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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Chris Hewitt

What we're watching: Tone is not quite OK in 'Not Okay'

'Not Okay'

"Young woman who tells a whopper and then lies to everyone who loves her for months" has become a truly unpleasant genre. Like Sutton Foster in "Younger" and Vanessa Bayer in "I Love That for You," flighty Zoey Deutch finds acceptance in pretense in this comedy that thinks it has something to teach us. After the "influencer" claims to have survived a mass shooting, she becomes part of a community of activists who eventually learn she's not who she claims. The ending is on target but, on the way, the tone veers between farce and tragedy in a way that also begins to seem racist, since these protagonists are always white women desperate to get a leg up. Friday, Hulu

'Persuasion'

Gifted Dakota Johnson sticks out like a dropped stitch in a crocheted doily in a raucous, misguided Jane Austen adaptation. Johnson brings wit and complexity to Anne, who is forced to spurn the man she loves at the beginning of the film and spends the rest of it regretting that decision. But although it's still set in the 19th century, the production layers on so much dopey slapstick and contemporary language that all traces of Austen are lost. Netflix

'The Bob's Burgers Movie'

You don't even have to be a fan of the long-running animated TV series to enjoy the movie. Like a lot of restaurants during the pandemic, the Belcher family's place has to close. Its problem is a sinkhole, which endangers its livelihood but also presents a mystery that may help the family save the pun-loving diner. Not only is the "Burgers" movie laugh-out-loud hilarious, it's also surprisingly sweet. Hulu, HBO Max

'Crazy, Stupid, Love'

Minneapolis native Lio Tipton, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, is featured in theaters this week in "Vengeance" but their best known appearance was back when the former "America's Next Top Model" contestant was known as Analeigh Tipton, playing a babysitter with a crush on Steve Carell. The heartfelt comedy is packed with big names, also including Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Joey King. Prime Video

'Petite Maman'

Writer/director Celine Sciamma created the best movie of 2020 (that's when her "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" opened in the Twin Cities) and has made one of the best of 2022. Tender, moving and briskly efficient at just 72 minutes, the intimate drama is about a little girl who, wandering through the woods, happens upon a stranger who reminds her of herself. Is the girl real and who is she? The answers are surprising and perfect. On-demand services

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