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Aaron Mark’s (Random Unrelated Projects) dark, Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of a serial killing masseuse began in 2015, on the off-Broadway stage with the one-woman play Empanada Loca, starring Daphne Rubin-Vega (In the Heights). Three years later, the writer-creator-director turned it into a Spotify podcast called The Horror of Dolores Roach. Now in its third iteration, Mark and co-showrunner Dara Resnik (Home Before Dark) adapted the story into an eight-episode TV series for Prime Video and Blumhouse.
Dolores Roach (Justina Machado) has been through it. We meet her in 2019 as she’s leaving New York State, having served her 16-year prison sentence for possession with intent and assaulting an officer. Upon release, she takes the unpleasant journey back to her old neighborhood of Washington Heights. However, everything changed while she was away. New establishments line the streets, sidewalks are overrun with hipsters and rich moms, and drug dealers handle not-so-subtle transactions out in the open.
When she goes to her old apartment hoping to see her former boyfriend, Dominic, she finds a young couple occupying it. This overwhelming realization that she doesn’t have a home or anything familiar is just one of many anxiety-inducing sequences. There’s also the maddening fact that she spent almost two decades of her life in prison for marijuana, a drug so common that it’s nearly legal now. (Weed was illegal in New York until 2021.)
Wading through a sea of gentrifiers, Dolores recognizes Empanada Loca, where she finds the new owner Luis Batista (Alejandro Hernandez), a former customer and neighborhood friend who still harbors a mad crush on her. The two catch up over empanadas and weed, and he offers to let her crash in his apartment under the shop. When he finds out that she learned how to give excellent massages in prison, earning the nickname “Magic Hands,” Luis encourages her to put this acquired skill to good use and start her own business as an unlicensed masseuse. And despite only advertising her services on the back of a menu and operating out of a bedroom below an empanada shop, the customers start rolling in.
One of Dolores’ first clients is Luis’ disgruntled landlord Gideon Pearlman (Marc Maron), an older white man who’s the type to be so casually racist that it sets him off when he’s accused of being racist. As seen in the clip released by Prime Video, Pearlman rambles on about the burdens of his job, how he’s from a working-class family and therefore down with the struggle, and how generous he’s being about Luis’ late rent. Dolores tries to keep her cool because he has the power (and intent) to evict them. But he seals his fate when he feels her up.
Dolores’ post-murder mindset goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotions — relieved, exhausted, horrified, and kind of elated. However, she’s quick to accept her actions, immediately going into survival mode, and planning her next move. But her impromptu kill unknowingly helps the shop by providing Luis with Empanada Loca’s new ingredient.
The Horror of Dolores Roach could be a hilarious Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-type sitcom: an ex-con down on her luck trying to adapt to a new reality while she’s surrounded by eccentric New Yorkers. The tone has the coziness of a fun comedy with its collection of supporting characters. Nellie (Kita Updike, reprising her role from the podcast) is Luis’ one and only employee, often on her phone because business is slow. Then there’s the odd but good-natured delivery guy Jeremiah (K. Todd Freeman) and Caleb (Jeffrey Self), a somewhat stereotypical millennial with privilege and a podcast. We don’t meet Ruthie (Cyndi Lauper) until later but when we do, it’s hard not to love the heavily New York-accented private investigator.
With its blend of dark comedy, drama, and horror, The Horror of Dolores Roach masters the unexpected. An intense moment becomes comical, often turning into something disturbing or heartbreaking. Dolores’ bursts of violence and Luis’ cannibalistic disposal method result in some surprising gore. Hernandez accurately described the series as, “half body horror, half stoner comedy,” with his character taking on the role of weed connoisseur. Naturally, his frustratingly relaxed “everything’s chill, mami” attitude clashes with Dolores’ perfectly valid “I’m going back to jail” anxieties.
