Write a comment"Confidence is key." So I've been told.
There are any number of reasons as to why I'm not a confident person. While many of these reviews delve into my psyche, much to the dismay of those of you who are reading, I can't pinpoint a cause. It's good to be humble, but confidence does help, especially in social situations.
I've never been what people would call a "social butterfly". While I can prattle on with the best of them, if you were to see me in person, I'd wilt. I do my best to blend in, go unnoticed. If I could somehow acquire adaptive camouflage, I'd be using it constantly. And no, not for creepy reasons, either.
When I was starting college, I didn't know what I wanted to do or what I wanted to study. I had it in my head that I wanted to be a film critic, but a good friend of mine asked me why. I said, "Because movie critics get to see movies before anyone else and for free."
He said, "Yeah, but you know who sees movies even before critics? Filmmakers."
This had never occurred to me. I had already decided to attend SUNY Oswego but they didn't have a film major at the time. There were some film classes here and there, but the closest I could get to studying directing and writing was to take theater classes.
Throughout high school, I was always fascinated with theater, but I was deathly afraid of participating. When I was researching taking directing classes, the prerequisite was that you had to take acting classes. This was definitely not something I wanted to do, but, if I wanted to direct, this seemed to be the only way.
The first acting class I took was taught by a woman we'll call Felicia. She asked us to sit in a circle on the floor. After we did, she sat as well. "I want to let you know, I'm not one of those people that continually talks about their credentials or where I went to school because none of that matters. What matters most is the work and what avenues we take to arrive at the same destination."
This caught me off guard. I was fully expecting actors to be exactly like their stereotype: arrogant and blissfully ignorant. Felicia, in that moment, set me at ease. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
The person to Felicia's left introduced herself and then the person to that person's left and so on. One guy introduced himself as Adam. I had to come up with a gameplan because I couldn't just be another Adam. When it got to me, I introduced myself as Sweeney.
Felicia laughed. "Like Sweeney Todd?"
A few others laughed. I said, "Well, my name is Adam, but that seems to already be taken. A lot of my friends call me Sweeney."
Felicia's brow furrowed. "I didn't think it was your first name. I was making a joke."
I nodded, clearing my throat. "I know. I was...sorry. Just. Yeah. I'll shut up."
When I was done tripping over my words, the guy next to me introduced himself. The entire time this was happening, Felicia continually interrupted. She kept talking to us about how she was from Hawaii and all the shows she's done. What school she went to. You know, exactly what she said she wasn't going to do.
That ease I felt was quickly washed away.
I tried keeping to myself in the class and struggled with scenes. Despite all the random nonsense I can remember, I was never good at remembering lines of dialogue. Throughout the classes, Felicia didn't seem to understand that my nerves were the issue. It wasn't a lack of work because I would practice lines for my scenes all the time. I would just get in front of an audience and nothing would come out.
A few weeks into the semester, Felicia asked to speak to me after class. The rest of my classmates left and Felicia shut the door to the small theater we were in. She said, "Adam, you really need to start working better at this."
"I'm sorry. I'm trying."
She said, "Apparently not hard enough."
I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay."
"Is that all you have to say? 'Okay'? Adam, come on," she responded, frustrated.
I nodded, laughing to myself. "Do I really need to do scenes? I understand the concept of what you're going for. It's just the stage fright thing. And, really, I'm just taking this class to get into directing."
Felicia shook her head, looking to the ground. "Adam, if you're not going to take acting seriously, you're going to fail this class."
"No, no. I was...joking. I'm sorry. I'm nervous."
"That's no excuse. I take acting very seriously. I went to school at (school name) and I worked my tail off to get to where I am. People see me as an expert in the field. How would it look if I passed you when you're not doing the work?"
"I must not...sorry. I don't think I'm being clear. I take this seriously as well. I just can't get over the stage fright."
"Well, you have to get over that. Or I'm going to fail you and then you can't take directing."
Felicia opened the door, walking through it. I gathered my belongings and left for my next class. The entire way there, I second guessed myself. Maybe I shouldn't direct. Maybe that conversation with my friend was just nonsense. I was so caught up in my own thoughts, I didn't see Stacie walking towards me.
Stacie was also in the acting class. She was always smiling, always kind. She made it incredibly difficult for me to disappear as I wanted to. "Sweeney, you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."
I snapped out of it. Stacie's brilliant sea blue eyes stood out against the gray of the hallway. They were like spotlights and I couldn't hide in the shadows with her around. I laughed, not having any idea what to say. I stuttered and said something really quietly.
Stacie began to laugh, loud enough that it echoed down the hallway. "Oh, Sweeney. You're crazy."
"I don't think I said anything."
Stacie laughed again. "You know why you're funny? Because you don't think you are."
"I don't think I'm funny because I'm not funny."
Laughing, Stacie took my right arm. "Walk me to class."
As we walked, I was having trouble thinking. My nerves were getting the better of me. Stacie continued to speak and I would respond but I didn't feel present.
She looked over at me, seeing the vacant expression on my face. "Are you okay?"
"Me? Yeah, I'm good."
"You're nervous."
I nodded. "Yep."
"Don't be. I think you're cool. You're funny. Just be confident."
I laughed. "I'll work on that."
