0:00

This message comes from Sony

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Pictures Classics, presenting the penguin

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lessons. A new comedy starring

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Steve Coogan as a teacher

0:09

whose life is upended after

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he rescues a penguin from

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an oil-slicked beach. Now playing

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only in theaters. At the

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heart of every monster movie

0:21

is a menacing, often oversized

0:23

creature. A werewolf, gorilla,

0:26

dinosaur, shark, half fishman. And

0:28

then there's Death of a Unicorn,

0:30

which offers up a different kind

0:32

of cinematic adversary. The film finds

0:34

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega facing

0:36

off against some angry as hell-horned

0:39

beasts, and like so many creature

0:41

features, it poses a direct question

0:43

amid all the chaos and carnage.

0:45

Who's the real monster here? I'm

0:47

Glenn Weldon. And I'm Aisha Harris, and

0:49

today we're talking about Death of a

0:51

Unicorn on Pop Culture Happy Hour from

0:54

NPR. Joining us today is Jordan Cruciola.

0:56

She's a writer and producer and the

0:58

host of the podcast, Feeling Scene on

1:00

Maximum Fun. Welcome back, Jordan. Thank you

1:02

so much for having me. Thrill to

1:04

be back as always. Awesome to have you

1:06

here. And also, like, I don't think

1:08

we could have thought of anyone better to

1:10

be on the show to talk about this.

1:12

All right. It's gonna be a fun

1:14

conversation. So Deaf of a unicorn stars

1:17

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a

1:19

dad and daughter, Elliot and Ridley, and

1:21

along the way to a business

1:23

retreat, their car strikes a mysterious

1:25

creature. No, but it is

1:27

horse-shaped with some sort of protrusion

1:30

or a gross. Right, that's my

1:32

working theory too. Feral horse, mad,

1:34

tumor-ridden, jumps in the middle of

1:36

the road, not the fault of

1:38

anyone driver, per se. It's a

1:40

fucking unicorn. Hmm, yes. The accident

1:43

sets off a fateful chain of

1:45

events after they finally arrive at

1:47

the secluded compound of Elliot's billionaire

1:49

boss Odell Leopold, who's played by

1:52

Richard E. Grant. Now it turns

1:54

out that the unicorn has wondrous

1:56

game-changing restorative benefits that Odell and

1:58

his family would... love to exploit

2:01

for profit. But it's also the case

2:03

that the poor dead unicorn was part

2:05

of a pack, and its survivors aren't

2:07

too happy with what the humans have

2:09

done. Death of a unicorn is the

2:12

feature debut of producer Alex Sharfman, and

2:14

it's in theaters now. So Jordan, I'm

2:16

going to start with you. Did you

2:19

have a good time here? What's your

2:21

vibe on this? I had a fun

2:23

time. The ensemble held it together for

2:25

me. I liked what every person was

2:28

choosing to do with the exception of

2:30

I think you guys are going to

2:32

get more specifically into this too, so

2:34

I won't take it all up. The

2:36

first time I've ever found Paul Rudd

2:39

to be like truly, unredeemably, unlikable,

2:41

cast him out. But that... Jenna

2:43

Ortega is a star and she

2:45

can carry a film Will Poulter,

2:47

a haughty I have loved forever,

2:50

and I'm so glad the world

2:52

is starting to recognize his juice.

2:54

Richard E. Grant, great as always,

2:56

and Tailoni. This was as Andy

2:59

McDowell wasn't ready or not, for

3:01

me, Tail Leone is in this.

3:03

Great comparison. And I love this

3:05

surprise interjection of her being the

3:07

worst. Thank you, Jordan. Glenn, how

3:09

about you. I feel like we are

3:12

a little bit more aligned. on this

3:14

movie but tell me more. I don't

3:16

know did you find it kind of

3:18

a slog and kind of a snooze?

3:20

Then we're aligned here. Look I love

3:22

all these actors Jordan you that you

3:25

mentioned but the thing is Those folks,

3:27

to different degrees, are not just any

3:29

actors, right? They're all gifted comic actors.