Close-up shots and sounds of bloody raw meat, sizzling empanadas, and hands kneading skin create a chilling atmosphere, an impressive accomplishment with the bright and lively Washington Heights. Siddhartha Khosla and Garrett Gonzales, both of whom worked on Only Murders in the Building, enhance and expand on that feeling by alternating somber Sweeney Todd-esque piano, suspense-building violin, and upbeat Latin music. The transition from an orchestral horror score to Daddy Yanky is a trip but an enjoyable one.
The Horror of Dolores Roach is a fascinating exploration of redemption, survival, systemic racism, and gentrification, with some murder, cannibalism, and power dynamics thrown into the mix. This exciting entry into the “good for her” horror sub-genre gives Only Murders in the Building meets Orange Is the New Black, along with its inspiration from Sweeney Todd. The series boasts a culturally diverse cast of talented actors led by Justina Machado and Alejandro Hernandez and their Emmy-worthy performances. The laughs and gasps are so addictive you’ll likely watch all eight episodes in one sitting.
The Horror of Dolores Roach premieres July 7, 2023, on Prime Video.
Aaron Mark’s (Random Unrelated Projects) dark, Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of a serial killing masseuse began in 2015, on the off-Broadway stage with the one-woman play Empanada Loca, starring Daphne Rubin-Vega (In the Heights). Three years later, the writer-creator-director turned it into a Spotify podcast called The Horror of Dolores Roach. Now in its third iteration, Mark and co-showrunner Dara Resnik (Home Before Dark) adapted the story into an eight-episode TV series for Prime Video and Blumhouse.
Dolores Roach (Justina Machado) has been through it. We meet her in 2019 as she’s leaving New York State, having served her 16-year prison sentence for possession with intent and assaulting an officer. Upon release, she takes the unpleasant journey back to her old neighborhood of Washington Heights. However, everything changed while she was away. New establishments line the streets, sidewalks are overrun with hipsters and rich moms, and drug dealers handle not-so-subtle transactions out in the open.
When she goes to her old apartment hoping to see her former boyfriend, Dominic, she finds a young couple occupying it. This overwhelming realization that she doesn’t have a home or anything familiar is just one of many anxiety-inducing sequences. There’s also the maddening fact that she spent almost two decades of her life in prison for marijuana, a drug so common that it’s nearly legal now. (Weed was illegal in New York until 2021.)
Wading through a sea of gentrifiers, Dolores recognizes Empanada Loca, where she finds the new owner Luis Batista (Alejandro Hernandez), a former customer and neighborhood friend who still harbors a mad crush on her. The two catch up over empanadas and weed, and he offers to let her crash in his apartment under the shop. When he finds out that she learned how to give excellent massages in prison, earning the nickname “Magic Hands,” Luis encourages her to put this acquired skill to good use and start her own business as an unlicensed masseuse. And despite only advertising her services on the back of a menu and operating out of a bedroom below an empanada shop, the customers start rolling in.
One of Dolores’ first clients is Luis’ disgruntled landlord Gideon Pearlman (Marc Maron), an older white man who’s the type to be so casually racist that it sets him off when he’s accused of being racist. As seen in the clip released by Prime Video, Pearlman rambles on about the burdens of his job, how he’s from a working-class family and therefore down with the struggle, and how generous he’s being about Luis’ late rent. Dolores tries to keep her cool because he has the power (and intent) to evict them. But he seals his fate when he feels her up.
Dolores’ post-murder mindset goes on a rollercoaster ride of emotions — relieved, exhausted, horrified, and kind of elated. However, she’s quick to accept her actions, immediately going into survival mode, and planning her next move. But her impromptu kill unknowingly helps the shop by providing Luis with Empanada Loca’s new ingredient.
The Horror of Dolores Roach could be a hilarious Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-type sitcom: an ex-con down on her luck trying to adapt to a new reality while she’s surrounded by eccentric New Yorkers. The tone has the coziness of a fun comedy with its collection of supporting characters. Nellie (Kita Updike, reprising her role from the podcast) is Luis’ one and only employee, often on her phone because business is slow. Then there’s the odd but good-natured delivery guy Jeremiah (K. Todd Freeman) and Caleb (Jeffrey Self), a somewhat stereotypical millennial with privilege and a podcast. We don’t meet Ruthie (Cyndi Lauper) until later but when we do, it’s hard not to love the heavily New York-accented private investigator.