"Why are you laughing? You have every reason to be confident. You're also, like, really tall."
"What difference does that make?"
"Tall's good."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Stacie laughed, punching me in the shoulder. As we approached her classroom, she turned to me. "Make sure you say 'hi' to me in class Wednesday. If you don't, I'll be offended." She smiled at me, nodding. She turned around, walking into the classroom. She said, "Confidence, Sweeney."
Wednesday rolled around and I walked into the small theater. Stacie was talking to another classmate by the door. She sees me as I walk in. This was a test.
As I approached, Stacie stepped in my way. "Got something to say to me?"
"Hi, Stacie."
Stacie laughed, punching my shoulder. I made a fist and nudged her shoulder in response. She laughed, turning to her friend. "Told you he was funny."
Maybe Stacie was right. Maybe I should just try being confident. Never tried it before. It wasn't an overnight success. I didn't just wake up the next day and learn how to remember things. I still struggled quite a bit, but I took Stacie's advice. I did improve slightly over the semester, I didn't fail and I ended up taking another acting class after. It's not a "one and done" situation. Confidence is something you have to work on, but when you have it, things can run smoothly.
If you read my review for Scream (2022), I'm sure you were able to tell I was more than a little disappointed. Many of the plot elements were muddled between the returning cast and the "new blood". There were some dubious plot elements that I did not agree with and it was generally genuinely lacking suspense or scares. It got decently far with some of the performances. Ortega and Brown were standouts and it was an intriguing enough premise that I was okay when I heard they were doing a sequel.
Scream VI came out a little over a year after the previous entry. All the survivors are back, except for Sidney. There was a pay dispute between Campbell and the producers that made her walk away from her character. It was definitely strange to see a film in this franchise without Sidney Prescott, but one of my issues with the last entry was a lack of focus. With Campbell stepping away, our final girl(s) are the Carpenter sisters.
With Tara (Ortega) going to college in New York City, Sam (Barrera) comes along to protect her. Tara avoids speaking about the events of the last film, trying to move on with her life while Sam wants Tara to talk things through. All the while, Mindy (Brown) and Chad (Gooding) are back as well as a host of new characters to add to the body count. As is typical with these films, the killings begin, there's a mystery and the protagonists have to do their best to survive.
When Scream (2022) came out, a lot of people were critical of Barrera. It was a wildly uneven performance. Seeing her in Scream VI makes me realize what the problem was. Barrera seems best when her vulnerability lies just beneath the surface. She'll get angry but you can see it in her eyes that it comes from a place of hurt. Scream (2022) seemed, at times, to want to paint her as a victim and that didn't seem to fit Barrera's style. In this film, she plays the character a little unhinged. This seems to be more in her wheelhouse. In the few things I've seen her in (see also Abigail), this is where she thrives. She is a fantastic performer and I'm excited to see more from her. As I said to people after I left the theater, "I've never been so happy to be wrong."
Ortega, as usual, continues to prove why she's shot to stardom the way she has. She's a magnetic actress. Her character's romance with fellow survivor Chad seems forced. That's not because of her or Gooding's acting; it's a weak connection. The two of them only had a few scenes in the fifth film so when they suddenly are neck deep in the "will they/won't they?", I kinda didn't care. If you're looking back to the first and second in the series, the same tension could be said for Gale/Dewey. The main difference is those two were established.
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It is very difficult to talk about any of the movies in this series without talking about the killer reveal. For the first time in the series, there are three killers. As Scream VI is constantly referencing the past, we see a family connection to a previous killer as well as the climax taking place in a theater. Mulroney is having a blast the whole time. He seems to be channeling Laurie Metcalf's Mrs. Loomis from Scream 2. He's allowed to be funny. Liberato seems to be the most unhinged of the three. Her innocent looks clash with her intensity which gives her the liberty to be terrifying. Jack Champion...ehhhh. Probably my least favorite killer from the series.
The climax scene is thrilling, funny and suspenseful. All things a Scream film should be.
My biggest issue with the film is similar to an issue I had with the previous entry. Too many people survive. For all their posturing for killing off Dewey in the previous entry, the filmmakers seem fully terrified to kill anyone off. It makes the film feel similar to a Marvel film in that sense. There are no stakes. Killing off a legacy character doesn't give you license to allow everyone else to survive. Imagine if in Scream 2, Randy ended up being alive. You can only do that once or twice before your audience starts to distrust you.
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The success of the previous film allowed the filmmakers to be confident for Scream VI. This feels more focused. Just like Raimi with Spider-Man 2 or Nolan with The Dark Knight, Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin show the audience what they really can do. Now they just have to be confident with their decisions for certain characters. Maybe they just need someone with spotlights for eyes to give them a confidence boost.
Or truckloads of money. The truckloads of money would probably help.
Scream VI (2023)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (AKA 'Radio Silence')
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra, Henry Czerny, Tony Revolori, Skeet Ulrich, Samara Weaving, Roger Jackson
Runtime: 123 minutes
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence and language throughout and brief drug use)
Rating (out of ****): ***1/2
Scream VI is streaming on Paramount+ with a subscription as well as on all major streaming platforms for rent or buy. It also has been released on 4K Blu-Ray.
