Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Now playing: ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025)
Tasteless "Eleanor" grates
What's so great about "Eleanor"?
ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025) Scarlett Johansson / Writer: Tory Kamen / Cinematographer: Hélène Louvart (1.85 : 1) / Design: Happy Massee / Editor: Harry Jierjian / Composer: Dustin O'Halloran / Acted by: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Rita Zohar, Will Price, Stephen Singer, and Elaine Bromka / USA / Rating: PG-13 / Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics / Length: 98 mins.
We’re greeted by an etching of a rabbi in the hallway, Eleanor’s (June Squibb, gaining spunk with every passing minute of screen time) roommate Bessie (Rita Zohar) speaking Yiddish, and a close-up of a Star of David dangling in the kitchen window. Jewish, anyone? And that’s just the first 60 seconds of subtlety-free storytelling. Technically, only one of the two is passing. Their friendship dates back almost as far as their memories. When it comes to being an “honorary” Jew, it’s a case of guilt by association for Eleanor. Stopping just short of dazzling the viewer with its lack of complexity, Eleanor the Great simply grates.
Duck! Here comes the premise: no sooner does Holocaust survivor Bessie die than Eleanor happens upon a support group for survivors. Before you can say “George Santos,” she pretends to fit right in by filching Bessie’s story and claiming it as her own. It's polite by comparison when the sugary old coot defiantly tall-fingers a woman in synagogue who dares to shush her for talking. Why the hell would anyone, let alone a Mrs. Claus doppleganger who’s about as yiddish as a buttermilk-fried ham hock, stoop so low as to impersonate a Holocaust survivor?
A grieving journalism major in the crowd (Erin Kellyman) and her recently-widowed father (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an esteemed news broadcaster, combine to give Eleanor a shot at the limelight. Dad spins her imaginary tale as a “psychology of loss” week-long special series on the news.
Eleanor gets off on masquerading as a holocaust survivor and the center-of-attention status it offers. Her selfishness can’t be attributable to dementia; there’s been no sign of cognitive decline in the feisty 94-year-old, just the occasional lapse in taste. On the contrary. Eleanor is possessed by a feisty streak that finds her snappily condescending to all those she encounters, particularly those under thirty.
Call me curmudgeonly, but I despised everything this supposed feel-good charmer threw at me. Targeted geezer porn spiked with a jigger of Holocaust sentimentalization made for an unforgivable combination. And just in time for Awards season! Zero Stars
Now playing at a theatre near you.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Now playing: ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025)
Tasteless "Eleanor" grates
Now playing: ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025)
Tasteless "Eleanor" grates
What's so great about "Eleanor"?
ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025) Scarlett Johansson / Writer: Tory Kamen / Cinematographer: Hélène Louvart (1.85 : 1) / Design: Happy Massee / Editor: Harry Jierjian / Composer: Dustin O'Halloran / Acted by: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Rita Zohar, Will Price, Stephen Singer, and Elaine Bromka / USA / Rating: PG-13 / Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics / Length: 98 mins.
We’re greeted by an etching of a rabbi in the hallway, Eleanor’s (June Squibb, gaining spunk with every passing minute of screen time) roommate Bessie (Rita Zohar) speaking Yiddish, and a close-up of a Star of David dangling in the kitchen window. Jewish, anyone? And that’s just the first 60 seconds of subtlety-free storytelling. Technically, only one of the two is passing. Their friendship dates back almost as far as their memories. When it comes to being an “honorary” Jew, it’s a case of guilt by association for Eleanor. Stopping just short of dazzling the viewer with its lack of complexity, Eleanor the Great simply grates.
Duck! Here comes the premise: no sooner does Holocaust survivor Bessie die than Eleanor happens upon a support group for survivors. Before you can say “George Santos,” she pretends to fit right in by filching Bessie’s story and claiming it as her own. It's polite by comparison when the sugary old coot defiantly tall-fingers a woman in synagogue who dares to shush her for talking. Why the hell would anyone, let alone a Mrs. Claus doppleganger who’s about as yiddish as a buttermilk-fried ham hock, stoop so low as to impersonate a Holocaust survivor?
A grieving journalism major in the crowd (Erin Kellyman) and her recently-widowed father (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an esteemed news broadcaster, combine to give Eleanor a shot at the limelight. Dad spins her imaginary tale as a “psychology of loss” week-long special series on the news.
Eleanor gets off on masquerading as a holocaust survivor and the center-of-attention status it offers. Her selfishness can’t be attributable to dementia; there’s been no sign of cognitive decline in the feisty 94-year-old, just the occasional lapse in taste. On the contrary. Eleanor is possessed by a feisty streak that finds her snappily condescending to all those she encounters, particularly those under thirty.
Call me curmudgeonly, but I despised everything this supposed feel-good charmer threw at me. Targeted geezer porn spiked with a jigger of Holocaust sentimentalization made for an unforgivable combination. And just in time for Awards season! Zero Stars
Now playing at a theatre near you.
Comments