With its blend of dark comedy, drama, and horror, The Horror of Dolores Roach masters the unexpected. An intense moment becomes comical, often turning into something disturbing or heartbreaking. Dolores’ bursts of violence and Luis’ cannibalistic disposal method result in some surprising gore. Hernandez accurately described the series as, “half body horror, half stoner comedy,” with his character taking on the role of weed connoisseur. Naturally, his frustratingly relaxed “everything’s chill, mami” attitude clashes with Dolores’ perfectly valid “I’m going back to jail” anxieties.
Close-up shots and sounds of bloody raw meat, sizzling empanadas, and hands kneading skin create a chilling atmosphere, an impressive accomplishment with the bright and lively Washington Heights. Siddhartha Khosla and Garrett Gonzales, both of whom worked on Only Murders in the Building, enhance and expand on that feeling by alternating somber Sweeney Todd-esque piano, suspense-building violin, and upbeat Latin music. The transition from an orchestral horror score to Daddy Yanky is a trip but an enjoyable one.
The Horror of Dolores Roach is a fascinating exploration of redemption, survival, systemic racism, and gentrification, with some murder, cannibalism, and power dynamics thrown into the mix. This exciting entry into the “good for her” horror sub-genre gives Only Murders in the Building meets Orange Is the New Black, along with its inspiration from Sweeney Todd. The series boasts a culturally diverse cast of talented actors led by Justina Machado and Alejandro Hernandez and their Emmy-worthy performances. The laughs and gasps are so addictive you’ll likely watch all eight episodes in one sitting.
The Horror of Dolores Roach premieres July 7, 2023, on Prime Video.
The dating advice Steve Harvey gave Keke Palmer about “trying to give a boy your lifestyle” has resurfaced amid the backlash her baby daddy is receiving for publicly criticizing her.
Keke’s boyfriend Darius Jackson has been trending on social media after he took to Twitter to criticize Palmer’s recent appearance at Usher’s Las Vegas residency where she was serenaded by the singer while wearing a revealing dress.
Usher serenades Keke Palmer
pic.twitter.com/xbMFlXu7FF
— RNB RADAR (@RNB_RADAR) July 5, 2023
Jackson has been under fire after sharing a tweet expressing his distaste for Palmer’s outfit since “you a mom.”
Keke Palmer’s boyfriend shames her for the outfit she wore to Usher concert:
“It's the outfit tho.. you a mom.” pic.twitter.com/ossVtYdfp1
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 5, 2023
Jackson doubled down on his stance in a follow-up tweet explaining why he doesn’t want the mother of his child showing “booty cheeks to please others.”
Keke Palmer shares photos of herself at the Usher concert after her boyfriend publicly shamed her for her outfit choice. pic.twitter.com/itlNaeJmkz
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 6, 2023
Palmer’s boyfriend, whom she welcomed her son Leodis Jackson with in February, hasn’t caught a break on social media among the many who are defending Palmer’s behavior, outfit, and response to her appearance at Usher’s residency.
Amid the backlash, social media has resurfaced the “Nope” star’s 2019 guest appearance on Steve Harvey’s former talk show, where the “Family Feud” host explained why he’s always trying to set Palmer up with “a billionaire.”
“Uncle Steve ain’t trying to get you with no billionaire. He’s trying to get you with somebody that has a plan to have something,” Harvey said.
“You need somebody with something,” he continued. “Quit trying to give a boy your lifestyle and he ain’t earned it.”
the whole debacle with the Usher, Keke Palmer & her jealous boyfriend/baby daddy reminds me of her when she flat put chuckled past Steve Harvey's attempts to get her with a worthwhile guy.
Now her lower earning bf is trying to control her like she claimed a wealthy man would. pic.twitter.com/NLYL3PlJ3P
— BijouxFleur (@BijouxFleurette) July 6, 2023
Palmer attempted to defend why she might choose to date someone with less money and even noted that she herself is no billionaire. However, Harvey told Palmer that she should pick a man who aspires to be one.
