Billy Crystal directed, co-wrote, and stars in the dramedy Here Today, a story of two unlikely people who form a friendship that will change them both.   Tiffany Haddish costars with Crystal in this heartening tale of life, love, family, and death. Note: This article contains some spoilers because the author wants readers to know what to expect. With this subject some people cannot handle seeing it unfold as they might have experienced the same thing in the past or are living with it today.

Crystal is Charlie Burnz, a veteran comedy writer for a TV show based on SNL. He still has his charm, wit, and intelligence, however he is losing his memory. Charlie is suffering from dementia. He and his doctor are the only ones who know about his condition, and Charlie wants to keep it that way. He does not have the best relationship with his daughter Francine (Laura Benanti) or his son Rex (Penn Badgley), however he does have a loving relationship with his granddaughter Lindsay (Audrey Hsieh).

Through a strange event, Charlie meets Emma Payge (Haddish). She is an outgoing woman with a lot of love and spunk. She calls him “old man” and insinuates herself into his life. They have a mutual respect and grow on each other. He even invites he to be his date at Lindsay’s Bat Mitzvah.

Dementia is something that cannot stay a secret for long. After awhile people start noticing things about Charlie and he is told by his doctor that the disease is progressing rapidly.  This is the impetus that further binds Emma with Charlie. But will it be the thing that reconnects him with his family or will they pull away from the upcoming and inevitable downfall of their father?

Throughout the film Charlie daydreams about his beloved dead wife Carrie (Louisa Krause) who was tragically killed in a car accident when the kids were young. Their scenes together are sweet and viewers see the love between them.

Sharon Stone, Kevin Kline, Barry Levinson, and Bob Costas have fun cameos and Crystal is wonderful in both the comedy scenes and the dramatic ones. This might be the role that leads to an award for this actor/writer/director. And Haddish is equally delightful as the effervescent woman who is the saving grace for the entire family.

With the population aging, more and more families are confronting a relative with some form of dementia. It is a difficult diagnosis to deal with for not only the patient but also the family. Why do our brains fail us? Hopefully there will be an answer and cure in the near future. In the meantime, dementia is part of life and this film brings it front and center. The comedy scenes are a good way to balance the tragedy of the disease with some laugh-out-loud moments. We can all use some laughs, and this film delivers plenty of them, along with the sentimental story.

Here Today is rated PG-13 and will be released May 7, 2021.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

Queen Marie tells the story of the Queen of Romania during the difficult final days of World War I. She is rarely studied in school, yet she played an important part in the history of Romania.

Romania was a fractured country. The area was in disarray thanks to the tragedies of the war and the Germans. Now the Bolsheviks were causing havoc. As Marie states, they murdered the entire Romanov family, which were her family. Marie was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The murdered Czar Nicholas was Marie’s first cousin as was Kaiser Wilhelm II and King George V. Victoria’s children and grandchildren were the heads of most of Europe.

Marie inherited her grandmother’s determination. She desperately wanted to help her country in its reunification and through some cunning, managed to be sent to Paris for the peace talks at the end of the war. Her hope was to persuade everyone to give the splintered regions back to Romania so it could once again be a united country.

While there were cracks in her own family as well as the government of Romania, Marie knew she could get the foreign dignitaries to listen to her and to help her country. She even asked her cousin King George to help her cause.

Italian premier Vittorio Orlando, British PM David Lloyd George, French premier Georges Clemenceau and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Versailles Treaty, which set up the boundaries for the countries and ended the war. Their hopes were to lead to a lasting peace, however that peace did not last too long because World War II was just around the corner.

With doors being shut in her face, Marie was losing her faith. But women are quick thinkers and she used her intelligence and some feminine coaxing to talk with Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. It seemed the President of the United States was not on her side, however his wife was. And thanks to the First Lady, Marie was finally granted a visit with the president. And, well, her persuasion was what sealed the deal. The Treaty of Versailles unified Romania. And it was due to the wisdom, tenacity, and character of this one woman who knew she had what it took to turn the tide.

Director Alex Sweet Cahill said, “Reading her life story provoked a passion in me for Her Majesty and my only regret was that we weren’t making her life story in a 3 season TV series because there’s definitely enough stories and intrigue in Maria de Sassonia-Coburgo-Gotha’s life and loves to fill that space.” This movie “recounts a small but crucial part of her story yet a huge episode in Romanian History. I felt it was an important chapter to tell especially with the fact that a Romanian public have literally been starved of tales of their own Royal family.”

According to screenwriter Brigitte Drodtloff, “For me, it was very clear, how I see this exceptional queen, from the first moment the idea came to me to write this film: a woman, a vision, a country.”

Roxana Lupa portrays the queen in the film. She said, she “learned about politics, diplomacy, perseverance, dignity and patriotism” by playing this role. And Daniel Plier, who stepped into the role of Marie’s husband King Ferdinand, learned a lot by taking on this project. He expressed the feeling that when World War I is studied in school, it generally focuses on Western Europe. This aspect of the war is not as well known as others. He also says the film is “full of passion, emotions, even suspense, about a very important period in the history of Romania.”

This film will inspire viewers to search deeper into the life and times of Queen Marie. She was an exceptional woman and a great Queen to her people. This part of history is intriguing yet often overlooked. Thanks to movies like this, her life will once again have meaning and honor. The legacy of Queen Marie lives on.

The film is mostly in English however there are some subtitled sections.

Queen Marie will be released on May 7, 2021.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.