3:32

It's true, it's true. And the film

3:34

does not seem willing to embrace or

3:36

acknowledge that instead it walks us through

3:38

like 40 minutes of setup that any

3:41

other horror movie in the world would

3:43

have sent it around what I found

3:45

to be really tedious, daddy, daughter,

3:48

dead mother, dysfunction, and these

3:50

rich people, as you mentioned,

3:52

they're being obnoxious, they're just...

3:54

It's just a general paucity

3:56

of fun, I guess, is what I took away

3:58

from this. And again. And even if there

4:01

aren't enough jokes in the script, which

4:03

I would argue there aren't, these are

4:05

all comic actors. They could run with

4:07

it if you let them. They've got

4:09

comic timing. They've got comic chops. They've

4:11

got comic instincts. They could generate funny

4:13

just in the delivery, but they're not

4:15

given leave to do so. Will Polter

4:17

comes close. I'll grant you that. Yes,

4:19

yes. But even he seems reined in,

4:21

kind of hamstrung. And for me, the

4:23

answer is that the filmmaker is committed

4:25

to giving this film some heart. In

4:27

his mind, the heart means that rud

4:29

or tega relationship, but it's kind of boring

4:31

and it's kind of rote. And it

4:33

ends up getting so much screen time

4:35

that it's just this gravity sink at

4:37

the center of the story. It pulls everything

4:39

in. So it makes this story about

4:41

stabby magic horses, which should be fun

4:43

and over the top and literally fantastic.

4:45

It just seems, I mean, I think

4:47

the filmmaker would call it grounded. I would

4:49

call it somber and slow. And at

4:52

the end, we'll get there. It reaches for

4:54

some kind of spiritual significance, which what

4:56

are you doing? Stabby horsey movie. That's

4:59

a great description. I will

5:01

say the spiritual stuff does come up

5:03

earlier than that. I think the first

5:05

time when they actually hit

5:07

the unicorn, there is a

5:09

moment where Ridley is transported

5:11

while like touching the unicorn.

5:14

And it's supposed to give the sense

5:16

that like she is one. She

5:18

is like spiritually linked to this unicorn.

5:20

It's a weird thing to think about,

5:23

but it's not quite weird enough. And I

5:25

think for me, that's where I find myself

5:27

struggling with this movie. You know,

5:29

Alex Sharfman has talked about being inspired

5:31

by any number of like monster

5:34

classics, including Jurassic Park. And

5:36

this entire time I was

5:38

getting big Jurassic Park vibes.

5:40

But the problem with that

5:42

is that most movies can't be

5:44

Jurassic Park. Sure, for

5:46

one thing, Jurassic Park was

5:48

made at a time when practical

5:50

effects still rained. And here these

5:52

unicorns, they're supposed to be menacing.

5:54

They're supposed to be terrifying. You're

5:56

supposed to at times there are

5:58

shots that feel almost like. directly taken

6:01

from Jurassic Park, like moments with

6:03

a car, like all these things.

6:05

Yeah, definitely. But like, the unicorns

6:07

look like CGI unicorns. There's no

6:09

real, like, feeling of menace and

6:11

threatening other than what we're just

6:13

seeing these actors do. And I

6:15

think that is the problem is

6:17

that it's not immersive in that

6:19

way. For me, Will Polter was

6:21

the thing that kept this from

6:24

just sinking completely. He has so

6:26

many great. lines and his line delivery

6:28

is very good. Grief! Grief! Get out

6:30

of your suit! Oh, no, no, really,

6:33

it's okay. You sure? Yeah, yeah, it

6:35

doesn't mind. No, no, no. Okay. Grief!

