Films About Women Opening This Week
The Boss — Co-Written by Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy headlines “The Boss” as a titan of industry who is sent to prison after she’s caught for insider trading. When she emerges ready to re-brand herself as America’s latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget. (Press materials)
Look At Us Now, Mother! (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Gayle Kirschenbaum (Opens in NYC and LA)
What trauma could make a child certain that she was born into the wrong family? What wounds are inflicted when the home that’s supposed to be a haven isolates her as an outsider; when her mother’s words are rarely nurturing but instead, ruthlessly shaming, demeaning and critical? What will it take for the adult that child becomes to forgive such a past? Is forgiveness even possible? This is the dilemma that Emmy award-winning filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum faces in her relentlessly honest and bitingly funny documentary, “Look at Us Now, Mother!” Her film is about the transformation of a highly charged mother/daughter relationship from “Mommie Dearest” to Dear Mom, from hatred to love. The documentary is the expanded version of the funny, award-winning festival favorite film, “My Nose,” in which we follow her mother’s relentless campaign to get Gayle to have a nose job. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Gayle Kirschenbaum.
One More Time (Also available on VOD)
Aspiring rock star Jude (Amber Heard) is stuck in a rut, relegated to recording commercial jingles and lost in a series of one-night stands. When she is evicted from her Brooklyn apartment, she is forced to move into the Hamptons home of her wealthy — and selfish — father Paul Lombard (Christopher Walken), an over-the-hill, Sinatra-esque crooner angling for a musical comeback. As the two reunite, Jude is forced to confront her problems, including troubled relationships with her father and overachieving sister (Kelli Garner), as well as her wobbly career and faltering love life. As Jude and Paul butt heads, they unexpectedly find themselves on a journey that may redefine their lives. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
No Home Movie (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Chantal Akerman
Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles — Written and Directed by Chantal Akerman (Restored Print, Opens in NYC)
H. — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Rania Attieh
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hanna Arendt (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Ada Ushpiz
Sold
God’s Not Dead 2
Darling
Miss India America — Written by Meera Simhan
Jane Wants A Boyfriend
I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman (Documentary) — Directed by Marianne Lambert
April and the Extraordinary World
My Big Fat Greek Greek Wedding 2 — Written by Nia Vardalos
Krisha
The Bronze — Co-Written by Melissa Rauch
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Lolo — Directed by Julie Delpy; Written by Julie Delpy and Eugenie Grandval
Hello, My Name is Doris — Co-Written by Laura Terruso
Marguerite — Co-Written by Marcia Romano
10 Cloverfield Lane
Eye in the Sky
Miracles From Heaven — Directed by Patricia Riggen
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Trapped (Documentary) — Directed by Dawn Porter; Written by Sari Gilman and Dawn Porter
Zootopia
The Other Side of the Door
Cemetery of Splendour
The Witch
How To Be Single — Co-Written by Dana Fox and Abby Kohn
The 5th Wave — Co-Written by Susannah Grant
The Boy
The Lady in the Van
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Carol — Written by Phyllis Nagy
Mustang — Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven; Written by Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour
Brooklyn
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
The Invitation — Directed by Karyn Kusama (Also available on VOD)
In this taut psychological thriller by Karyn Kusama, the tension is palpable when Will (Logan Marshall-Green) shows up to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and new husband David (Michiel Huisman). The estranged divorcees’ tragic past haunts an equally eerie present; amid Eden’s suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda. Unfolding over one dark evening in the Hollywood Hills, “The Invitation” blurs layers of mounting paranoia, mystery and horror until both Will — and the audience — are unsure what threats are real or imagined. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Karyn Kusama.
Be Here Now: The Andy Whitfield Story (Documentary) — Directed by Lilibet Foster (Opens in NYC)
“Be Here Now” is an inspiring love story about TV star Andy Whitfield and his wife Vashti, who together take on the most heroic role he’s ever had to play. With matching “Be Here Now” tattoos, they vow to go on a quest to heal Andy’s cancer — embracing life, rather than fear. They trusted Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lilibet Foster to follow their intimate life, hoping that by sharing their journey, they may inspire others’ challenges and dreams. Their determination, courage, humor and love remind the audience that the journey is more important than the destination. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lilibet Foster.
