Editor-approved beauty products: A tried-and-true cuticle oil, viral gel blush, more

  • Share this —

Health & Wellness

  • Watch Full Episodes
  • Read With Jenna
  • Inspirational
  • Relationships
  • TODAY Table
  • Newsletters
  • Start TODAY
  • Shop TODAY Awards
  • Citi Concert Series
  • Listen All Day

Follow today

More Brands

  • On The Show
  • TODAY Plaza

The latest movie news. Interviews with celebrities, movie trailers, movie reviews and more.

scary horror movies

83 scary horror movies that deliver the ultimate fright night

Prepare to sleep with the lights on and check under the bed after watching these terrifying thrillers.

Ryan Reynolds honors Hugh Jackman in surprisingly sentimental birthday tribute

Deadpool & Wolverine World Premiere

Martha Stewart dishes on ‘cookie-cutter life,’ felony conviction in new documentary

Martha Stewart

Shirtless Chad Michael Murray to star in Christmas Netflix rom-com

Chad Michael Murray as Luke and Hector David Jr. as Ricky in "The Merry Gentlemen."

Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor talk Broadway debuts in 'Romeo + Juliet'

Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor talk Broadway debuts in 'Romeo + Juliet'

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reunite for 30th anniversary of 'Speed'

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in "Speed."

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Wicked’ tickets go on sale today! What to know

Wicket

'It's What's Inside' ending: Cast weighs in on that twist and sequel possibilities

It's What's Inside

How much did 'Joker: Folie à Deux' make at the box office?

Joker: Folie A Deux

Why is 'Joker 2' being ridiculed online? See what fans have to say

Dune, Joker Folie à Deux

Fans are divided about ending of ‘Joker 2’ — what happened?

Anne hathaway confirms 'princess diaries 3': see her announcement.

THE PRINCESS DIARIES. Year: 2001.  Stars: JULIE ANDREWS; ANNE HATHAWAY.

  • Skip to main content
  • Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Movie Reviews

  • Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Newsletter

Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney play single parents trying to get through a very busy day in New York in One Fine Day.

Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney play single parents trying to get through a very busy day in New York in One Fine Day. 20th Century Fox/Alamy hide caption

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's an a+ idea to watch a b-list '90s romantic comedy this weekend.

October 12, 2024 • Maybe you rented them from Blockbuster on VHS, or maybe you're seeing them for the first time — but there was an age when nearly every movie actor took a swing at romantic comedy. And it was glorious.

Is 'Saturday Night' ready for prime time?

Nicholas Braun plays Andy Kaufman in Saturday Night . Hopper Stone/Sony Pictures hide caption

Is 'Saturday Night' ready for prime time?

October 11, 2024 • The new film Saturday Night attempts to capture the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the very first broadcast of Saturday Night Live . Untried producer Lorne Michaels (played by Gabriel LaBelle) and his cast of complete unknowns prepare to make television history. At the same time, network suits breathe down their necks, and just about everything that can go wrong does.

In 'A Different Man', Sebastian Stan gets a new life, but misses his old one

Sebastian Stan in A Different Man. A24 hide caption

In 'A Different Man', Sebastian Stan gets a new life, but misses his old one

October 7, 2024 • The off-beat psycho dramedy A Different Man follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor living with facial disfigurement. He takes an opportunity to try a new procedure and reconstruct his appearance. But then, he encounters a guy with the same condition he once had, and who lives a fun, fulfilling life. To put it mildly, Edward now has some regrets.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney play competing Hollywood

Brad Pitt and George Clooney play competing Hollywood "fixers" in the Apple TV+ film Wolfs . Apple TV+ hide caption

Brad Pitt and George Clooney are perfectly cast as two old pros in 'Wolfs'

October 4, 2024 • Pitt and Clooney play competing Hollywood "fixers" in this Apple TV+ film. The movie feels lazy and low-key, but these charismatic actors deftly deliver mocking silences and barbed asides.