6:37

Forget it! Again, like you, Glenn, I

6:39

kind of struggle with just like,

6:41

we've seen this story and these

6:43

many stories of its trying to

6:46

tell, so many different times,

6:48

especially like the rich people

6:50

are terrible. we know this this is this

6:52

is nothing new but Jordan I want to hear

6:54

like a little bit more yes about like what

6:56

worked for you because I think I did see this

6:58

with the big audience and people were really

7:00

enjoying it this was south by southwest so

7:03

what I mean what a perfect place to

7:05

see this movie exactly particularly a very enthusiastic

7:07

crowd yeah I'm good at a certain point

7:09

for the most part if a movie lets

7:11

me buy into what's doing I can fully

7:13

give myself over and be like listen These

7:16

are computer horses, whatever man, they're

7:18

ripping people apart. And I can

7:20

find the thing that's gonna carry

7:22

me on a good time through

7:24

the roller coaster of something. The

7:26

thing I just couldn't process the

7:28

entire time was like the inexplicably

7:30

bad, pathetic mealy-mouthed dad that was

7:33

Paul Red's character. Because like, it's

7:35

almost like, we're gonna break convention

7:37

and make you think that this

7:39

is the point where he's gonna

7:41

see to reason and he's gonna

7:43

come around and then he's like,

7:45

for being there and bringing her is like

7:47

they want the family appeal they need to

7:49

know that I am the man to be

7:51

the proxy of their estate when the cancer-ridden

7:53

patriarch dies so I need to let them

7:55

know that I am the man for this

7:57

job and he's like if I do everything

7:59

right I will have so much money that

8:01

you will never have to rub anything again

8:03

where you're like, I'm pretty sure college is

8:05

paid for. I'm pretty sure she can have

8:07

a beautiful wedding. Granted, rich people always want

8:10

warmer more, but he's not presented as that

8:12

guy. But that's like, oh, we're all the

8:14

same. It's all greed. Every time he talked,

8:16

I got mad. But when it was like

8:18

the buildup, I was in it with the

8:20

ensemble. I like Richard E Grant being silly.

8:22

I like Talion like squinting constantly and looking

8:24

down her nose. We can be rich, craven,

8:26

terrible people right here. It's fine, sister. You

8:28

don't have to lie to me. Love that.

8:30

Once the carnage started happening, even if

8:32

they're computer horses, it's good unicorn justice.

8:34

Like we are taking a while to

8:36

get here. Any movie that isn't even

8:38

long, like an hour and 40 minutes,

8:41

hour and 30 minutes. But it like

8:43

once it starts happening, like the people

8:45

are getting gored, the people are getting

8:47

trampled. The people are getting like literally

8:49

like held in mouths by one unicorn

8:51

on one end and another unicorn on

8:53

the other and torn apart. That is

8:55

what this movie exists for for me.

8:57

I'm like, am I going to see

8:59

people shredded by unicorns because this movie is

9:01

called death of a unicorn. And it takes

9:03

a bit to ramp up to get there.

9:05

But once it did, I'm like, okay, good.

9:07

I'm so glad all of these people are

9:09

getting destroyed. See, I don't know, Jordan. I love

9:11

a good eat the rich story. just didn't think this

9:14

was a particularly good one. It's I wasn't even eat the

9:16

rich thing. I was just like, give

9:18

me the blood and guts. Like here

9:20

for a robot Kaiju movie. I needed

9:22

a bit more flair and wit and style,

9:24

especially if you've hired Richard E Grant.

9:26

I mean, look, Saltburn is a divisive film,

9:28

but you can't deny that in that

9:30

film, he is making eat the rich really

9:33

tasty. And this is just comparatively hamfisted

9:35

and dull and plotting. And I thought we

9:37

might get a little wit at the

9:39

beginning. I thought is not inspired. No. But

9:41

what I thought there was going to

9:43

be some with the beginning because we see

9:45

will polter and they make the choice

9:47

that the will polter character is a 24

9:49

seven shorts and boat. Now that's not a

9:51

fresh take, but it is a take at least.

9:54

And that's what I wanted from everybody in this

9:56

film that it just wasn't getting. I don't think

9:58

I should be in in in swimming. shorts

10:00

for this moment. I will say

10:02

there were also a couple of nice

10:04

moments. Anthony Kerrigan, who I think most

10:07

of us recognize from Barry as

10:09

Noho Hank. He's playing one of the

10:11

service staff of the family, of the Leopold

10:13

family, and he has some moments, I

10:15

think. He's just a good actor, and

10:17

he does what he can with that.

