The Chaperone (2018)

IMDb plot summary: In the early 1920s, a Kansas woman finds her life forever changed when she accompanies a young dancer on her fame-seeking journey to New York City.

Directed by Michael Engler. Stars Elizabeth McGovern, Haley Lu Richardson, and Géza Röhrig.

The Chaperone tells the story of a conservative Kansas woman who agrees to accompany teenage Louise Brooks to New York City in the 1920s, just before Brooks becomes a silent film icon. It’s a great premise about an actress I don't know much about, and seeing the two women at the opposite ends of repression and rebellion should have been interesting, but it's more interesting in concept than in execution. Elizabeth McGovern plays the chaperone as oddly wooden and restrained, even for the character, and as a result never quite sells her emotional transformation. Haley Lu Richardson as Brooks, however, has a lively, magnetic presence which keeps the film interesting and does in fact make me want to go watch more films from the actual Louise Brooks. But overall, The Chaperone plays it too safe, muddling its story with awkward side plots and an arc for McGovern that just doesn't work. It tries to make statements about liberation but stays disappointingly restrained.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 The Chaperone (2019)

📊 Ranked #2969/4075 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 27

lost to Meet John Doe (#2034 → #2044)

beat Unbroken (#3052 → #3069)

lost to Onibaba (#2542 → #2560)

lost to The Good Dinosaur (#2796 → #2494)

lost to Splash (#2923 → #2707)

beat The Illusionist (#2986 → #2995)

beat Luther (#2954 → #3024)

lost to Doctor Zhivago (#2938 → #2854)

lost to Obvious Child (#2946 → #2942)

beat Nightmare Alley (#2950 → #2979)

beat The Double Life of Véronique (#2948 → #2963)

beat Solo: A Star Wars Story (#2947 → #2971)

Unpregnant (2020)

IMDb plot summary: A 17-year old Missouri teen named Veronica discovers she has gotten pregnant, a development that threatens to end her dreams of matriculating at an Ivy League college, and the career that will follow.

Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg. Stars Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Unpregnant follows a teenager girl who discovers she’s pregnant and sets off on a road trip with her former best friend to get an abortion in another state, since she can’t legally do it at home. This is almost an identical plot to Plan B, a personal favorite released a year later. Unpregnant, though, is less funny and more earnest, and its heart is in the right place, even if I feel consciously when its humor doesn’t land. There’s one genuinely hilarious sequence involving a nightmare pro-life family who essentially kidnap the girls to stop them from reaching their destination, but the rest of the film leans heavily on sincerity, and the tonal shift of the wacky middle of the film is interesting but jarring. Our two female leads, Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira, are charismatic, with Ferreira especially standing out. (After seeing her in this and Bob Trevino Likes It, she’s clearly someone to watch.) Beyond the strong leads, though, Unpregnant is pleasant but ultimately forgettable.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Unpregnant (2020)

📊 Ranked #1778/4074 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 56

beat The King and I (#2033 → #2057)

lost to Steamboy (#1015 → #1014)

lost to Muppet Treasure Island (held at #1522)

beat Another Earth (#1779 → #1792)

lost to Winnie the Pooh (#1650 → #1649)

beat Allegiance (#1713 → #1720)

beat Brick (#1681 → #1718)

beat Cropsey (#1665 → #2078)

beat Pulp Fiction (#1657 → #2340)

lost to Swing Shift (#1653 → #1604)

lost to Bedknobs and Broomsticks (#1655 → #1646)

lost to The Revenant (#1656 → #1655)

Bob Trevino Likes It (2024)

IMDb plot summary: When lonely 20-something Lily Trevino accidentally befriends a stranger online who shares the same name as her own self-centered father, encouragement and support from this new Bob Trevino could change her life.

Directed by Tracie Laymon. Stars Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo, and French Stewart.

Bob Trevino Likes It is a heartfelt dramedy about a young woman (played by Barbie Ferreira) who ends up connecting on social media with a man who shares the same name as her neglectful father. This stranger, played by John Leguizamo, is warm and paternal and everything she wants from her own father, and the two develop an unconventional bond. This film was a wonderful, weird surprise. What could have been a quirky gimmick turns into something funny, tender, and deeply human. Ferreira was brand new to me as an actress, but she's fantastic here -- sharp, relatable, and vulnerable in all the right ways. The film isn’t afraid to linger in awkwardness, letting its characters stumble, say the wrong things, and still reach each other, but it never feels like it's reveling in the cringe. The ending will have to sit with me. It didn't go where I thought it would and my first thought is that it's a little unearned, but the strong acting performances might just make it work. Honestly, sometimes you just want to see people heal, and this film gives me that without leaning too hard into sentimentality. It's absolutely worth watching.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Bob Trevino Likes It (2025)

📊 Ranked #310/4073 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 93

beat Space Pirate Captain Harlock (#2039 → #2048)

beat Top Secret! (#1110 → #1111)

beat The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (held at #518)

lost to Frozen (#252 → #250)

beat Adaptation. (#379 → #387)

lost to 50/50 (#315 → #324)

beat Spirited Away (#348 → #341)

beat WarGames (#332 → #339)

lost to Eighth Grade (#324 → #319)

lost to Black Narcissus (#327 → #306)

lost to Requiem for a Dream (#330 → #309)

beat Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#331 → #354)