We like to have fun here on PRAISING KANE, the world’s finest chronological Carol Kane-themed podcast, but occasionally – rarely – even Carol Kane’s charms are not enough to lift up a film, and that’s certainly the case with Joyce Chopra’s misguided misfire THE LEMON SISTERS from 1989 (though held back from release until 1990). Despite a dynamite supporting cast (including Elliott Gould, Aidan Quinn, a young Nathan Lane, and Ruben Blades) and the talented trio of Diane Keaton, Kathryn Grody and Kane herself as the titular Lemon Sister (friends who grew up together on the Atlantic City boardwalk who sing standards in a nightclub.. sorta), it’s just a disaster. Bad music, incomprehensible plot elements, and a lack of chemistry just dooms the whole thing. But is there ANYTHING to recommend it? Listen and find out!
On a returning CINEMA SMORGASBORD SELLS OUT we’re talking about Bradley Cooper’s divorced dad energy mid-life crisis comedy-drama IS THIS THING ON? for some reason. Will Arnett plays a RICH BASTARD who divorces former volleyball star Laura Dern and turns to stand-up comedy to discover insights about himself and somehow we STILL decided to watch it. Bradley Cooper plays a character named BALLS! Yikes! Anyway, there are plenty of shocking revelations, so give it a listen. Spoilers ahead, but who cares?
How do you solve a problem like ANORA, the recent Best Picture Oscar winner directed by problematic(?) fav Sean Baker? It seems like everyone has an opinion on the film (about a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch), so why not add OURS into the mix? We get down and dirty with some of the controversies surrounding the film, but mostly just talk about what we liked and didn’t like about the film like good little critics. ENJOY!