'Joker: Folie à Deux' is much a deux about nothing

Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie A Deux. Warner Bros. Studios hide caption

'Joker: Folie à Deux' is much a deux about nothing

October 4, 2024 • The new film Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to 2019's Joker , which won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. This new film is a courtroom drama and a romance tossed into a musical blender set to liquefy, as the Joker goes on trial for the murders he committed in the last film and falls in love with a groupie played by Lady Gaga.

'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings

Lupita Nyong'o voices Roz in The Wild Robot. Dreamworks hide caption

'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings

October 2, 2024 • The Wild Robot is a gorgeous and moving new animated movie from Dreamworks. It follows a helper robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) who washes up on the beach of a remote island and learns to blend in with the wildlife. After an accident, Roz unexpectedly finds herself the caregiver of a baby gosling named Brightbill (Kit O'Connor) Soon, it's learning lessons about parenthood and sacrifice while teaching the animals to work together.

'Megalopolis' is a sprawling megalopo-mess

Adam Driver in Megalopolis. Courtesy of Lionsgate hide caption

'Megalopolis' is a sprawling megalopo-mess

September 27, 2024 • Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary filmmaker behind The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now , is back with his first new film in over a decade. It reimagines the fall of Rome through a futuristic American city, and has a lot of big and messy ideas about time and the fate of humanity. It's also jam-packed with stars like Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza. We try to make sense of it all.

Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero and Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in Megalopolis. Photo Credit:

Nathalie Emmanuel and Adam Driver star as Julia and Cesar in Megalopolis . Lionsgate hide caption

Whatever you’ve heard about 'Megalopolis,' see this gutsy Coppola film for yourself

September 26, 2024 • Francis Ford Coppola's epic draws parallels between the U.S. and ancient Rome. Forty-some years in the making, it's got wild sex, startling violence, horse-drawn chariots and even nightclub unicorns.

Megalopolis

The host of a TV fitness show tries to defy aging in The Substance.

The host of a TV fitness show tries to defy aging in The Substance. Metropolitan Films hide caption

See 'The Substance' and 'A Different Man' together for a major makeover meditation

September 26, 2024 • Two new films seem to be in dialogue: In The Substance , Demi Moore is a Hollywood star chasing eternal youth. The dark comedy A Different Man centers on a New Yorker with a rare genetic condition.

'His Three Daughters' puts three acting dynamos in one apartment

Natasha Lyonne in His Three Daughters. Netflix hide caption

'His Three Daughters' puts three acting dynamos in one apartment

September 26, 2024 • Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, and Natasha Lyonne are often the best thing about their projects, and they're all together in the moving new Netflix film His Three Daughters . They play three sisters who are odds with one another, but must gather in their father's apartment when he's dying. As his illness progresses, their own sibling relationships are tested.

Demi Moore's 'The Substance' will get under your skin

Demi Moore in The Substance. Christine Tamalet/MUBI hide caption

Demi Moore's 'The Substance' will get under your skin

September 23, 2024 • The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor desperate to stay in the spotlight. She learns of a mysterious drug she can inject that causes another, younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. They must switch back and forth or very bad bloody things will happen.

'Transformers One' is an animated origin story with a light touch

Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax/Optimus Prime in Transformers One. Paramount Pictures hide caption

'Transformers One' is an animated origin story with a light touch

September 20, 2024 • The Transformers franchise has been around for decades, and it's brought us many toys, TV shows and movies. Now, in the new animated film Transformers One , the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron finally gets told. With a voice cast that includes Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, the movie hopes to offer a fresh entry point for the long-running franchise.

The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

Maisy Stella as Elliott in My Old Ass. Marni Grossman/Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

September 19, 2024 • What would you do if you met your future self, who's a couple of decades older and maybe a little wiser? Would you freak out? In the delightful new movie My Old Ass , a teenager named Elliott (Maisy Stella) faces this very scenario. Her older self is played by Aubrey Plaza, and she's got some advice to impart. But her younger self may or may not take it.

Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance.

Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance. Christine Tamalet hide caption

‘The Substance’ is imaginary, but feminine self-hatred is real in this body horror

September 18, 2024 • In The Substance , Demi Moore plays an aerobics TV star who turns 50 and is promptly ousted from her gig in Hollywood. She and Margaret Qualley duke it out in this excruciating body horror tale.

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

Colin Farrell in The Penguin . Macall Polay/HBO hide caption

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

September 18, 2024 • Fall is beginning, and it's the perfect time to talk about all the great things we're excited to watch and listen to between now and the end of the year. Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are looking forward to this fall.

Casa Bonita opened Lakewood, Colo., in 1974.

¡Casa Bonita, Mi Amor! follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they renovate a dilapidated, inauthentic, 1970s Mexican restaurant. The labor of love becomes a money-pit as they chase the landmark's former glory. Paramount hide caption

'South Park' creators renovate a beloved restaurant, and find nostalgia is pricey

September 16, 2024 • A new film follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they renovate a dilapidated, inauthentic, 1970s Mexican restaurant. The labor of love becomes a money-pit as they chase the landmark's former glory.

Parker & Stone

Natasha Lyonne, left, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon playsisters who come together in the final days of their father's life in His Three Daughters.

Natasha Lyonne, left, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon play sisters who come together in the final days of their father's life in His Three Daughters. Sam Levy/Netflix hide caption

A dying father brings 'His Three Daughters' together, in a sharply written film

September 13, 2024 • Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon play estranged sisters saying farewell to their terminally ill dad. It's a familiar plot, but writer-director Azazel Jacobs manages to sidesteps cliché.

Never visit James McAvoy's house, and other lessons of 'Speak No Evil'

James McAvoy in Speak No Evil . Susie Allnutt/Universal Studios hide caption

Never visit James McAvoy's house, and other lessons of 'Speak No Evil'

September 13, 2024 • Never visit your weird new friends at their enormous isolated country estate. That's a basic rule that an American family fails to follow in the new horror thriller Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy. By the time they figure out they are in way over their heads, it's much much too late.

Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza in My Old Ass.

Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza in My Old Ass . Marni Grossman/Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

A teen meets her middle-aged self in 'My Old Ass' and finds hindsight isn't 20/20

September 11, 2024 • Imagine camping out in the woods, taking mushrooms, and meeting your future self ... played by Aubrey Plaza. That's what happens to 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) in this charming, quirky comedy.

'Rebel Ridge' serves up revenge with restraint

Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge. Allyson Rigg/Netflix hide caption

'Rebel Ridge' serves up revenge with restraint

September 11, 2024 • In Netflix's new film Rebel Ridge , Aaron Pierre plays Terry, a young Black man who enters a small Southern town to post bail for his cousin. But when the local cops seize his money, he faces off against the corrupt chief of police (Don Johnson). Things escalate, and soon he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that threatens his life.

Strong performances highlight the scary (and funny) 'The Front Room'

Brandy Norwood in The Front Room . A24 hide caption

Strong performances highlight the scary (and funny) 'The Front Room'

September 10, 2024 • Maybe you think you've seen every scary mother-in-law fiction has to offer — you absolutely haven't. In the new movie The Front Room , a pregnant woman (Brandy Norwood) allows her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) to move in. In a film that's part creepy and part very darkly funny, the two women square off for control of the house and the child on the way.

Turns out Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) hasn't changed much in 30-odd years — he's less of a villain, but still a pain in the neck.

Turns out Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) hasn't changed much in 30-odd years — he's less of a villain, but still a pain in the neck. Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

Beetlejuice is back, in a supernatural screwball sequel

September 6, 2024 • Director Tim Burton seems more interested in updating than duplicating his 1988 hit. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice demonstrates affection for the characters and genuine curiosity in how they’re doing now.

Clockwise from left: Wicked, Here, Emilia Pérez, A Real Pain, Piece by Piece and Blitz.

