With so many entertainment options, it is hard to figure out what is worth watching. This week, Richard Roeper has three selections that you can see without leaving the house.
Here are his picks:
“Dutton Ranch” (streaming on Paramount+) – Cole Hauser’s Rip and Kelly Reilly’s Beth were my two favorite characters on “Yellowstone.” They were both dark, fiercely passionate, volatile people with tragic pasts – yet they found a measure of peace and comfort and trust with each other. “Dutton Ranch” picks up in the aftermath of the “Yellowstone” finale, with Beth and Rip and their teenage ward Carter (Finn Little) carving out a new life on the Dutton Ranch in South Texas, and facing a whole new set of obstacles. Iconic actors Annette Bening and Ed Harris join the cast, and they’re both as great as you’d expect. This is an instantly addictive addition to the ever-expanding Taylor Sheridan “Yellowstone” universe.
“Driver’s Ed” (in theaters and online) – Director Peter Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb and Dumber”) delivers a funny and surprisingly warm-hearted callback to the R-rated teen movies of the late 1990s, e.g., “American Pie,” “Road Trip” and “The Girl Next Door.” Sam Nivola from Season 3 of “The White Lotus” gives a likable performance as a high school senior who steals a Driver’s Ed car and convinces his core group of friends to join him on an impromptu road trip to save his relationship with his girlfriend, who is now a freshman in college. Reliable comic veterans Molly Shannon and Kumail Nanjiani are hilarious as an incompetent school principal and a REALLY incompetent substitute teacher, respectively. This is dumb, silly, escapist fun.
“Marty, Life is Short” (Netflix) – A thoughtful, hilarious, insightful and at times deeply moving deep-dive into the life and times of Martin Short, who has been on the scene for some 50 years and is enjoying a career apex thanks to the resounding success of “Only Murders in the Building,” and Short’s two-man live shows with longtime friend Steve Martin. The home movie footage is particularly valuable here, as Short and his late wife
Nancy hosts annual parties for guests including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin, and two departed legends in John Candy and Catherine O’Hara. It’s also particularly poignant to see Marty’s daughter Elizabeth, who died by suicide in February. “Marty, Life is Short” is a celebration of one of the funniest actors of our time–and a reminder of how precious and fleeting life can be.
Richard Roeper has reviewed films and TV series for more than 25 years, most notably with the Chicago Sun-Times and on the nationally syndicated “Ebert & Roeper.” Roeper is an entertainment and culture contributor to NBC 5 Chicago. He is the host of the globally popular “The Movie of Your Life” podcast, and he writes reviews for RogerEbert.com.
