A great movie title sets you up for a great moviegoing experience. Our introduction to the tale about to unfold, it can be clever, insightful or silly — but most crucially, it should be memorable. A tepid title blows that one chance to engage viewers from the first word. Here’s a rundown of some of this season’s more well-wrought titles — along with a few missed opportunities.
“A Real Pain,” by writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg, sees him working opposite Kieran Culkin as his cousin, who’s obviously the real pain in question. Except that’s only part of the story. As the film progresses, we watch as they face their family’s tragic history, and their uncertain future, and the real pain deepens and becomes profound.
Earlier this year, screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes hit with his first produced screenplay, “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guadagnino. The title wraps itself coyly around its three tennis-star lead characters, aptly describing the personal and professional entanglements to come.
Star Nicole Kidman has said that as soon as she read the title “Babygirl,” from writer-director Halina Reijn, “I was like, ‘Right, that’s my film.’” The word can apply to someone of any age, or any gender, as she and all the kids know; “babygirl” is now a slang term of endearment for a cute, appealing man. Star Harris Dickinson is finding out that audiences seem to agree.
Love it or hate-watch it, “Saturday Night Live” altered the television landscape. With its title, the movie about the sketch series immediately claims “Saturday Night” as its own. Director Jason Reitman co-wrote the script with Gil Kenan, and they set the entire film on the first Saturday night the show aired, 50 years ago. An early exchange in the film has a young Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) explaining to a guard who won’t let him into the building that he’s the producer of “Saturday Night,” and the guard retorts, “Oh, the whole night?” Yeah, the whole night.
Writer-director Megan Park’s film “My Old Ass” stars Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza as the same character at different ages, the latter of whom possesses the ass in question. The irreverent title may have kept some people away, though, which is a shame, because it’s a delightful film. It’s also a lot of fun to tell someone, “You have to see ‘My Old Ass,’ it’s fantastic.” (It’s streaming on Prime Video.)
“September 5” is as assured and sober a piece of work as its title suggests. The entire film takes place on that date in 1972, at the Munich Olympics, a day that ought to live in infamy. No embellishment is necessary.
Conversely, the title “Sabbath Queen” is giving humor, it’s giving religion, it’s giving queer joy. For over 20 years, documentarian Sandi DuBowski followed Amichai Lau-Lavie, a descendent of 35 generations of rabbis, as he evolved from radical faerie and drag queen (name: Hadassah Gross) to assuming the mantle of his forefathers.
Who even cares what “Nightbitch” is about? The title alone is worth a ticket. With that inventive, invented word, writer-director Marielle Heller (“Can You Ever Forgive Me”) lets us know from the get-go that a horror/comedy is about to commence.
The recently released “A Complete Unknown” was written by Jay Cocks with James Mangold, who also directed, and is based on the book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald. Changing the title from the source material makes great use of Bob Dylan’s lyric to look at the early days of the legendary yet still enigmatic star.
Sequels, no matter how brilliant they are (I’m looking at you, “Inside Out 2”), need to do more than add a number. Did 1984’s lyrical title “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” teach us nothing? The only exception to this rule is “The Godfather: Part II.” But then look at “III.” No, wait, don’t.
And “Moana 2”? It was right there waiting for you: “Mo’ Moana.”
Ridley Scott revisits his old Coliseum stomping ground with “Gladiator II,” and yes, the Roman numerals are better than a “2,” because: Rome. But didn’t anyone think of “Gladiators,” plural? After all, Scott’s earlier triumph, “Alien,” was followed by its first sequel, “Aliens,” a breathtakingly elegant choice. “Dumb and Dumberer” is only slightly less brilliant.
We’re setting aside most franchises, since you have to dance with the IP that brung ya. But the musical “Wicked” has been broken into two films, the second of which is due next fall. The films are directed by Jon M. Chu, from screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, based on the play (book by Holzman), which is based on the book by Gregory Maguire. That is way too much talent for the second installment to fall into the “Part Two” trap.
So congratulotions all around for the perfectly thrillifying “Wicked: For Good.”
