The Breadwinner review – Nate Bargatze’s dated dad comedy loses us entirely

The comedian makes an unconvincing bid for movie stardom in a largely unfunny and old-fashioned feature-length sitcom episode The popular standup comedian Nate Bargatze uses his appealingly deadpan demeanor to convey relatable, family-friendly jokes about his own middle-class doofiness. Funny as he can be, his affect doesn’t seem ideal for performing with others. Back in the 90s, an American sitcom would have been built around him anyway; today, the form isn’t quite so ubiquitous, and sold-out standup tickets have remained his bread and butter. Yet Bargatze has done surprisingly well as a two-time Saturday Night Live host, especially for more writerly pieces that other celebrities might not so perfectly underplay. For his film debut The Breadwinner, Bargatze takes cues from an earlier SNL player – specifically and unfortunately, the suburban dregs of Adam Sandler’s late-2000s/early-2010s middle period. As in vaguely sour-spirited Sandler vehicles like Grown Ups or Jack & Jill, Barg...

The moment I knew: ‘I pledged I would go to mass for 30 days to understand what I was feeling’

After years of friendship, Josie still wasn’t sure whether she was into Chris. So she struck a deal with God

I was 18 when I first met Chris at a church youth group. Although we came from the same ethno-religious group, Chris wasn’t strictly religious. For him, youth group was a way to socialise with people from our community.

I never really paid him any attention, but one night after youth group he walked me to my car. He was trying to get to know me – he told me later that he had noticed me playing Scrabble at our camp and that was the kind of life he wanted with someone. I summed my interests up for him very clearly: pizza, ice-cream and making lists. He must have liked that answer because suddenly, it felt like he was everywhere.

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from Love And Sex | The Guardian https://ift.tt/wrQyOov

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