Ever since COVID, many of us feel like we are going to die alone. And that is the start of How to Die Alone, which is streaming its first three episodes on Hulu now.
Mel (Natasha Rothwell) works at JFK. She has one best friend, Rory (Conrad Ricamora), who works with her there. He is not the only man in her life who works at the airports, so does her ex and boss, Alex (Jocko Sims).
Alex just sent her an invite to his wedding in Hawaii. She wants to go, but she is afraid to fly. Basically, she is afraid to do anything. Isn’t that odd for someone who works at an airport.
However, after Rory cancels on her birthday, she does something daring. That daring thing leads to an accident, which caused her heart to stop.
When she comes to at the hospital, she realizes there is no one for her to call. Just when she is about to give up, the woman in the bed next to her gives her some advice to live her life so she doesn’t die alone.
In the coming episodes, she starts to make changes to her life. Some are good, and others are mistakes.
But all of it is relatable. And that is why you will enjoy each of the episodes.
The characters are people we know and want to watch. We want to see what is going to happen to them because they are us.
The storylines are things we can understand because, in ways, we have stopped living like we did pre-COVID. And this is the wake-up call we need to live again!
So watch the series every Friday, and then go out and make sure you don’t die alone.
We have reached the point with streamers where they are starting to bundle their services like cable companies products.
Today, it was announced that you can bundle Disney+, Hulu, and Max for the ad-free version for $29.99 and the one with ads for $16.99 per month. That is a 38% savings.
Are you interested in that bundle? I love the concept. But I don’t subscribe to Disney+ and Max.
We are still two months away from the premiere of season 4 of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, but we don’t have to wait until then to find out who Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Zach Galifianakis will play.
Not only will they be playing themselves, but they will also be playing the three leads.
Huh? Mabel, Charles, and Oliver are going to Hollywood because someone is making a movie about their podcast, and those three will play them.
What do you think of the casting? I think they did a great job with Steve Martin Short, but I would’ve gone with Demi Lovato or Miley Cyrus for Selena Gomez.
I am a child of the ’80s who grew up with the Brat Pack and their movies. So, I was like, what is wrong with them for not wanting to be associated with the title?
Therefore, I have been anxiously waiting for Brats since Andrew McCarthy announced it almost two years ago.
When ABC News Studios and Hulu announced that they were going to be streaming it, I felt like a teenager getting excited to see one of their films in a movie theater.
The Brat Pack was an article written in 1985 by David Blum for New York Magazine. It was a feature on three up-and-coming actors, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson.
Estevez was the main subject because he and Lowe were promoting their film St. Elmo’s Fire, which came out that same month. Which as we know, was a huge hit and propelled a group of actors from playing teenagers to portraying adults in film.
This was supposed to launch their careers as 20-somethings. But then the article came out, and the actors who were considered members of the Brat Pack felt it stalled their careers.
So much so that they don’t talk to each other, and some of them have not seen their co-stars since the movies came out.
McCarthy, after the success of his book Brat: An ’80s Story, decided to do a documentary about what it was like to be a member of the Brat Pack.
If you ask any ’80s kid what they would do to be a member of the Brat Pack, they will tell you that they would sell their soul. However, the members hated it.
McCarthy traveled to LA, and the first actor who is featured is Estevez. You can tell he didn’t want to do this interview because he is still dealing with the ramifications of being named a Brat.
Next, he talks to Ally Sheedy, who is a little more accepting of it. But she also has problems with being declared a member.
So, at this point, I am not loving the doc. I hate that they are shitting on such a remarkable legacy.
But then he talks to Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, and they wear the title with honor. Lowe says they opened the door for future teenagers. And now I am enjoying it a little more.
McCarthy also spoke to Blum about his inspiration for the article. He did not mean any harm with the article or the title. But he does admit that as a 29-year-old writer, he was pompous and made mistakes. He also agreed that some of the article was mean, yet he wouldn’t change it.
At this point, I am not sure how I feel about the doc. My BFF from my teenage years loved it. She texted me, “Andrew McCarthy for President!”
I decided to take a breather. And by breather, I mean read the article that started it all.
And that is where everything changes and how I feel about them hating being in the Brat Pack. They have every reason to be pissed. And it looks like it destroyed most of their careers because most of them never had a hit like they did in 1985.
They suddenly became typecasted with a title, not for their work. We will never know what could’ve been. But it was intriguing to hear where they are today and who still holds a grudge.
In case you are wondering how bad this article is, here is the only mention of McCarthy in it: “And of Andrew McCarthy, one of the New York–based actors in St. Elmo’s Fire, a co-star says, ‘He plays all his roles with too much of the same intensity. I don’t think he’ll make it.’ The Brat Packers save their praise for themselves.”
If I was an actor in my early 20s with the world about to become my oyster and I read that about myself, I would be fucking pissed too.
That is just half a paragraph. They were not shown in the best light in the cover story, and I felt bad for them. It was a tough read. And Brats is light-hearted as compared to Blum’s words.
So now, I appreciate the doc. I have been telling my friends to watch Brats and then read the article. I think you need to go into it with an open mind. I also think if you watch it, you need to read the article because it puts everything into perspective.
There is so much more I can say about the feature, but you need to read it. It is more important for you to watch the program.
McCarthy needs to do more documentaries because he gets people to open up and make them feel comfortable. That, and you want to know more about the story as he is telling it.
And I am saying all of this as someone who was Team Steph (James Spader) in Pretty in Pink.
On August 27th, Only Murders in the Building is going to be back on Hulu, but it is not going to be back in the building for part of it.
The first two seasons were based in the Arconia in Manhattan. For the third season, they traveled down the Great White Way to Broadway. And this season they are leaving the 212 and heading to Hollywood.
For season four, Charles, Oliver & Mabel (Steve Martin Short & Selena Gomez) wrestle with the shocking events at the end of season three surrounding Charles’ stunt double & friend Sazz Pataki. Questioning whether Sazz or Charles was the intended victim, our trio’s investigation leads them all the way to Los Angeles where a Hollywood studio is readying a film about the Only Murders podcast. As our amateur sleuths race back to New York, they embark on an even more epic journey – traversing their building’s courtyard to delve into the twisted lives of the Arconia’s West Tower residents.
I am trying to be optimistic, but I feel like the show has jumped the shark. Hopefully, I am wrong.
