Screen Queen TV Reviews: Pernille, Stranded On Honeymoon Island, The Bear, Squid Game S3 & The Gilded Age
Has it ever been harder to be a middle-aged woman? Seriously — it's tough out there.
We've got young children to raise, and elderly parents to care for. Add in a bit of perimenopausal rage and honestly — it's a s..t show.
And I get it — had I been born a couple of hundred years earlier, there'd be every chance I'd not have made it this far. And had I survived to the ripe old age of 47, I'd be considered positively ancient, hurtling towards the grave. Or being dunked in a village pond, or burned at the stake — or all of the above.
So yeah, I guess in relative terms, it's not so bad. But it certainly feels like hard graft as I navigate life in The Sandwich Generation; that group of us born in the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s, stuck raising kids and caring for ageing boomer parents.
Maybe that's why I identified so much with this great under-the-radar series. Pernille, or Pørni, as it's known in its country of origin, is a Norwegian comedy/drama all about a woman my age
going through it.
It originally aired on SBS, but Netflix picked it up and commissioned two more series, and honestly, it's one of the best things I've seen this year.
Actor turned writer/director Henriette Steenstrup stars as the eponymous Pørni (pronounced Pernille), a recently divorced social worker raising two teenage girls. She's dealing with the grief of her recently deceased sister while also caring for her sister's son and elderly father, who recently came out as gay. To say her life is a hot mess would be an understatement. And yet, she approaches it all with so much positivity and relatability and grace, that it's literally impossible not to fall in love with this superb series. While you can watch it dubbed in English, I urge you to check out the original-language version — there's something lovely about listening to the lilting Norwegian, a language I mostly associated with grizzly Scandi Noir dramas.
This is beautiful, heartwarming television that shot right to my heart. Women of a certain age: you'll feel SEEN.
I don't get why so many people had such beef with season three of The Bear. Sure, it didn't have the urgency of those brilliant first two seasons, but in my mind, it was an essential building block for a story reaching crescendo with season four.
The clock is ticking — literally in the trailer, which shows a clock counting down the money the team has left before Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) shuts their doors for good — and it's make or break for Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his crew.
Seasons three and four were shot back-to-back, and this picks up immediately where we left things, with
that
review, and Sydney's (Ayo Edebiri) possible departure hanging over their heads. Can't wait to see where it takes us.
Your next favourite guilty pleasure is here! This 'MAFS-meets-Survivor' dating series sees newlywed strangers dumped on a deserted island in nothing but their wedding attire — what a concept. This crackers show will have you hooked.
Before she was having existential crises over pina coladas at The White Lotus, Carrie Coon was trussed up in a bodice and bustle in this historical series from Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. It returns this week for its anticipated third season. Consistently enjoyable.
It's one of the biggest shows in the world, with an audience in the hundreds of millions. So get ready for literally everyone you know to be talking about the third series of this Korean classic, which wraps up for good. Get ready for one heck of a showdown between Gi-hun (Player 456, played by Lee Jung-jae) and Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) — can't wait.
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Screen Queen TV Reviews: Pernille, Stranded On Honeymoon Island, The Bear, Squid Game S3 & The Gilded Age
Has it ever been harder to be a middle-aged woman? Seriously — it's tough out there. We've got young children to raise, and elderly parents to care for. Add in a bit of perimenopausal rage and honestly — it's a s..t show. And I get it — had I been born a couple of hundred years earlier, there'd be every chance I'd not have made it this far. And had I survived to the ripe old age of 47, I'd be considered positively ancient, hurtling towards the grave. Or being dunked in a village pond, or burned at the stake — or all of the above. So yeah, I guess in relative terms, it's not so bad. But it certainly feels like hard graft as I navigate life in The Sandwich Generation; that group of us born in the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s, stuck raising kids and caring for ageing boomer parents. Maybe that's why I identified so much with this great under-the-radar series. Pernille, or Pørni, as it's known in its country of origin, is a Norwegian comedy/drama all about a woman my age going through it. It originally aired on SBS, but Netflix picked it up and commissioned two more series, and honestly, it's one of the best things I've seen this year. Actor turned writer/director Henriette Steenstrup stars as the eponymous Pørni (pronounced Pernille), a recently divorced social worker raising two teenage girls. She's dealing with the grief of her recently deceased sister while also caring for her sister's son and elderly father, who recently came out as gay. To say her life is a hot mess would be an understatement. And yet, she approaches it all with so much positivity and relatability and grace, that it's literally impossible not to fall in love with this superb series. While you can watch it dubbed in English, I urge you to check out the original-language version — there's something lovely about listening to the lilting Norwegian, a language I mostly associated with grizzly Scandi Noir dramas. This is beautiful, heartwarming television that shot right to my heart. Women of a certain age: you'll feel SEEN. I don't get why so many people had such beef with season three of The Bear. Sure, it didn't have the urgency of those brilliant first two seasons, but in my mind, it was an essential building block for a story reaching crescendo with season four. The clock is ticking — literally in the trailer, which shows a clock counting down the money the team has left before Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) shuts their doors for good — and it's make or break for Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his crew. Seasons three and four were shot back-to-back, and this picks up immediately where we left things, with that review, and Sydney's (Ayo Edebiri) possible departure hanging over their heads. Can't wait to see where it takes us. Your next favourite guilty pleasure is here! This 'MAFS-meets-Survivor' dating series sees newlywed strangers dumped on a deserted island in nothing but their wedding attire — what a concept. This crackers show will have you hooked. Before she was having existential crises over pina coladas at The White Lotus, Carrie Coon was trussed up in a bodice and bustle in this historical series from Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. It returns this week for its anticipated third season. Consistently enjoyable. It's one of the biggest shows in the world, with an audience in the hundreds of millions. So get ready for literally everyone you know to be talking about the third series of this Korean classic, which wraps up for good. Get ready for one heck of a showdown between Gi-hun (Player 456, played by Lee Jung-jae) and Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) — can't wait.
