Stephen Curry shoots off one-liners and scores as an actor in the comedy series “Mr. Throwback,” now streaming.
This week, Pass the Remote covers the thoroughly enjoyable Peacock show (all episodes are online) and plum pickings at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Also, two true-crime docuseries tied to the Laci Peterson murder case begin on two streaming services this month.
Curry’s got some acting game. True to his extraordinary norm, the Warriors point guard flexes a new talent, even if the role he’s given isn’t much of a stretch. He plays himself in the six-episode streaming comedy created by David Caspe, a key player behind the cult (and canceled) ABC comedy “Happy Endings.”
To no one’s surprise, Curry is immensely likable onscreen and can banter with the best. “Mr. Throwback,” a team effort, finds Curry getting great assists from (in particular) “Saturday Night Live’s” Ego Nwodim. Portraying Curry’s childhood friend and now hyper-efficient personal assistant, Kimberly, she slam-dunks every harried line she’s given,
“Mr. Throwback” finds Curry and Kimberly reuniting with middle-school chum Danny Grossman (Adam Pally) when he comes seeking financial help. Rattled, he spits out a lie that spins out of control. While bad luck follows Danny, who owns a Chicago sports memorabilia store, he’s his own worst enemy, too—just like his father (Tracy Letts).
“Mr. Throwback” is indeed often lighthearted, but it does cover tricky material, including alcoholism, and does it well. It’s weekend bingeable (episodes are 25-30 minutes), and never outstays it welcome.
It’s never cruel or mean-spirited, even when joking about Curry’s good-guy image, the double-trouble foibles of Danny and his estranged ex (Oakland native Ayden Mayeri) and Kimberly’s teeth-gnashing tendency to sweat over every detail in Curry’s life.
“Mr. Throwback” tosses viewers a comfort blanket, telling us we all deserve a chance to prove that we can be that underdog and prove others wrong, just like Steph.
If you want to see a movie in an actual theater (imagine that!), BAMPFA is the place to be this week. PFA’s “Made in Italy: Morricone, Leone and More” showcases the work of Italian master Ennio Morricone, who composed the iconic scores in the classic spaghetti Western “Dollars” trilogy. The second film in Sergio Leone’s genre classic, “A Few Dollars More,” at 7 p.m. Aug. 15, has Clint Eastwood carrying on as the Man With No Name. This time, the silent type teams with Lee Van Cleef. They play bounty hunters who cross paths with bloodthirsty, unhinged bank robber (Gian Maria Volonté) and his motley crew. It’s classic Leone and Morricone, and better than the reviews it initially received.
For something a bit different, check out Morricone’s score in Elio Petri’s 1970 chillingly relevant satire “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” screening at 7 p.m. Aug. 17. Volonté stars as a top cop who flouts the fact that he knocked off his mistress and then challenges anyone to bring him to justice. Among lesser-known Oscar winners (it won for Best International Feature Film) it resonates, and it’s even plausible.
For tickets ($10-$14), visit bampfa.org.
The public’s thirst for true-crime docuseries and podcasts continues, and that fascination might help explain, at least partially, why the 2002 murder of pregnant Laci Peterson and the 2004 conviction of her adulterous husband Scott remain lodged in America’s consciousness.
Netflix’s three-part docuseries “American Murder: Laci Peterson,” premiering Aug. 14, revisits the sensational story that held a nation in its grip from when Laci disappeared from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve to Scott’s pleas for help to find her, and on to tragic news of the discovery of Laci’s remains and her unborn son’s fetus in Richmond. Director Skye Borgman takes viewers through the crime and the punishment, and features a most rare interview with Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, along with Laci’s friends and Scott’s former girlfriend Amber Frey.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project, a nonprofit, claims there is evidence that the former fertilizer salesman did not kill Laci and their unborn son, and is seeking a new trial.
Another true-crime docuseries, “Face to Face With Scott Peterson,” directed by Shareen Anderson and Po Kutchins, covers the almost 20-year-old conviction of the 51-year-old San Diego native. The three-parter, dropping Aug. 20 on Peacock, addresses The L.A. Innocence Project efforts for a new trial and features Peterson in his first interview since 2003. It includes interviews with detectives and others involved in the case, as well as an interview with Scott’s sister-in-law Janey Peterson, who believes he is innocent.
The post Pass the Remote: Steph Curry in ‘Mr. Throwback,’ Morricone at BAMPFA, Peterson murder series appeared first on Local News Matters.