10:19

There are moments of wits and cunning,

10:21

but they are so few and far

10:23

between. And we're not going to spoil

10:25

the ending, but I do think that

10:28

to me, that was where I kind of

10:30

got pushed over the This is a movie

10:32

that is so generic in every way

10:34

possible. Most of the characters are white.

10:36

The characters of color are some of

10:38

the ones who get murdered first. All

10:40

of these things are happening. And then

10:42

it ends on such a conventional ending.

10:44

And I'm like, why did we do

10:46

this? I don't know if that makes

10:48

sense. Like, it's hard to talk about

10:50

without talking about the ending. But like,

10:52

it just felt like. This filmmaker

10:54

is afraid to break the mold

10:56

in every way and the Paul

10:59

Red character felt like maybe this

11:01

is a way of breaking the

11:03

mold because he's playing against type.

11:05

But then for what? This movie

11:07

does not seem to know what

11:09

it is and wants to be

11:11

this meaningful pseudo spiritual rappling with

11:14

the dynamics of a father and

11:16

a daughter which what are we...

11:18

Do we? You know? My only comfort

11:20

is that if this movie had been

11:22

made in the 80s or 90s, there

11:24

would have been a lot more gay

11:26

panic in it. And so much. We

11:28

would have gotten a lot more penis

11:30

jokes, and at least one of those

11:32

impailings would have been in the butt. We

11:35

were spared that at least. Oh, you are so

11:37

right about that. Yes, yes. Well, I guess we

11:39

dodged a vote with that one. I would say

11:41

if you're going to go see this movie, I

11:43

would say you can be looking forward to this

11:46

movie. See it in a theater. Like try and

11:48

see it on a Friday night in a situation

11:50

because when certain elements of unicorn justice were happening,

11:52

it was literal like yells and cheers in the

11:55

audience. Bring a group of friends and hoot and

11:57

holler kind of movie. Low stakes in that affair

11:59

because it's... It tries to gin up its

12:01

stakes in a way that it cannot see

12:03

through, but it is like there's fun

12:05

to be had in the in -between if

12:07

you're just like, okay, movie, you go and

12:09

play now. At those parts, I would

12:11

say. Yeah, I don't know. I would see

12:13

it at an Alamo if you could, because you've

12:15

got 40 minutes of nothing happening. If you

12:17

can order a wine or six while you're watching,

12:19

I think good. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is

12:21

the opposite of a plain movie unless

12:23

you want to fall asleep on the

12:25

plane, which is possible. Well,

12:29

once you've done that, once you've

12:31

gone to a theater, gotten your

12:33

beverage and pre -gamed and all

12:35

that fun stuff, tell us what

12:37

you think about Death of a

12:39

Unicorn. You can find us on

12:41

Facebook at facebook.com/pch. And on Letterbox

12:43

at letterbox.com/npr pop culture. We'll have

12:46

a link to that in our

12:48

episode description. Up next, what's making

12:50

us happy this week? This

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14:39

it's time for our favorite segment

14:41

of this week, and every

14:43

week, what's making us happy? Jordan,

14:45

let's start with you. What

14:47

is making me happy? Thank God

14:49

it's back. Season three of

14:51

one of the great shows on

14:53

television. It's Reacher on Amazon,

14:55

ladies and gentlemen. Alan Richardson as

14:57

vice victors of the action

14:59

for everyone podcast says Tyrannosaurus Flex,

15:01

the vanilla gorilla. Talk about

15:04

a thing that knows exactly what

15:06

it is. Talk about a

15:08

thing that like if it had

15:10

been made in the 90s,

15:12

it feels like that. Reacher is

15:14

giving us the 90s one

15:16

procedural military investigator with a code

15:18

at a time. He's in

15:20

hot water again, folks. He's in

15:22

Maine and he's ended up

15:24

in the home of a rich

15:26

family who is running guns

15:29

for an even worse high level

15:31

criminal kingpin. And guess what?

