Five quick looks at this and that

Here’s a quick look at five different things I’ve watched recently that don’t need a full review. I’ll talk about Inside Out 2, Ali Wong: Single Lady, Joni Mitchell – Lady Blue, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, and Will & Harper.

Inside Out 2 was frantic and clever. The girl Riley reached puberty and several new emotions came rushing in to confuse and confound her. They included Anxiety, Disgust, Fear, Envy, and Ennui. I found the animations brilliant, particularly the panic attack and the illustrations showing how new neural pathways were laid down in the brain by the new emotions coming with puberty. This is streaming on Disney+.

Ali Wong: Single Lady

Ali Wong got a divorce a couple of years ago and now has a stand up show about being a 40 year old single mom in need of sex. She talked very explicitly about sex and the men she dated (without naming names, of course). It was funny and laced with language that may offend some people. You’ll find this one on Netflix.

Joni Mitchell – Lady Blue

This one was disappointing and I do not recommend it to Joni Mitchell fans. It only covered parts of her life, recycled old interviews, and had very little of her music. It’s on Roku and Tubi.

Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval

Ellen is doing a stand up show trying to redeem herself after being vilified by social media as a mean boss. She joked about a lot of things, including how she got thrown out of show business for the second time. She was funny and sincere and the audience loved it. Playing on Netflix.

Will & Harper

Will Ferrell’s friend Harper Steele transitioned to female very late in life. To show his love and support for Harper, Will suggested they drive across the country to give them time to bond over Harper’s new identity and to visit some spots important to them. They made the trip a documentary. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. At the end, Will and all of us watching had a much better understanding of what it means to be trans. I one hundred percent recommend watching this one. You can find it on Netflix.

If you’ve seen any of these, please share your thoughts in the comments.