Now, amid the backlash Palmer’s boyfriend is receiving, many are accusing Jackson of being just the man Steve Harvey was trying to get Keke to avoid.
“I hate to agree with Steve Harvey of all people, but..” one user wrote.
“What you cannot hear, you must feel,” added someone else.
RELATED CONTENT: Keke Palmer Posts A ‘Classy Clap-back’ In Response To Her Partner’s Public Shaming
The internet is having a blast right now, speculating which upcoming high-profile summer movie is going to win its respective weekend. Will it be Christopher Nolan’s gritty WWII period piece/biopic Oppenheimer, or will it be Margot Robbie in hot pink in Barbie? The term “Barbenheimer” has already become a thing on social media. Are the studios out of their gourds releasing two such expensive movies on the same weekend? One will surely cannibalize the other’s box office, right? Well, not so fast. It wasn’t always like this.
Once upon a time, big Hollywood movies frequently opened on the same weekend. The hope was, if someone didn’t see the movie one weekend, they’d just see it the next. Or the next. Imagine that! Most listed here are from the ‘80s, if only because that was the last time Hollywood wasn’t so skittish about this practice. Now, it’s almost unheard of. For those worried that Oppenheimer and Barbie will cancel each other out, the films below proved two big movies can have the same opening weekend and go on to great success.
The Empire Strikes Back and The Shining (May 21, 23, 1980)
Of all the same weekend openers on this list, we dare say the first is maybe the most legendary. On Wednesday, May 21, 1980, The Empire Strikes Back, or “Star Wars II” as some folks called it then, was released on hundreds of screens nationwide. At the time, it was the most anticipated film ever made. Two days later, premiering on a mere ten screens in major cities, you could also catch Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. (It would get a larger rollout weeks later). Four decades later, both movies are considered titans of their genre, and among the greatest films ever made. Who doesn’t know “I am your father” or “Come play with us, Danny. Forever and ever?” They are both part of the cultural fabric.
If one was lucky enough to be in the right city in 1980 that weekend, they simply could have had the best day at the movies ever. Interestingly, a few other fun facts tie Empire and Kubrick’s Stephen King adaptation together. Kubrick repurposed most of the fake snow used for The Shining from the Hoth set from Empire. They shot both films at Elstree Studios in the UK, and a fire on The Shining set delayed shooting on Empire for weeks. Although Empire was the clear box office winner, The Shining did respectable business for an ’80s horror movie. Today, one can make the argument that these are two of the most memed movies ever.
Poltergeist and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (June 4, 1982)
1982 was a banner year for nerd cinema. It’s perhaps the greatest geek movie year of all time. And here are two perfect examples as to why. On the weekend of June 4, 1982, you could go to the movies and take your pick of two stone-cold classics — Tobe Hooper’s suburban haunted house thrill ride Poltergeist, and Nicholas Meyer’s space opera Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Both the Star Trek sequel and the PG-rated scare-fest were big-budget, special effects extravaganzas, aimed at the same target demographic. Today, no studio would ever think of pitting them up against each other, for fear one would inevitably fail as audiences could only choose one. But both movies did incredible business, with neither one hurting the other’s box office.
Blade Runner and The Thing (June 25, 1982)
Hey, remember how we just said that 1982 was a banner year for geek cinema? And how Poltergeist and Star Trek II went on to great success financially even though they opened on the same day? Well, we can’t say the same for these two iconic films from the same month in the same year — John Carpenter’s The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Both of them hit theaters on June 25, 1982. And at least at first, both landed with a giant thud.
In this case, it wasn’t one movie that killed the other at the box office. It was Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, which opened two weekends before and absolutely crushed them both. Today, most consider both of these sci-fi films among the greatest of their genre, but in 1982, average moviegoers wanted cute and cuddly sci-fi, and not anything too bleak or dystopian. Something that both Blade Runner and The Thing very much were. History has been very kind to both films since, however. Box office, shmox office.
