Happy weekend, dear readers!

Hannah is back this week talking about Las Vegas, including Hacks, and Daysia is writing about mommy issues.

Plus, a chance to catch up with what's going on in pop culture in Too Many Tabs.

Happy reading,

<3

Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

Daysia: Unfortunately for y’all, this week’s theme is mommy issues! It seems like every piece of media I consumed over the past few days has involved someone having a complicated relationship with their mother.

First, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. I really liked this movie. I thought it was the perfect portrait of an older, sexually repressed, neoliberal woman. Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack were stellar in this intimate, complex film. I think Thompson really represented the theoretical debate about sex work that often plays out in circles online, while McCormack works hard to portray the labor aspect—that the “fantasy” that an escort can provide is just that. It is a service provided; it is a job that people do every day.

Beyond this, whew… the mommy issues in this! Thompson’s character is extremely hard on her children and the students she used to teach. She calls her son boring and her daughter a waste of money. She pressures McCormack into revealing his broken relationship with his mother. That scene was part of the movie’s climax, and it was quite riveting. Definitely recommend it if you have Hulu.

Then, I finally watched Elvis. I mean, what to say about Elvis that hasn’t already been said? It’s kitschy, fitting for the King’s legacy, in my opinion. Austin Butler put his whole Elvussy into it (obviously). It was fun enough, but nothing mindblowing (my reaction was similar to how I felt about Baz Luhrmann’s last movie, Great Gatsby). But I was really thrown by the intimacy Elvis had with his mother. His life kind of fell apart when she died, but their scenes seemed, at times, more romantic than those between Priscilla and Elvis. Although maybe it’s my own bias, since I famously don’t trust mama’s boys.

Finally, I'm reading Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, which chronicles the abuse she experienced from her mother, her struggles with eating disorders and addiction, and her time as a child star. I’ve been avoiding articles about it for the past week because I want to read it myself, but I was happy to see that she has literally sold out Amazon, among other bookstores.

I was worried I wouldn’t even be able to snag a copy since I ordered it to pick up on publication day from Books are Magic in Brooklyn. Luckily, McCurdy was doing an event with the booksellers at the store, so they had plenty of copies in stock. And imagine my surprise and delight when I was finally able to pick up my book yesterday and saw this:

I’m excited to read the rest of the book. I know it’s going to be dark, but I’ve also heard it’s quite humorous. So stay tuned for final thoughts on that!

Hannah: So I went to Las Vegas for the first time last week and it’s been a long time since I’ve gone somewhere that I’ve never been before. I was only on the Las Vegas Strip but it was surreal to see things in real life that I’ve only ever seen on screen. Some of the best people watching in the world. My experience reminded me a lot of Disney World in that it was hot, there were a lot of lines and fake cities. Also, I feel like every chef that has ever appeared on the Food Network has a restaurant there? I did eat at Giada (at The Cromwell) and the vegetarian bolognese was delicious, so thank you Giada. I found Las Vegas completely fascinating—it’s extra, everything is larger than life, and everything just leans into the imagery that we’re all familiar with.

I think my wisest decision was watching (most of) Hacks on my flight from Miami to Las Vegas because that really gave me a sense of what I was getting into. I highly recommend watching something featuring your destination on your travels because it really just hypes you up. It’s similar to my tradition of listening to “Welcome New York” every time I take a Greyhound bus into the city.

Between Elvis and Hacks, I’ve become fixated on the residency—while I was in Las Vegas Silk Sonic, Katy Perry and John Legend were all performing as part of their ongoing residencies. I feel like more artists should do them! Increasing your chances of seeing an artist without having to rely on them stopping in your city on tour is a good thing in my opinion. Now I just have to get back before March to catch a Weekend with Adele…

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Too Many Tabs

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