Celebrity deaths are an interesting thing to discuss with me. In some ways, my heart breaks for the loved one around the celebrity. Outside of that, though, I have no connection to them. I didn’t know them personally. I feel like it’s a completely different thing when you know someone on a personal, intimate level. I would never cry for the loss of a famous person the way I would for the loss of a family member. Don’t get me wrong, death is a tragic thing. The grief process in and of itself is something incredibly hard to move through. I’ve gone through my fair share of death and it’s a pain I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Alas, it's a natural part of this life.

But there are celebrity deaths that do hit me like a gut punch, often because I’ve grown up with that individual’s influence on entertainment. Robin Williams was a huge influence on shaping my entertainment taste thanks to his diverse career throughout the 1990s. The same can be said about Chester Bennington. Linkin Park was a monumental stepping stone for my taste in music. For me personally, these deaths are that much harder because of how they die. It’s also the reason we refer to them so much on our podcast. Wes Craven was another hard one for me. A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream both were some of my first forays into the horror genre. 

A couple of weeks ago, there was another celebrity death that took me back a bit. That was Jerry Stiller. In some ways, I feel like he was always on my television growing up. Whether it was Seinfeld, Zoolander, or Anchorman. Heck even to a smaller extent, On the Line, another one of his. I’m showing my age a bit by saying that. It was a movie from the early 2000s that partnered Stiller with NSYNC’s Lance Bass and Jerry Fatone. Perhaps the show of Stiller’s that stuck with me into adulthood was his role as Arthur Spooner on King of Queens. It was one of the first series I ever bought in full on DVD. I rewatched it heavily throughout the early years of my marriage. I will always testify that Queens is a massively underrated series, to say the least. Jerry, you will be missed. 

Queens gave us more than the crazy Arthur Spooner: it also made Kevin James a household name. James has made a career out of being a lovable dork, in a lot of ways. There’s nothing wrong with that. He may, just may, be forging a career in the dramatic. For his first dramatic role, James stars as a neo-nazi/convict/cult leader in the thriller, Becky. Becky fixates on James and his cult brothers breaking into a home to retrieve a mysterious key, only to be met with a hurricane, known as Becky (Lulu Wilson). It’s worth noting that when we first meet James and “his brothers” - they’re in prison. They of course break out and intersect with Wilson’s family.

The directors, in the official press release, absolutely nailed the tone of the movie, calling it “an ultra-violent Home Alone”, though I doubt this film will gain the cultural status of Macaulay Culkin. The film is one of the most entertaining films I’ve witnessed this year. Wilson, who some may remember from Annabelle: Creation, truly holds her own against the brotherhood. She’s sympathetic and vicious within the same breath, a rarity in actresses as young as she is. It will be interesting to watch how her career evolves moving forward. Perhaps, more than anyone in Becky, all eyes will be on James, who completely strips his comedic roots to step into a terrifyingly intense cult leader. Should James ever decide to make a career change, he has my vote. He completely disappears into the role. This is the Kevin James you never knew you needed to see until this movie and he’s incredible. Without a doubt, the best of the movie is James in a role unlike anything that has come before it.

As I mentioned before, Becky will fail to hold the cultural status of its inspiration. While the performances are good and the action is solid, the plot holes can’t be ignored. In some ways, this film feels like it’s only half-way thought out. That’s the really frustrating aspect of Becky. It could have been great but it chose to underdevelop its characters. Wilson seems to be the only character really developed in its 100-minute duration. She has a source to her anger, and it’s not these runaway prisoners. James, on the other hand, brings the biggest plot holes. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few scenes where he does get fleshed out a bit, but they are here and there. Those scenes are so far and few between. His main motive, as the antagonist, is the biggest fault I have with the film. He keeps talking about this plan and how this key is gonna solve everything. The problem is we never learn anything about his plan, the “brotherhood”, or the secret source to all the narrative. 

Overall, Becky sacrifices shock for substance. The film is boldly led by Kevin James in a career-defining performance as a terrifying and intense cult leader. You have never seen James like this. Honestly, after years of comedy that is extremely hit or miss, James is refreshing in a role that is genuinely eerie. Lulu Wilson, whose character the film is named after, delivers an equally entertaining yet complex performance. She is worth the watch as she holds her own against James. Becky’s narrative, however, is a bit problematic. There is little to no character development for anyone outside of Wilson. Match that with the ever-growing plot holes and you have a real mess on your hands. Becky is a bloody fun time, but nothing close to greatness.

RORSCHACH RATING:

Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by), Caless Davis, Dan Rockwood, Micah Kimber & Brandon Miller . Music by Yuriy Bespalov & Beggars. This post was edited by Cam Smith. Becky is property of Quiver Distribution . We do not own nor claim any rights. Becky is available VOD & Digital on June 5th, 2020!

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