Clockwise from left: Wicked, Here, Emilia Pérez, A Real Pain, Piece by Piece and Blitz. Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Shanna Besson/Pathé, Searchlight Pictures and Apple TV+ hide caption

Here are 25 movies we can't wait to watch this fall

September 6, 2024 • Here are the new releases coming your way between now and Thanksgiving — we've got award contenders, goofy comedies, a smattering of romance, plenty of anti-heroes, and a musical documentary in LEGOs.

an image, when javascript is unavailable

‘Joy’ Review: Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy Fight the System to Pioneer IVF in a Crowd-Pleasing Medical Biopic

Scripted by Jack Thorne, Ben Taylor's debut feature centers uplift over anguish in its dramatization of the decade-long struggle to deliver the world's first in-vitro baby.

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

  • ‘Joy’ Review: Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy Fight the System to Pioneer IVF in a Crowd-Pleasing Medical Biopic 12 hours ago
  • Isabelle Huppert, 2024’s Lumière Award Winner: An Appreciation 3 days ago
  • ‘In Her Place’ Review: A Murder Case Awakens a Woman’s Independence in Chile’s Oscar Entry 7 days ago

Joy

Related Stories

Netflix-advertising

The Talent Compensation Question Hanging Over Netflix Earnings

shakira-video

Shakira Gathers Anitta, Danna Paola, Bizarrap and More for a Night of Partying in 'Soltera' Video

Popular on variety.

They need an obstetrician on board: Enter crotchety but kind-hearted Patrick Steptoe (a typically, elegantly droll Bill Nighy ), resident at a shabby, underfunded hospital further north in Oldham, who isn’t afraid to stand up to skeptical gatekeepers in the medical world. Such brazenness is essential at a time when the very idea of conceiving a child outside the womb is regarded as a kind of crime against nature by much of the British public, egged on by the twin forces of church and tabloid media — the latter quick to dub Edwards “Dr. Frankenstein” once news breaks of his research.

On discovering what her daughter is really working on, Purdy’s conservative mother Gladys (Joanna Scanlan) is sufficiently scandalized to bar her from the family home. A sketchily drawn romance with sweet, dorky junior doctor Arun (Rish Shah) teases the possibility of domestic bliss, but Purdy resists, sensing no nuclear family in her future, even as her team inches toward a miraculous medical breakthrough.

“Joy” errs on the side of coziness in its opening stretches, locating a seam of gentle comedy in the personality conflicts between ingenuous Purdy, well-meaningly gauche Edwards and world-weary Steptoe as they find their working dynamic, and filling the soundtrack with upbeat pop-soul cuts from the era. Jamie Cairney’s lensing is soft and sun-warmed, give or take the drear of Greater Manchester, while even Sinéad Kidao tweedy period costuming is comfortingly snuggly.

That jauntiness dissipates as the project runs into various disheartening roadblocks of denied funding and failed trials, though “Joy” still cushions the human devastation at play here. It’s only glancingly attentive to the inner lives of the childless women — collectively calling themselves “The Ovum Club” — undergoing this experimental treatment, having been warned that they’re likelier to pave the way for others than to become mothers themselves. Early in the process, Purdy is criticized by one of these hopefuls for treating them “like cattle,” and adjusts her bedside manner accordingly. Edwards, too, is admonished by a colleague for speaking of women as if they’re test animals, before later proving his deeper attachment with a complete recital of their names.

Yet similar charges can be leveled at “Joy,” which is overly cursory in its treatment of these vulnerable lives — one mentions being a victim of domestic abuse and is never revisited, another is permitted a brief, stoic reaction shot to news of an ectopic pregnancy — but aims for collective catharsis as Purdy gathers them for one spirit-lifting montage of beachside revelry. Even Lesley Brown (Ella Bruccoleri), history’s first mother by IVF, is oddly shortchanged by the film, given not so much as a waking moment on screen after a climactic and duly eye-moistening birth sequence: One can’t help but wonder if a female director and screenwriter might have made some rather different choices.

