JUNE 24 • 2021 | 41

SEA MONSTER TEENS 
AND A DATING COMEDY
Luca, a Disney/Pixar animat-
ed fantasy film, was released 
for streaming on Disney+ 
June 18. The film is set in the 
1950’s Italian Riviera. Luca 
Paguro, 13, the star charac-
ter, is a sea monster curious 
about the world above the 
sea. Despite warnings that 
the human world is danger-
ous, he decides to explore 
a nearby Italian port with his 
best friend, Alberto. Alberto 
and Luca can disguise them-
selves as human. 
The film centers around a 
growing friendship between 
Luca and Giulia, a (human) 
Italian girl (voiced by Emma 
Berman, 12). The supporting 
(voice) cast includes Maya 
Rudolph, 48, as Daniela, 
Luca’s protective (sea mon-

ster) mother, and Sacha 
Baron Cohen, 49, as Uncle 
Ugo, a sea monster who is a 
cousin of Luca’s.
It’s likely that Emma 
Berman is Jewish or “part” 
Jewish, but as with many 
child actors, little biographi-
cal info is available. She was 
raised in California and her 
parents are Russian immi-
grants. 
 Luca’s original screenplay 
was co-written by Jesse 

Andrews, 38. He’s best 
known for his acclaimed 
debut (2012) novel, Me and 
Earl and the Dying Girl. 
Like Luca, it is about three 
teen friends. In Me and Earl, 
the teens are high school 
seniors, not sea monsters. 
Still, teens are teens, and 
Andrews has a real gift for 
capturing the authentic voic-
es and emotions of teens. 
Me and Earl and the Dying 
Girl was made into a quite 

good film of the same name 
in 2015. The novel had a lot 
of Jewish content (two of the 
three main characters are 
Jewish). 
Good on Paper, an original 
Netflix film, began streaming 
June 23. The capsule plot: 
stand-up comic Andrea (Iliza 
Shlesinger, 38) puts her 
career first for years. Then 
she meets Dennis (Ryan 
Hansen), a seemingly perfect 
guy: smart, nice and success-
ful. It’s not really a spoiler 
when I tell you things don’t 
turn out well for Andrea and 
Dennis. Shlesinger wrote the 
film, and she’s happy to tell 
anyone that her screenplay 
is based on a real-life horrific 
(and hilarious) dating experi-
ence she had.
Shlesinger, who has had 
five Netflix stand-up specials, 
is out of the dating pool now. 
In 2018, she married top 
chef Noah Galuten, 38, in 
a Jewish ceremony. 

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo (JFGT) is seeking a Director 
of Philanthropic Services (DPS) to be part of its Endowment team. 
Reporting to the Director of the Toledo Jewish Community Foundation, 
a division of JFGT, the DPS will provide operational support to the 
Toledo Jewish Community Foundation in the key areas of board and 
committee staffing, stewardship of fund distributions, marketing of 
needs and opportunities, and planning and development of donor 
events. The successful candidate will be an innovative leader and a team 
player, with strong interpersonal skills and a 
desire to cultivate relationships at all levels. 
The DPS is a full-time, non-exempt employee 
of JFGT. For complete job description and 
application information, go to 
www.jewishtoledo.org/career-center.

Director of Philanthropic Services