There’s no need to panic this weekend because Hulu just added some pretty good movies for you to stream.
At the top of Watch With Us’s list is Panic Room, a 2002 David Fincher thriller which pits Jodie Foster against three tough guys. My money is on Foster.
If you’re looking for something lighter, enlist in Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway’s Bride Wars, a frothy comedy that gives new meaning to the phrase “guilty pleasure.”
Father’s Day is just around the corner, which is why you should watch the Tom Hanks drama Nothing in Common to work out all your daddy issues before seeing your parents.
‘Panic Room’ (2002)
When divorced mom Meg (Jodie Foster) and her 11-year-old daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) move into their fancy new New York City brownstone, they discover a secret panic room the previous owner had installed before he passed away. Much to their horror, they discover they need to use it right away when three men decide to break in. Led by the former owner’s grandson, Junior (Jared Leto), these men are looking for something in the building — and that something is in the very panic room Meg and Sarah are hiding in.
Panic Room is an effective thriller in part because it’s so simple — somebody wants something another person has but won’t give up for understandable reasons. There’s not much more to Panic Room than that, and maybe with a lesser director and lead actor, the film would fall apart. But when the director is David Fincher and the star is Jodie Foster, you know you’re in for a wild ride filled with stylish visuals, crazy camerawork, a bumping soundtrack and a tough, gritty performance from one of the best actors around.
Panic Room is streaming on Hulu.
‘Bride Wars’ (2009)
Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Olivia (Kate Hudson) have been best friends forever, and they share the same dream — to be married at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Lots of other brides-to-be also have that same desire, but when a spot opens up, they decide to take it before anyone else can snag it. The problem is that only one of them can be married on that day and soon, these longtime besties become newfound foes as they lie, scheme and even physically fight each other to win the honor of spending a small fortune to walk down the aisle in a hotel that Kevin McCallister once stayed in.
We tend to overuse the term “guilty pleasure,” so let me emphasize that the pleasure I feel watching Bride Wars is always matched by the extreme guilt I feel afterwards. Bride Wars is not a good movie — it’s loud, obvious and the way it depicts females as wedding-obsessed monsters is borderline offensive. But damn it, this film goes down like lemonade on a hot summer’s day. It’s slickly produced and imagines a picture-perfect New York City where everyone lives in gorgeous, rent-controlled apartments. Who doesn’t like that? Hudson and Hathaway dial up their innate charm, even if the characters they’re portraying are reprehensible, and the supporting cast is better than you’d expect, with a slumming Candice Bergen injecting some zingers when she can.
Bride Wars is streaming on Hulu.
‘Nothing in Common’ (1986)
David Basner (Tom Hanks) is a Chicago architect who is good at his job and has a loving girlfriend, but his life becomes more complicated when his elderly father, Max (Jackie Gleason), has to move in with him. Max is bitter after losing his job after 35 years and getting kicked out of the house by his long-suffering wife, Lorraine (Eva Marie Saint), so he’s not exactly great company. David’s never been particularly close with his father, but he soon realizes that even though they have nothing in common, they can still have some kind of relationship while there’s still time left.
Way back in 1986, Hanks had yet to win any Oscars and was still known mostly for his comedic work in the cross-dressing sitcom Bosom Buddies and sex romps like Bachelor Party. Nothing in Common was his first lead role in a major, straightforward drama, and you can see the seeds of the actor who would later deliver such powerhouse performances in Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan and Captain Phillips. Even better is Gleason, the veteran Honeymooners actor who imbues Max with a bluster that hides his increasingly fragile state. Nothing in Common plays best to audiences who have complicated relationships with their parents, which means it appeals to just about everyone.
Nothing in Common is streaming on Hulu.