A bookending voiceover by Norton’s Edwards lobbies for the addition of Purdy’s name to the memorial plaque marking the first IVF birth at Oldham Hospital, stressing the valid point that medical history isn’t made by doctors alone. “Joy” echoes the good work of the plaque in elevating a woman’s name to the status of her male colleagues and contemporaries. The lost life behind that name remains a little harder to read.

Reviewed at London Film Festival (Gala), Oct. 15, 2024. Running time: 113 MIN.

  • Production: (U.K.) A Netflix presentation of a Wildgaze, Pathé production. Producers: Fionala Dwyer, Amanda Posey. Executive producer: Cameron McCracken.
  • Crew: Director: Ben Taylor. Screenplay: Jack Thorne, from a story by Emma Gordon, Rachel Mason, Shaun Topp. Camera: Jamie Cairney.
  • With: Thomas McKenzie, Bill Nighy, James Norton, Joanna Scanlan, Tanya Moodie, Rish Shah, Ella Bruccoleri, Douggie McMeekin, Cecily Cleeve.

More from Variety

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Moves to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Prime Video Ads: Company ‘Never Promised’ Service Would Be ‘Ad-Free’

The YouTube logo wrapped inbetween the Netflix logo

How YouTube and Netflix Copied Each Other’s Homework

Counting Miracles movie

Nicholas Sparks’ ‘Counting Miracles’ Film Adaptation Set at Amazon Starring ‘Reacher’ Lead Alan Ritchson (EXCLUSIVE)

MrBeast Amazon Prime Video Reality Show

MrBeast, Amazon Sued by Contestants on ‘Beast Games’ Competition Show, With Allegations Including Sexual Harassment and ‘Chronic Mistreatment’

Illustration of a play button with multiple promotional catchphrases in the background

The Time Bomb Ticking Beneath the CTV Advertising Boom

Oura Ring Horizon, Smart Ring

Oura Ring Is on Sale for the Lowest Price We’ve Ever Seen for Prime Day

More from our brands, watch kesha join charli xcx for ‘spring breakers’ at los angeles show.

movie reviews on today show

Robb Report’s Napa Valley Wine Club Has 3 Stellar New Cabernet Sauvignons on the Way

movie reviews on today show

Tom Brady Raiders Stake Approved by NFL Owners in Vote

movie reviews on today show

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

movie reviews on today show

Does FBI: International Have a New Fly Team Leader? Grade Jesse Lee Soffer’s Debut in Season 4 Premiere

movie reviews on today show

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Rotten Tomatoes Newsletter

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

  • Upcoming Movies and TV shows
  • Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
  • Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

  • About Rotten Tomatoes®
  • Login/signup

movie reviews on today show

Movies in theaters

  • Opening This Week
  • Top Box Office
  • Coming Soon to Theaters
  • Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

  • Fandango at Home
  • Prime Video
  • Most Popular Streaming Movies
  • What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

  • 81% Piece By Piece Link to Piece By Piece
  • 74% Terrifier 3 Link to Terrifier 3
  • 79% The Apprentice Link to The Apprentice

New TV Tonight

  • 92% Rivals: Season 1
  • 94% Shrinking: Season 2
  • -- Hysteria!: Season 1
  • -- Happy's Place: Season 1
  • -- American Horror Stories: Season 3
  • -- Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage: Season 1
  • -- The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 3
  • -- Tracker: Season 2
  • -- The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

  • 94% The Penguin: Season 1
  • 83% Agatha All Along: Season 1
  • 78% Disclaimer: Season 1
  • 88% Sweetpea: Season 1
  • 76% Teacup: Season 1
  • 94% Nobody Wants This: Season 1
  • 100% From: Season 3
  • 100% Outer Banks: Season 4
  • -- Deceitful Love: Season 1
  • Best TV Shows
  • Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

  • 88% La Máquina: Season 1 Link to La Máquina: Season 1
  • All-Time Lists
  • Binge Guide
  • Comics on TV
  • Five Favorite Films
  • Video Interviews
  • Weekend Box Office
  • Weekly Ketchup
  • What to Watch

Best New Rom-Coms and Romance Movies

58 Best Basketball Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Vote in the Final Round of the 1994 Movie Showdown

