festival

Tribeca 2026: Doc Meets World

| Rachel's Reviews

Growing up I didn’t have many television shows I watched regularly. My parents aren’t media people, and we often didn’t have a TV or cable membership. This is probably why I’ve always been more of a movie person than a television. However, the comedy Boy Meets World is an exception. Starting in 1993 the show aired for 7 seasons and in the 2nd season the characters began high school which was the same year that I was a freshman. Then they started college in 1998 which was the same year I started college. You get the idea- I grew up with this show!

Like most media from childhood, I have a lot of nostalgia tied up into Boy Meets World and the new documentary at Tribeca Film Festival Doc Meets World dives into those emotions but it tries to dig deeper particularly into the lives of 3 of the show’s stars: Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong. It uses a tour for their podcast Pod Meets World as the narrative device to explore teen stardom, friendship, fandom and more.

It’s unfortunate the show’s star Ben Savage did not participate in the documentary or the podcast. It leaves the documentary feeling empty of a very important perspective on the show and forces others to guess how he may or may not be responding. Things can also get in the weeds with the tour, and the mechanizations of running a podcast, which are both about as exciting as you’d expect.

Still if you are a fan of Boy Meets World you’ll enjoy this documentary. It’s pleasant to catch up with Fishel, Friedle and Strong and in a world where so many child stars end up as troubled adults it’s nice to see that basically everyone from this show turned out well. I don’t think non-fans will be entertained but that’s ok. It’s made for the fans and as one of them I’m glad I saw it.

Covering festivals is not easy and small sites like Rachel’s Reviews need help to provide such extensive coverage of film and theatre. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch-alongs. If you value honest criticism, check it out. Find out more here.

 

Tribeca 2026: Next Life

| Rachel's Reviews

Of all the high concept movie plots out there one that I keep being drawn to time and again is one of alternate timelines. In the world of physics it’s called The Many-Worlds Theory. The idea is that in each decision there are multiple outcomes that are possible and that the universe splits off into those different realities. At the very least it is fascinating to think about how little decisions impact our lives in some times big ways.

Naturally this concept works really well in the romance genre most famously with the 1998 film Sliding Doors. In this film Gwyneth Paltrow has 2 realities- one where she makes a subway and catches her cheating boyfriend and one where she does not. It’s a delightful film I recommend if you haven’t seen it.

Now the latest in this genre, Next Life, is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. This film stars Emilia Clarke as Ivy a singer who’s 2 realities revolve around her having a meet cute where she spills coffee on a jazz musician Diego (Edgar Ramirez) on the subway. The reality with no meet cute she ends up with her ex-fiance Noah played by Jack Farthing but her and Noah do connect eventually in both timelines (it’s meant to be!)

This film is written and directed by Drake Doremus and he tries to speak to weightier themes than the premise might suggest. It’s actually an exploration on life and if we are destined for certain fates or not. Clarke is very likable in the role and she manages to have decent chemistry with both Farthing and Ramirez. Doremus could have learned from Sliding Doors and given Ivy different hairstyles for each reality because it can get confusing which version of the character we are seeing from scene to scene.

It also sometimes gets heavier than it needs to be and Ivy can start to feel unlikable particularly in the Noah sections. Still, I overall enjoyed myself with the music playing throughout adding another fun component (it would be a good soundtrack to listen to.)

Next Life is the kind of movie you could go to with friends and then have a good discussion after but yet it still manages to be a pleasant time. One might say in the reality where I saw the movie I’m glad I did!

Covering festivals is not easy and small sites like Rachel’s Reviews need help to provide such extensive coverage of film and theatre. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch-alongs. If you value honest criticism, check it out. Find out more here.

SXSW Day 1 Log (Kid Candidate, Introducing Selma, Islands,Demi Lovato, Hysterical, The Lost Sons)

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey everyone! Today begins the first day of the South by Southwest Film Festival of SXSW. This is my first year attending the festival and of course I attended virtually this year. Hopefully next year I can go down to Austin and attend in person (which is something I was planning to do last year before the world went nuts).

I have to say day 1 I am mostly underwhelmed by what I saw. Maybe I just picked poorly but there is only 1 out of 6 I really loved and only 2 I think I will go fresh on. Oh well!

Here are my quick thoughts on the films:

Kid Candidate

The documentary Kid Candidate tells the story of Hayden Pedigo who is the 24 year old who decides to run for city council in Amarillo Texas. Hayden seems like a nice enough kid but his lack of motivation to study the issues and become an educated candidate makes the whole thing feel like a publicity stunt or at best a youtube gimmick.

The director also fails to challenge him on his ideology. He appears at tea party and MAGA events but then doesn’t seem to share their beliefs (or he may and the filmmaker just doesn’t ask him about it). The parts where we get to know the Senegalese population and the way religious dogma is used by the other candidates is interesting but not enough to carry the whole film.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Introducing Selma

Introducing Selma is only tangentially a celeb biopic. It briefly talks about Blair’s acting career and shows clips from Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde but that’s about it. She could have had any job and the story would be compelling. It profiles her experiences with MS and her stem cell treatments in 2019 (and her time with the pandemic in 2020).

She is an inspiring, authentic person who struggles at times to speak and move. What could be cloying feels true and devastating. This was my favorite of the festival for the day.

8 out of 10

Smile Worthy

Islands

Islands is a story about a 50 year old Filipino man who must start caring for his aging Father after his Mother dies. This film has some sweet moments and if you like slice of life movies it may be worth a watch.

However, the acting feels mostly amateurish and when they have Josh fall in love it is with his cousin, which is a weird choice. It could have been a very sweet little love story if they weren’t related. This one isn’t awful but I can’t recommend it.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil

If you are a big fan of Demi Lovato you will probably enjoy Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil. As someone who doesn’t know much about her I found the experience frustrating. First, it is a docu-series put into a movie format which I think made the editing kind of weird but I felt like this is a situation of a director wanting a certain narrative that the subject wouldn’t provide.

Particularly off is a section where she tries to argue for moderation instead of sobriety and it’s painted as an inspirational moment until other guests like Elton John strongly disagree with that approach. There’s interesting stuff in there and some shocking reveals of what Demi and her team have been through but it unfortunately wasn’t put together very well. Also there is a cheap tie-in to her new album at the end which adds to feeling of being manipulated.

4 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Hysterical

Hysterical is a documentary about female stand up comics. There are definitely key figures I wish they had interviews with like Amy Schumer and Ali Wong who are seen but not heard from. Also Ellen Degeneres is never even mentioned (Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman?).

Regardless, the ladies they do talk with are funny and I enjoyed hearing their stories and talking about how the comedy scene could do better in including female voices. It wasn’t a piece to complain but to show their obvious talent. Most importantly it was funny.

7 out of 10

The Lost Sons

When I watch a documentary I always ask: ‘would I rather read an article on the topic?’ If so than the film didn’t do it’s job. The Lost Sons is such a film. It does have a compelling story of a man who finds out he was a replacement baby for his parents who had their son kidnapped at the hospital. The problem is so many key players had died or were unwilling to be filmed that there’s not enough meat on the bone for a feature film. This would be great as a short true crime podcast or newspiece but not as a feature.

The man in question Paul Fronczak does about 80% of the interviewing and I wish he had more charisma. A side of me felt like this whole thing was an attempt to buoy his failing acting career (multiple clips are shown). It seems like others enjoyed this more than I did but it’s made by the same people who did Three Identical Strangers, which was far more absorbing and effective with a very similar story.

Feels like a TV spot stretched out to a feature film. Just listen to the podcasts about it instead.

3.5 out of 10

Frown Worthy