Ghostbusters and Gremlins (June 8, 1984)
If you were an ‘80s kid, and you happened to see these two films opening day, then this weekend might have formed an essential core memory for you. On June 8, 1984, Columbia Pictures released the horror-comedy Ghostbusters, while Warner Bros. released their own horror-comedy, the Steven Spielberg-produced Gremlins. Both films were absolutely massive at the box office, playing for months and months. And both movies also sold a ton of merchandise to kids (and adults) everywhere.
Ghostbusters was ultimately the bigger hit, topping the box office for six straight weeks. The comedic power of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis could not be slowed down in 1984. And it had a very catchy theme song on the radio playing 24/7. But on opening weekend, Gremlins was only #2 at the box office by a (Mogwai) hair, and also had an incredible run. To this day, both movies remain iconic, symbolic of their era. Ultimately, opening on the same day didn’t hurt either film one bit. To put it simply ‘twas a different time.
Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (June 23, 1989)
The lead-up and hype for 1989’s Batman was something never seen before in Hollywood. In the summer of ’89, the Bat symbol was everywhere, one of the shrewdest pieces of movie marketing of all time. Many pundits thought that any movie to go against Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Keaton’s Caped Crusader was foolish to try. But Disney decided to release their Rick Moranis family sci-fi comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids on the same weekend anyway, and it was a gamble that paid off.
Batman might have sucked all the air out of the room that summer, steamrolling through box office records, but Disney’s little movie (pun intended) went on to make $222 million. It later received two more sequels, a TV series, and a long-running Disney Parks attraction. Not to mention, it became a Disney Channel staple and a favorite of Millennial kids. Despite its success, for much of the next decade, two big tent pole movies rarely opened on the same day in the following decades. But, there were a handful of exceptions to that rule. But Batman and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids felt like the end of an era.
The Matrix and 10 Things I Hate About You (March 31, 1999)
Back in the spring of 1999, no one saw The Matrix coming. The last cyberpunk movie starring Keanu Reeves, Johnny Mnemonic, had tanked. Besides, the summer of ’99 was only going to be all about The Phantom Menace, right? Well, the Wachowski siblings’ innovative sci-fi action flick blew the collective minds of everyone, and it was a big hit with critics and audiences. Regardless of one’s feelings about its subsequent three sequels, the original film has stood the test of time. But few recall that another iconic movie of a different genre had the same release date.
Teen comedies were also all the rage as well in the late ‘90s, and on the very same weekend, the rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You hit theaters. Starring teen faves like Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it introduced America to Heath Ledger. Back then, Ledger was viewed as just another teen heartthrob, no one knew he’d become an acting powerhouse. Even with The Matrix being an unknown quantity, most still expected a sci-fi action movie to crush 10 Things. But the film found long-term success, especially with teen Millennials. And Neo dodging bullets in the adjacent movie screen didn’t dent Heath Ledger’s appeal to teen moviegoers at all.
The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! (July 18, 2008)
The Oppenheimer/Barbie fight is not the first time Christopher Nolan has found himself in this position. Back in 2008, his much-hyped follow-up to Batman Begins hit theaters, and was the talk of that entire summer. Meanwhile, in a shrewd bit of old-school counter-programming, Universal opened their adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Mamma Mia!, hoping female audiences not as into men in tights punching each other would flock to hear ABBA tunes in wondrous AC comfort.
This particular strategy paid off; Mamma Mia! was an enormous crowd-pleasing hit. And it very nearly outmatched the overseas grosses for The Dark Knight, which we all know went on to be one of the biggest films ever made. This was perhaps the last time two such high-profile movies attempted to launch on the same weekend. And it’s now been 15 years. Can history repeat itself, and allow both Oppenheimer and Barbie to find box office gold? We’ll find out soon.
Barbie and Oppenheimer open on July 21.
The post Like BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER, These Iconic Movies Opened the Same Weekend appeared first on Nerdist.