TV Premiere Dates 2024

  • Trending on RT
  • Spooky Season
  • Free Movies on Tubi
  • TV Premiere Dates
  • Halloween Programming Guide

Where to Watch

Rent Here Today on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Here Today 's well-matched stars share an infectious chemistry that's almost enough to overcome a frequently mushy mix of comedy and drama.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll love the way Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish bring Here Today 's sensitive, meaningful story to life.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Billy Crystal

Charlie Burnz

Tiffany Haddish

Penn Badgley

Laura Benanti

Louisa Krause

Movie Clips

More like this.

movie reviews on today show

Charlie Berns, played by director and co-writer Billy Crystal , is a writer who is so well known for being funny that when his behavior is a little off, everyone thinks he is doing a bit. On stage with Barry Levinson , Sharon Stone , and Kevin Kline , all playing themselves as stars of a fictitious Berns-scripted movie classic celebrating an anniversary, Berns gets disoriented and forgets the names of the other people on the panel. The audience laughs appreciatively; what a cut-up! Stone good-naturedly reminds him: “I’m Meryl Streep .” Another laugh. That Charlie!

Charlie’s daughter Francine (Broadway star Laura Benanti ) is not amused. She thinks he must be drunk or that he does not care enough about her to respond to the invitation to her daughter’s bat mitzvah. And his colleagues at a “Saturday Night Live”-style late night sketch comedy show just think it’s a quirky eccentricity that he insists on a typewriter instead of a computer. 

But Charlie is in the early stages of dementia. He is lonely and he is scared. He holds onto what he can: his routine, as he walks to his job reciting, “Turn left at the stop sign,” and the one thing that he has always been able to count on—Charlie is funny. He may not come up with sketch ideas, but he can spot the weaknesses in other people’s ideas and make them better, and he also can spot the talent in a shy new writer who just needs a little bit of support. There is nothing funny about losing the core of himself, his memories, his ability to come up with fast, witty comebacks. And so, the only one who knows what is going on is his doctor ( Anna Deavere Smith , every bit the warm, dedicated health care professional we all wish for).

Lunch with Charlie was raffled off at a charity fundraiser, and Charlie is looking forward to spending time with someone who was interested enough to bid on him. But the person who shows up is Emma ( Tiffany Haddish ), who has no idea who he is. She’s only there to spite her ex, who was the one who bid just $22 to meet Charlie. And to order a gigantic seafood platter, which immediately triggers an allergic reaction requiring an emergency trip to the hospital. Charlie pays for everything and Emma promises to pay him back. But as they keep seeing each other, they find an easy connection. Having no preconception of who Charlie was allows Emma to see his struggle. And being with someone who knows the truth helps Charlie begin to accept it, and to resolve some issues with his family (how his son got the name “Rex” is a lot of fun) while he still can. 

Crystal largely avoids the pitfalls of a movie about friends of different races. Emma is not a  Magical Negro  and Charlie is not a  White Savior . They are not there to teach each other important life lessons or help each other overcome obstacles. They are just good people who get along well. The easy chemistry between the characters reflects the real-life friendship of the two stars and it is clear to see that like Emma and Charlie, Haddish and Crystal get a kick out of each other. Indeed, they get so much of a kick out of each other that Crystal the director was too reluctant to cut their scenes, which impairs the pacing. It would work better with a shorter running time, with some scenes as DVD extras. This is a particular problem in the parts of the movie where we are supposed to see how funny Charlie is. The material for the sketch comedy show in the film is not as funny as the movie needs them to be. 

Crystal wrote the script with former “Saturday Night Live” writer Alan Zweibel , who also co-wrote “ North ,” the film based on Zweibel’s book that led to Roger Ebert’s legendary review: “I hated hated hated hated hated this movie.” No one would say that about this film. I liked liked liked it, but that I wish they’d had someone like Charlie to sharpen the script.

