up slights by immigrants, legal or otherwise. As a libertine, I also resent this government pushing one religious agenda, even if Christianity is my approach to understanding the Lord God.

Reiner & Reiner and Stewart and other producers have pushed the envelope. They have covered the subject well. Partland's direction was superior. Great selection of commentators. I would have loved, however, to see a serious apologist for Christian Nationalism interviewed, one on one, by a seasoned journalist like Stewart. Sunshine can sterilize.

Perhaps the biggest problem of Christian Nationalism is illustrated by the IMDB ratings for this documentary. They are bi-modal, lots of 1's and 10's reflecting the political and spiritual polarization of our country. Compromise has become a dirty word. "They" has become the ultimate enemy attribute. So much for loving our enemies; we can't even love "them."

Not all comedy needs to be "fun." Not all comedy needs to be shallow to be "fun." But this episode was beneath the norm for this select group of writers. In other episodes you were able to communicate critical values without being shallow. Previous episodes usually reflected the characters' hearts and minds. Not this episode.

A serious subject, gambling, was not taken seriously, nor was it funny. A funny subject, family drama over value differences, was not funny.

This series can do better than this. Furthermore, curse words are not necessary to make "First Marriage" funny. It is broadcast before "adult" time afterall. I hope next season improves. By the way, can we get rid of the opening dance sequence?

Amy Adams' portrayal of motherhood bores us, makes us wish we had watched another film. Heller created the ultimate gambit: Yoder's critique of the human condition. We begin to hate the narrative--we are depressed. What we have done? We wasted an hour and a half. Pausing the streaming, we ask "Just what is this?" Dogs? Menstrual blood? Yes. We watched Nightbitch!

Why? Heller's direction uses boring, ugly, cute, shallow and slow filmmaking to evoke meaning beyond her and Yoder's script. The meaningful and ironically meaningless challenge of being a mother is shared not just visually, but actively as you experience, not just watch, the film and its cumbersome path to a doggedly ambiguous finish.

So? We did not watch Mother on a roller coaster; we were ON the Nightbitch roller coaster. Heller is brilliant. Oscar is smiling at Adams' portrayal of hard core existential angst. Some people will hate this film and fail to realize their disgust was the point of the film. Other people will love this film and realize their disgust came not from a "script," but from Heller and Adams brilliance.

Me? I was disgusted, not just intellectually, but at my inner core. This is film making beyond the pale. Love is too weak an appraisal.