68 | OCTOBER 13 • 2022
ILIZA SOARS, ISIS
“QUEEN” DOC, CREEPY
ON NETFLIX AND FUNNY
ON HULU, KID STUFF
Stand-up comedian Iliza
Shlesinger, 39, is on a
roll. Last January, she and
her husband, Noah Galuten,
had their first child. On Oct.
2, she was the winning
contestant on Celebrity
Jeopardy and will advance
to the “winner playoffs.” Her
sixth Netflix stand-up spe-
cial, entitled Hot Forever,
began streaming on Oct.
11. On the same day, her
new book, All Things Aside,
came out. It’s a mix of mem-
oir and funny observations.
I’ve got to say that Dis-
covery+ has a very varied
program line-up. Some may
think it is a “bit meshugah,”
but I think there is a method
to their meshugah-ness.
If any program seems like
it will get high ratings,
Discovery+ will stream it.
How else can you explain
a serious documentary, by
a filmmaker with a decades-
long track record of making
serious films, being on the
same channel that is stream-
ing Storage Wars (about
people fighting over stuff in
“unpaid for” storage lockers)
and Dr. Pimple (don’t ask).
The serious filmmaker is
Ricki Stern, 57, and the film
is A Radical Life (begins
streaming on Oct. 13). Here’s
the gist of Discovery’s
description: Stern takes an
unfiltered look at Tania Joya,
who was married to the
highest-ranking American
in ISIS. This is the exclusive
stranger-than-fiction story
of two persons hungry for
power and Islamic suprem-
acy told through Tania’s
unique point of view as an
Islamic soldier, wife and
mother.
When you get down to
it — Radical is basically
another true crime story
with a nice big dollop of the
ever-popular crazy cult tale.
Both of those genres get
big audiences and this doc-
umentary has them both. (I
see ratings!)
However, sometimes what
is popular dovetails with
serious journalism and A
Radical Life is a quite legit-
imate documentary. Stern
has been making good doc-
umentaries since 1991. In just
the last eight years, she has
made films about the Boston
Marathon bombing, the
movement to reverse Roe v.
Wade, the “Preppy Murders”
and Jeffrey Epstein.
The Watcher is another
creepy Halloween-season
Netflix series (seven epi-
sodes; streams on Oct. 13).
A family moves into their
suburban dream home, only
to discover they are in a
nightmare. There’s the usual
bad stuff: ominous letters,
strange neighbors and sinis-
ter threats.
As usual, prolific series
creator Ryan Murphy has
rounded up a good starring
cast (Naomi Watts, Bobby
Cannavale and Jennifer
Coolidge). Richard Kind, 65,
who has been landing good
roles lately, has a pretty big
supporting part.
Rosaline, a new
film, begins streaming Oct.
14 on Hulu. It’s a comedic
twist on Shakespeare’s
Romeo & Juliet, told from
the perspective of Juliet’s
cousin Rosaline who also
happens to be Romeo’s
recent love interest. Heart-
broken when Romeo meets
Juliet and begins to pursue
her, Rosaline schemes to foil
the famous romance and
win back Romeo.
OK, you’re thinking the
writers are taking on too
much — turning the Bard’s
tragedy into a comedy. I
must disagree. The screen-
writers, Michael Weber and
Scott Neustader, both 44,
have penned a string of
films that I respected and
enjoyed — as do most crit-
ics. Even more amazing, all
these films made money!
Some a lot of money.
In 2007, they were inter-
viewed by the Jewish
Journal (L.A.) just as the
first film they co-wrote, 500
Days of Summer, was about
to open. These former bar
mitzvah boys “came off”
as very culturally Jewish.
Weber was then living with
his Jewish girlfriend, a New
Orleans native. A few years
later, they married in a New
Orleans shul and now have
two kids.
500 Days, a bittersweet
love story starring Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, was a hit.
This was followed by the
scripts for The Spectacular
Now, The Fault in Our Stars
(which made $307 million
worldwide), Paper Towns,
The Disaster Artist (they
got an Oscar nomination)
and the charming Our Souls
at Night, a two-character
Netflix film starring Robert
Redford and Jane Fonda.
All their past films, except
Our Souls, had one or more
Jewish actors in them. Well,
this streak had to end —
sadly, no Jewish thespians in
Rosaline.
Batwings is an educa-
tional (i.e., good values),
seven-episode animated
series for young children
that premieres (Oct. 17) on
Cartoonito, the Cartoon
Network’s block of kid
shows starting at 9 a.m.
On Oct. 18, it will begin
streaming on HBO. There
are human characters, like
Batman, and talking cars.
Nightwing, which is really
another name for Robin, is
voiced by Zachary Gordon,
24. He’s worked steadily
since 2007 in TV guest
shots, in a few “live” films
and in many voice roles.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
WIKIPEDIA
Iliza Shlesinger
MDB
Ricki Stern
BY GARRY DELLABATE
Zachary Gordon