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Standing Tall — Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot; Written by Emmanuelle Bercot and Marcia Romano
Catching the Sun (Documentary) — Directed by Shalini Kantayya
Ron and Laura Take Back America — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Janice Markham
Thank You For Playing (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall
The Brainwashing of My Dad (Documentary) — Directed by Jen Senko; Written by Jen Senko, Melodie Bryant, Fiore Derosa and Kala Mandrake (Also Available on VOD)
Sweet Bean — Written and Directed by Naomi Kawase
City of Gold (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Gabbert
Here Come the Videofreex! (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Jenny Raskin
Kung Fu Panda 3 — Co-Directed by Jennifer Yuh
Films Written by Women Opening This Week
High Strung — Co-Written by Janeen Best Damian
When a hip hop violinist (Nicholas Galitzine) busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer (Keenan Kampa) on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever. (Press materials)
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Meet the Blacks — Co-Written by Nicole DeMasi
No Letting Go — Co-Written by Randi Silverman
Kapoor & Sons — Co-Written by Ayesha Devitre Dhillon
My Golden Days — Co-Written by Julie Peyr
The Preppie Connection — Co-Written by Ashley Rudden
The Young Messiah — Co-Written by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh
London Has Fallen — Co-Written by Katrin Benedikt
Race — Co-Written by Anna Waterhouse
In the Shadow of Women — Co-Written by Caroline Deruas and Arlette Langman
The Good Dinosaur — Written by Meg LeFauve
Room — Written by Emma Donoghue
TV Premieres This Week
Catastrophe Season 2 — Co-Created by Sharon Horgan (Premieres April 8 on Amazon Prime)
Comics Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney reprise their roles as Sharon and Rob, the respectively Irish and American couple who got pregnant during a tryst and decided to make a go of it. They’re still in London as the new season begins, though — and this is a mild spoiler, but not if you’ve seen the trailer — the series jumps forward to the very end of her second pregnancy, while their first son is now a toddler. (Sara Stewart)
Read Women and Hollywood’s review of “Catastrophe” Season 2.
Outlander Season 2 (Premieres April 9 on Starz)
A quick primer: Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) have come to Paris following his escape from Wentworth prison, where he was brutally assaulted by Black Jack Randall. As Jamie lives with the trauma of that event, he and the pregnant Claire move into an aristocratic mansion belonging to his wine-trader cousin, where they plan to work their way into French high society, befriend Bonnie Prince Charlie — Charles Edward Stuart — and somehow undermine his plans for the Jacobite uprising that will, as Claire knows from the future, wipe out the Highlanders at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. (Sara Stewart)
Read Women and Hollywood’s review of “Outlander” Season 2.
Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper (Documentary) — Directed by Liz Garbus (Premieres April 9 on HBO)
Born into one of the wealthiest and best-known families in American history, Gloria Vanderbilt has lived in the public eye for more than 90 years, unapologetically pursuing love, family and career, while experiencing extreme tragedy and tremendous success side by side. Directed by Liz Garbus, the poignant and revealing feature-length documentary “Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper” features a series of candid conversations as Vanderbilt and her youngest son, Anderson Cooper, look back at her remarkable life. Intertwining archival footage and previously unseen home videos spanning eight decades with present-day scenes, the film paints an intimate portrait of one of America’s most fascinating families. Cooper and Vanderbilt tell the story of their past and present, losses and loves and show how, in life, patterns repeat themselves in the most unexpected ways. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Liz Garbus.
Nikki Glaser: Perfect (Comedy Special) — Written by Nikki Glaser (Premieres April 9 on Comedy Central)
In Nikki Glaser’s first hour-long special, she contemplates what it means to become an adult woman, exploring issues like the problem with marriage, the right time and method to have a baby and how to be yourself in a relationship. Glaser talks frankly about her relationship with porn and sexual shame and she even reveals why she really respects testicles. (Press materials)
The Girlfriend Experience (Premieres April 10 on Starz)
Christine Reade (Riley Keough) is a second year student at Chicago-Burnham Law School and a new intern at the prestigious firm of Kirkland & Allen. Working hard to establish herself at the firm, her focus quickly shifts when a classmate introduces her to the world of transactional relationships. Known as GFEs, they are women who provide “The Girlfriend Experience” — emotional and sexual relationships at a very high price. Juggling two very different lives, Christine quickly finds herself drawn into the GFE world, attracted to the rush of control and intimacy. (Press materials)
Orphan Black Season 4 (Premieres April 14 on BBC America)
Season 4 of the drama will see leader-of-the-pack, Sarah (Tatiana Maslany), reluctantly return home from her Icelandic hideout to track down an elusive and mysterious ally tied to the clone who started it all — Beth Childs (Maslany). Sarah will follow Beth’s footsteps into a dangerous relationship with a potent new enemy, heading in a horrifying new direction. Under constant pressure to protect the sisterhood and keep everyone safe, Sarah’s old habits begin to resurface. As the close-knit sisters are pulled in disparate directions, Sarah finds herself estranged from the loving relationships that changed her for the better. (Press materials)
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
Grace and Frankie: Season 1 (DVD, April 12)
The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (DVD and Blu-ray, April 12)
The Forest (DVD, April 12)