Now playing in theaters.

movie reviews on today show

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

movie reviews on today show

  • Billy Crystal as Charlie Berns
  • Penn Badgley as Rex
  • Tiffany Haddish as Emma Payge
  • Laura Benanti as Francine
  • Louisa Krause as Carrie
  • Sharon Stone as Sharon Stone
  • Kevin Kline as Kevin Kline
  • Alan Zweibel
  • Billy Crystal

Writer (short story The Prize)

  • Charlie Rosen

Cinematographer

  • Vanja Cernjul

Leave a comment

Now playing.

Daddy’s Head

Daddy’s Head

Blitz

Terrifier 3

Vettaiyan

Falling Stars

Bad Genius

Lonely Planet

We Live in Time

We Live in Time

Piece by Piece

Piece by Piece

Saturday Night

Saturday Night

The Apprentice

The Apprentice

Latest articles.

movie reviews on today show

Chicago International Film Festival Pays Tribute to Hirokazu Kore-Eda

Shrinking Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s “Shrinking” Really Starts Putting the Pieces Together in Second Season

movie reviews on today show

Criterion Adds Val Lewton Double Feature to the Collection

Rumours Interview

When You’re Angry, You’re Already Losing: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson on “Rumours”

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

IMAGES

  1. Today (1952)

    movie reviews on today show

  2. Get to Know The Cast of ‘The Today Show’

    movie reviews on today show

  3. Watch Justin & Patrick on The Today Show!

    movie reviews on today show

  4. Watch TODAY Episodes at NBC.com

    movie reviews on today show

  5. Never miss out: TODAY is now available on demand!

    movie reviews on today show

  6. Today 3rd Hour

    movie reviews on today show

VIDEO

  1. ShiftMed Healthcare Staffing

  2. Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin Today Episode PROMO 3 |19 Sep 2024| SaRaj ko ghera gundon ne, hui fight

  3. Watch: TODAY All Day

  4. Watch celebrity interviews, entertaining tips and TODAY Show exclusives

  5. A Key That Transcends Space. #shorts

COMMENTS

  1. Best Summer Blockbuster Bracket: Vote For Your Favorite - TODAY

    Select your favorite film in TODAY Show's Summer Blockbuster bracket. Tune in each day for the full breakdown of the bracket results.

  2. Movies - TODAY.com

    The latest movie news. Interviews with celebrities, movie trailers, movie reviews and more.

  3. Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films ...

    NPR Movies podcast, movie reviews, and commentary on new and classic films. Interviews with filmmakers, actors, and actresses.

  4. Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews

    Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets.

  5. Movie Reviews - NPR

    Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

  6. Movie reviews and ratings by Film Critic Roger Ebert | Roger ...

    30 Minutes On: Talk Radio. On one of Oliver Stone's most underrated movies. Matt Zoller Seitz. 7 hours ago. TV/Streaming.

  7. 'Joy' Review: Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy in True-Life ...

    Film. News. Oct 15, 2024 1:30pm PT. ‘Joy’ Review: Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy Fight the System to Pioneer IVF in a Crowd-Pleasing Medical Biopic. Scripted by Jack Thorne, Ben Taylor's ...

  8. 'Joy' Review: Thomasin McKenzie, Bill Nighy in Netflix IVF Drama

    Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton, Bill Nighy, Joanna Scanlan, Tanya Moodie, Rish Shah, Charlie Murphy, Ella Bruccoleri, Dougie McMeekin. Director: Ben Taylor. Screenwriter: Jack Thorne. Rated ...

  9. Here Today (2021) - Rotten Tomatoes

    Veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) forms an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship with New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish) in the new comedy-drama Here Today.

  10. Here Today movie review & film summary (2021) | Roger Ebert

    Reviews. Here Today. Comedy. ‧ PG-13‧ 2021. Nell Minow. May 7, 2021. 4 min read. Charlie Berns, played by director and co-writer Billy Crystal, is a writer who is so well known for being funny that when his behavior is a little off, everyone thinks he is doing a bit. On stage with Barry Levinson, Sharon Stone, and Kevin Kline, all playing ...