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Who doesn't love an Austen-tacious rom-com with a modern twist?
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life M, 98 minutes 3 Stars Once again, one of England's best and most popular novelists has a thing or two to answer for. Here we have another romantic comedy for the screen that was inspired by the wonderful books of Jane Austen about village life set in the south of England two centuries ago. It is a charmer. Set in the literary milieu in Paris, it is no surprise to hear bookseller Agathe (Camille Rutherford) tell a customer at Shakespeare and Company that Sense and Sensibility is her favourite Jane Austen read. And to confide that her favourite heroine is Anne Elliot in Persuasion. The fabled English-language bookshop in Paris that has featured in films by Woody Allen and Richard Linklater and more takes another bow. Agathe adores the company of characters in books, but life outside of work for this thirtysomething isn't scintillating. She quite fancies her good friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), but hasn't slept with anyone in two years and struggles with imposter syndrome as she tries her hand at writing fiction. Felix, she says, is a "breadcrumber". Well, if I'm leading women on, he replies, you're reclusive. Not into digital, not into likes on social media. Just not born into the right century. Touché! British-French actress Rutherford is a natural for her role as Agathe. She and Pauly, like most of the actors in this charming comedy of manners set on both sides of the English Channel, are bi-lingual. English suits Agathe's writing style and she wins a residency at the Jane Austen estate. She will spend two weeks deep in the English countryside, working alongside a small group of other writers who have also been selected for assistance with their development. One the day she departs, the Channel crossing isn't especially choppy, but as you might expect, Agathe gets seasick anyway. When her lift at the other end, Oliver (Charlie Anson) shows up in his vintage sports car, she cannot hold it any longer. Anyway, he has unbearable attitude, and he declares his celebrated great-great-great-great aunt overrated. Then his car breaks down and they have to complete their journey in sullen silence, with a lift in an apple cart. Although she's a sophisticated, cultivated Left Bank Parisian, Agathe clearly belongs to the tradition of clumsy and awkward female romantic leads, like Rene Zellweger of the first Bridget Jones film, famously inspired by the works of Jane Austen, and a hugely popular series. Of course, the wider the gulf between the romantic couple, the more fun it is. Agathe thinks Oliver is insufferable and arrogant, while he lets her know he finds her underwhelming. Of course, they will despise each other at the start. Think 10 Things I Hate About You. And so continues the never-ending tit-for-tat between the French and the English. No one besides the English themselves are better at sending themselves up, and the same can be said of the French. For both countries, farce is a national sport. Filmed in France, this charming frothy rom-com is the work of French writer-director, Laura Piani. It's a delicious concoction, a contribution to a genre that we barely see on the cinema screen these days, and hope will one day return. A film like Materialists, a rom-com for these digital times that was released last week, is unusual at the cinema these days. And Notting Hill was a very long time ago. Jane Austen died young and wrote anonymously during her lifetime. Yet her six novels were hugely influential and have had a life of their own on screen. You have to wonder what she would have thought of the many films and series made in her name. As a writer fed up with the gothic and exaggerated romanticism in popular literature in her time, she would have liked the humour mixed with realism, even if it couldn't match her incisive, comic insight into the absurdities of ordinary daily life. There is a touching moment at the end of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life that has a serious bit of advice for the wary and the uncertain, when a well-known American documentary filmmaker appears in a cameo, reading a poem about letting life in. It hints at a little more than froth and farce and is a good note to end on.