15:33

Jack's got a grudge to resolve

15:35

and he has got some

15:37

young people to save because again,

15:39

his code demands that he do so.

15:41

Alan Richardson, pure charm yet again.

15:43

Can't wait. Make this show for the

15:46

rest of my life. Find that

15:48

on Prime. That is an Amazon Prime

15:50

show. Thank you, Jordan. And this

15:52

is where I must note that Amazon

15:54

supports NPR and pays to distribute

15:56

some of our content. All right, Glenn,

15:58

what is making you happy? week. The

16:01

actor-writer comedian Jeffrey Self has a

16:03

new memoir. It's called Self-Sabbatize. Get

16:05

it. Self-Sabbatized in other ways I've spent

16:07

my time. He's a novelist. He's

16:09

a working actor. You might have seen

16:11

him in Search Party or 30 Rock

16:14

or Difficult People. I first became aware

16:16

of him. Way back in 2009-2010

16:18

when he had a sketch show with

16:20

Koloskola on logo. Self-Sabbatage is about exactly

16:23

what the title says. The many ways

16:25

he has managed to be his

16:27

own worst enemy to be his own

16:29

worst enemy. intensity about bad decisions, bad

16:32

behavior, bad breakups. And I want to

16:34

be clear, when I say he's being

16:36

self-deprecating, he's not just being charmingly, wittily

16:38

self-deprecating, this is searingly self-lacerable. Whether he's

16:41

telling stories about moving to New York

16:43

and paying their rent with sex work

16:45

or finding a real mentor in the

16:47

Broadway actor Gary Beach, that's a very

16:50

sweet and moving part of the book

16:52

because it's all about. what we gay

16:54

men owe to our elders and how

16:56

there's an entire generation of elders who

16:58

are missing because of AIDS. And even

17:00

if you don't know Jeff yourself, the

17:02

actor, you should get to know Jeff

17:04

yourself, the writer, because this guy's in

17:06

complete command. If you want to read

17:08

a book and it's by a performer,

17:11

then that performer reads it, get the

17:13

audio book. He reads it, his timing

17:15

and delivery is spot on, that is

17:17

Jeffrey Self's self-sabotage, and the other ways

17:19

I spent my time. Thank you

17:21

so much Glenn. That sounds very,

17:24

very fun. Yeah, I'm so glad

17:26

you put that on my radar.

17:29

It's terrific. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

17:31

Well, what is making me happy

17:33

this week, Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar,

17:36

and Sizzo. course, heavily samples the

17:38

Luther Vandros, Cheryl

17:40

Lynn Duet, if this

17:43

world was mine, classic,

17:45

and this led me

17:47

down a rabbit hole

17:49

to a soul-trained

17:52

performance of

17:54

Vandros and Lynn

17:56

doing this song. It is

17:59

so good. The mic is

18:01

on. The mic is on. It

18:03

sounds like it could be the

18:05

studio recording, but it's just

18:07

different enough that you know

18:09

it's not. They are ad-living

18:11

in ways that they don't do

18:13

in the studio version. It

18:15

is beautiful. It is magnificent.

18:18

I'm so glad that the

18:20

song Luther has really sort

18:22

of like put this... Classic,

18:24

Back into the Rotation. So that's

18:26

Luther Vanders and Cheryl Lynn performing

18:28

If This World Were Mine on

18:30

Soul Train. And you can find

18:32

that on the internet online. And

18:34

that is what's making me happy

18:37

this week. If you want links

18:39

for what we recommended, plus some

18:41

more recommendations, sign up for our

18:43

newsletter at npr.org/pop culture newsletter. That

18:45

brings us to the end of

18:47

our show, Jordan Cruciola, Glenn Weldon.

18:49

Thanks so much for being here. This

18:51

was a pleasure. Thank you. we survived

18:53

the unicorns. We did, we did.

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This episode was produced by Liz

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