Page 8
July 7, 2021
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Films Bring Laughter, Tears, Impact
Two new
screenings
outside the lines
of dominant
culture
Two films available for screen-
ing now find the truth, humor, and
beauty outside the lines of domi-
nant culture and convention and
in the spaces where things appear
to be slightly askew. Both films
evoke laughter, tears, and deeper
thought that you might at first ex-
pect.
“Together Together” is set up
to look like a romantic-comedy;
middle-aged single man Matt (Ed
Helm, excellent) engages a gesta-
tional surrogate, Anna (Patti Har-
o Pinionated
J udGe
by
d arleen o rtega
rison, a revelation), so that he can
realize his longing to be a parent,
and some sort of relationship en-
sues. But this film doesn’t just rely
on the unusual circumstances to
carry all the weight of this story;
it finds truth here that feels more
honest and relatable than in any
rom-com.
Matt is 45, white, and well-
off, having designed an app that
allows people to essentially win-
dow-shop for people they are not
going to date. Anna is a 26-year-
old Asian-American barista trying
to scrape together the means to re-
sume her plans to attend college,
which were derailed by a teenage
pregnancy that her family seems
not to have gotten over. Matt is
earnest, well-meaning, and in-
clined toward too many opinions
about how Anna lives while car-
rying his child; Anna has already
relinquished one child and adopts
a sort of matter-of-fact stance—
but perhaps because of the losses
she has suffered, she notices a lot
and is quite capable of holding
her own against Matt’s intrusions.
And both are unattached—which
does not mean that they are des-
tined to be “together together,” as
Anna’s coworker notes, but does
Ed Helms and Patti Harrison explore love and parenthood from
unexpected angles in ‘Together Together.’ (Courtesy of Bleeker
Street Media)
support a kind of togetherness that
in some ways feels more togeth-
er than a lot of romantic relation-
ships do.
Along the way, things happen
that will make you think of your
own life no matter what your ex-
perience (speaking as someone
who has never given birth nor
been a biological parent, but who
has deep relationships that fre-
quently don’t fit into convention-
al boxes). Matt’s resourcefulness
about his situation is admirable
C ontinued on P age 11
P hoto Courtesy s earChlight P iCtures
The Fifth Dimension performing at the Harlem Cultural Festival
in 1969, in the documentary “Summer of Soul” from Ahmir
Thompson, better known as Questlove.
Hollywood
Theatre Reopens
‘Summer of
Soul’ movie
kicks off return
After 475 days, northeast Port-
land’s Hollywood Theatre re-
opened Friday, the first time since
the COVID-19 pandemic, with the
first screening of Summer of Soul,
a brand-new documentary direct-
ed by The Roots’ Questlove.
To celebrate, the nonprofit
theater will also begin a series of
70mm screenings starting on July
16, including Stanly Kubrik’s
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968),
and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet
(2020) to celebrate the landmark’s
95th anniversary.
“We’re extremely grateful to
the Portland community for the
15 months of support we received
during our closure. We truly
would not be opening our doors
if it weren’t for our audiences
C ontinued on P age 11