Friday Recs #5

summer hijinks + dysfunctional families + a superb soundtrack

Welcome back to Friday Recs—short, weekly lists that share film & TV recommendations for the mood you’re in or how you want to feel, and/or are related to current happenings in my world or the culture at large.

Friday Recs will always be free.

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I think we can all agree at this point that Friday Recs is a state of mind, not necessarily a specific day of the week when these posts will absolutely without fail be published. Getting back to posting weekly was my goal with this new series on watch this: feel that, and I feel like I’m making progress, so although I will always endeavour to post these on Fridays, know that you will receive them weekly, at least.

I hope my weekly film and TV recommendations are bringing you whatever you need: joy, laughter, catharsis, a good cry, something to watch while you’re scrolling on your phone or folding laundry, or a new series to binge.

Whatever brings you here, I’m happy to have you.

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1. My parents started watching Succession and Six Feet Under, two of the very few TV series I’ve rated 10/10 and often haven’t shut up about for years. Succession isn’t necessarily the series I would recommend to everyone, but I applaud my parents’ dogged commitment to continuing to get through season one, as they put up with these “unlikeable, dysfunctional people” and wait for something exciting to happen. I assured them that more drama is coming and that this brilliantly written, expertly acted series is worth it. So far, they seem to hate Tom (Matthew McFadyen) and Logan (Brian Cox) the most, and they appreciate the comedic relief provided by Greg (Nicholas Braun) and Roman (Kieran Culkin). Our family loves a Culkin. In case it becomes too dysfunctional for their tastes, I gave them an “out” to stop watching and try something else that I think they might like more, like Task or Gilmore Girls. Will report back. You can stream Succession, Six Feet Under, and Task on Crave, and Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

   

2. The fifth and final season of The Bear was released on Thursday, and despite my attempts to restrain myself, I already ripped through the whole season. In addition to deep character development and stunning acting, this series has excellent music. From season to season, the show’s creator and Writer/Director, Christopher Storer and Music Supervisor Josh Senior have crafted a soundtrack that is not only emotionally resonant with the stories and characters, but also captures the authentic mix-tape feeling of the ‘90s and early 2000s. The blend of alternative rock, grunge, soul, soft rock, and synth pop featured in the series both punctuates and acts as a backdrop to the emotional lives of the characters—and what emotional lives they are. Especially if you grew up in the ‘90s, you’ll really feel this music. Here’s a very short list of some of the many excellent songs Storer and Senior chose to accompany the stories of the extended family of characters featured on The Bear. Click the song names below and have a listen, and tell me these songs don’t stir something in your soul:

• Chicago — Sufjan Stevens

• Square One — Tom Petty

• Save It For Later — Eddie Vedder

• Animal — Pearl Jam

• Throw Your Arms Around Me — Neil Finn, Eddie Vedder

• The Show Goes On — Bruce Hornsby and the Range

• Last Train Home — John Mayer, feat. Maren Morris

• You Are Not Alone — Mavis Staples, Jeff Tweedy

• Strange Currencies — R.E.M.

• Holiday Road — Lindsey Buckingham

• Love Story by Taylor Swift

For anyone like me who is also fascinated by the psychology of the characters on The Bear, you might enjoy this episode of the Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast that I came across. You can stream The Bear on Disney+.

This Substack is a Jeremy-Allen White (JAW) appreciation zone. Here’s a still from his last turn as Carmy in Season 5 of The Bear. 📷 FX via Variety.com.

3. One of the most talented, fearless actors working today, who I feel not enough people know, is Tatiana Maslany. I’ll admit that I have only scratched the surface of her filmography, but from what I’ve seen, I’m impressed. Right now, you can watch Maslany literally burn through the screen with her performance as Paula on AppleTV's Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. Suspenseful storyteller Stephen King himself had this to say about the series:

Tatiana Maslany as Paula on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. (AppleTV). 📷 IMDB.

4. Summer has officially arrived, and when I think about summer movies, one of the first that comes to mind is the 1991 comedy, What About Bob?, which starred Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Right now, you can only rent or buy this movie online (Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV), but to give you a taste of the hilarious spirit and summer vibe of this movie, here’s the trailer:

5. Who needs Yellowstone when you have real-life country & western family drama? Well, as real as you can get with BravoTV. If you’re in the mood for a new reality show binge that will make you laugh, cry, and stare slack-jawed at the screen in disbelief over toxic relationship dynamics, family drama, and white-collar criminal activity, I recommend The McBee Dynasty. You can stream this reality series on Prime Video with Hayu.

Season 3 of The McBee Dynasty began earlier this month. 📷 Bravo via Deadline.com.

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more summer viewing:

When you're feeling a little summertime sadness

When you want to feel like a kid again

your next binge or comfort show:

When you need to re-watch a comfort show or dig into something binge-worthy

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See you next week!

Thanks for reading Friday Recs on watch this: feel that.

Keep in touch! Let me know if you watch any of these films or series, or if you’ve already seen them, share what you thought in the comments.

Also, it would make my day if you’d consider sharing this post with a friend, restacking it in the Substack app, or tapping the little ❤️ to tell me you liked it.

P.S. — I’m working on more posts for both free and paid subscribers, so stay tuned!

Enjoy,

~Heather

Streaming and rental sources listed are limited to the services and websites I subscribe to and/or have access to (in Canada) at the time of publishing. Feel free to search your streaming and cable services for these titles.