Culture Index: ‘Baby Driver,’ ‘You Must Remember This’ and More
Sure, July 4th week is a time for grilling and drinking and generally having fun in the sun, but maybe you want to get away and read a comedy of manners set in India or watch a really good car chase movie with a perfect soundtrack.
Of course you do. Fireworks and hot dogs are great and all, but with the biography out on an American music icon, two of the funniest people on the planet in a new comedy together and one of the best podcasts around returning, you have options. That’s all we’re saying.
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‘The Windfall’ by Diksha Basu
How do you fit in among the rich and classy in New Delhi’s better side of town? Diksha Basu explores that in this fun and heartfelt comedy of manners, which looks at the ups and downs of upward mobility, the things you gain and what you leave behind.
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‘Pitch Perfect 3’ Trailer
Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Anna Kendrick and crew are back as the Barden Bellas. They’re trying to make it in the real world, where things don’t seem to be going so well. So what do they do? They decide to sing together again! Because what else would they do? Hijinks, of course, ensue and this preview will only have you considering a mini Pitch Perfect marathon to ready yourself for the next installment, out in December.
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‘The House’
When somebody tells you that Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler (along with a very funny supporting cast that includes Nick Kroll and Jason Mantzoukas) star in a new comedy in which their characters open an illegal casino in their basement as a get-rich-quick scheme, there’s only one appropriate response: “I already have my ticket.”
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‘The Words That Built America’
If you’re looking to get into the patriotic spirit, HBO has you covered. Directed and produced by Alexandra Pelosi, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough narrates The Words that Built America, in which the writings of America’s founding fathers are read by former presidents, celebrities and members of the government.
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‘Baby Driver’
As David Fear put it, Baby Driver is “Edgar Wright’s singular take on Seventies existential-cool crime movies and post-iPod music obsessiveness.” The film, which earned three and a half stars from Rolling Stone, is really everything you never thought you wanted from a sleek, cool crime thriller featuring lots of cars going very fast.
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‘Queen of Bebop’ by Elaine M. Hayes
Sarah Vaughan is one of those names that you hear, and maybe know she was a singer, but that’s about it. She was, in fact, a pivotal force in American music who helped move things in a different direction in the post-war era. Until now, however, the story of this icon has been mostly untold. In this rich and vivid biography, Elaine M. Hayes pays Vaughn the proper tribute she has deserved for far too long.
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‘You Must Remember This’
Honey-voiced film critic and historian Karina Longworth’s peerless podcast is back with a new season which promises to be the series’ most creative and thoughtful deep-dive yet. In “Jean & Jane,” Longworth explores a symbolic sisterhood between the late Jean Seberg (Breathless) and Jane Fonda. The somewhat forgotten Seberg took her own life in 1979 while Fonda continues to flourish today in her sixth decade as a screen icon – but, as Longworth explains, the two women shared remarkably similar experiences in their personal, professional and political lives in the Sixties and Seventies. (For a primer, check out our recent Q&A with Longworth.)