Iliza Shlesinger Archives - Awesome Friday!

22 June 20218 January 2022

Review: ‘Good On Paper’ is ok in practice

A woman walks through an airport complaining to a friend on the phone about being in the security line for 45 minutes because the woman ahead of her lost her boarding pass. “Who loses their boarding pass between check-in and security?” Then, as she reaches her gate, a handsome man hands her a piece of paper. “You dropped this,” he says as he hands her own boarding pass. This is the meet-cute in Good on Paper, a film which follows standup comedy Amanda (Iliza Shlesinger) as she embarks on a relationship with a man who seems too good to be true.

Written by and starring Shlesinger and directed by Kimmy Gatewood, the films seem primed to tell a story unlike what we’ve seen before, but while the intent is noble, the execution is only fine.

4 January 202114 January 2022

Review: ‘Pieces of a Woman’ has a tour de force performance from Vanessa Kirby

Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children. This is one of those universal truths, along with things like “the Earth is round” or “water is wet.” The devastation of losing a child is unimaginable, let alone losing one at the moment of birth. This is the story of Pieces of a Woman, which follows expectant parents Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf through the night of their daughter’s birth and then through the year after as they deal with the aftermath of her death.