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Review: Billy Crystal neglects the other characters in the well-meaning ‘Here Today’

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Billy Crystal is always a welcome presence on screen. In his last film, 2019’s “Standing Up, Falling Down,” he played a quirky dermatologist helping a comedian get out of a rut. In “Here Today,” which Crystal wrote and directed (his first feature in 20 years), the tables are turned; he stars as a comedy writer who learns to love life again thanks to an unlikely friendship. A takeoff on the Alan Zweibel short story “The Prize,” Crystal writes himself a honey of a role that he performs with his signature charm and wit. But he seems to have forgotten to write any of the other roles with the same depth, which is a darn shame.

Forgetting is the central conceit of “Here Today.” Charlie (Crystal) is a legendary comedy writer grappling with his dementia diagnosis. Though his short-term memory is slipping, Charlie’s past tends to come rushing back in overwhelming flashbacks, and he initially tries to hide his struggle from his family and co-workers at a “Saturday Night Live”-like late-night sketch show. Unexpected salvation arrives in the form of a wacky subway singer, Emma ( Tiffany Haddish ), who waltzes into his life over lunch.

This meet-cute, the result of a charity auction, and a subsequent seafood-triggered allergic reaction, makes up the totality of the short story. From that strange encounter, Crystal and former “SNL” writer Zweibel (the pair also collaborated on the Broadway show “700 Sundays”) extrapolate the dementia, the odd-couple friendship that blossoms between Emma and Charlie and the comedy show, taking Zweibel’s nugget of story and running with it.

The comedy show, featuring some intentionally ghastly sketches, is the cleverest subplot, exploring the comedy generation gap. But it’s not well-integrated into the main story of Emma and Charlie’s friendship, and the film feels disjointed. Plus, Emma and Charlie’s friendship is so outlandishly fantastical, one may pause to wonder if Emma is a real person, or some kind of apparition who only appears to Charlie.

Emma is a dreaded combination of stereotypical character tropes. She’s a Manic Pixie Dream Girl by way of the Magical Negro , her character serving only to cheer up Charlie and spur him to work on his memoir. All we know about Emma’s life is that she sings in a band called Slippery When Wet, and she has an ex-boyfriend whom she’s dead-set on making jealous through her friendship with Charlie. Her personality is “outgoing” and “funny hats,” but we haven’t a clue as to her background, where she’s from, her hopes, her pain, what makes her so cheerful in the first place or why she even wants to be friends with Charlie. The same goes for every other character in Charlie’s orbit, and that is the film’s fatal flaw.

As a performer, Haddish normally brings a jolt of chaotic energy to liven the proceedings. But here, likely because the character is so underwritten, she feels tight, the fun forced. Emma’s function is merely to support Charlie and loosen up stuffy white people, and the lack of anything authentic for Haddish to riff on is palpable.

It’s hard to pick apart a film that is as well-intentioned as “Here Today,” which earnestly wants to celebrate life, and every beautiful, tragic, poignant and surprising moment. But for a film that seeks to be so humanist, there’s only one truly human character in it. As likable as he is, that oversight is impossible to ignore.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

‘Here Today’

Rated: PG-13, for strong language, and sexual references Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes Playing: Starts Friday in general release where theaters are open

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‘here today’: film review.

Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish star in Crystal's new directorial effort, a dramedy about the friendship between a man entering the early stages of dementia and an aspiring singer.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Imagine The Father if Anthony Hopkins’ character was a joke-telling comedy machine spewing out one-liners. That’s the net effect of Billy Crystal ‘s new directorial effort (arriving 20 years after his last, 61* ), which he also co-wrote and stars in. Attempting to blend a poignant portrait of a man entering the early stages of dementia, a feel-good story about an unusual friendship and copious doses of comic shtick, Here Today doesn’t fully succeed in any department. But it does provide some alternately amusing and touching moments, thanks largely to the heartfelt performances by Crystal and his co-star Tiffany Haddish .

The comedy-drama, inspired by a semi-autobiographical short story written by Crystal’s frequent collaborator (and co-screenwriter) Alan Zweibel, revolves around a character tailor-made for the veteran star’s talents. He plays Charlie Burnz (even the name sounds vaudevillian), an aging comedy writer who serves as a sort of elder statesman on the writing staff of a Saturday Night Live -style sketch comedy show. Charlie’s condition is hinted at in the film’s opening moments, when he’s shown carefully using simple memorized instructions to venture from his home to his workplace.

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Taking the idea of “meet cute” to the extreme, the story kicks into gear when Charlie goes to lunch with the winner of a charity auction who, as he learns to his chagrin, paid a mere $22 for the privilege. It also turns out that his dining companion, Emma Payge (Haddish), an aspiring singer, didn’t even win the prize herself, but co-opted it out of spite after discovering her boyfriend cheating on her. The meal eventually turns disastrous when she suffers a severe allergy attack after eating a giant shellfish tower and Charlie has to take her to the hospital and winds up paying her medical bills.

The scene is apparently based on a true incident in Zweibel’s life, but the way it’s played here gives a quick indication that subtlety will not be the film’s forte. After the allergy attack kicks in, Emma doesn’t just swell up and have difficulty breathing. Instead, her face instantly becomes horribly distorted, and her comically garbled attempts at speaking sound like Bill Cosby performing his classic “Dentist” routine.

Crystal’s irresistible impulse to go for big laughs inevitably gives the film a schizophrenic quality from which it never recovers. The unlikely platonic friendship that develops between the pair (they do spoon at one point, but thankfully that’s as far as it goes) is depicted in such scenes as their visiting Madame Tussauds, providing the two stars the opportunity to pose with a variety of wax figures while exchanging one-liners as if competing in a joke-off. At another point, Charlie brings Emma as his date to his granddaughter’s bat-mitzvah. She quickly enlivens the stodgy affair with her sheer lifeforce, getting the elderly attendees to dance wildly as she performs a down-and-dirty rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” (Emma’s repertoire is strangely retro, perhaps reflective of the fact that the character was created by two elderly men. At another point in the film, she sings Fats Waller’s “Your Feet’s Too Big.”)

Many of the dialogue’s gags are funny, especially as delivered by such pros as Crystal and Haddish. The former displays his decades-honed, pitch-perfect timing and inflections, especially as compared to a performer on the sketch comedy show who consistently places the wrong emphases on words, much to Charlie’s consternation. Charlie’s growing anger leads to one of the film’s more entertaining, if improbable, scenes, when he launches an impromptu on-air tirade against the offending cast member that delights the show’s studio audience and becomes a viral sensation.

At other times, you can feel the screenplay straining too hard for Neil Simonesque rat-a-tat jokes, as when Charlie, invited by Emma to dance, informs her, “I’m a very dangerous dancer. I’m one of the few people who have mambo insurance.” You can almost hear the silent rimshot.

Haddish, faced with the challenging task of going toe-to-toe with a comedy legend, wisely underplays, giving one of her more restrained performances that gets the desired laughs while effectively mining the serious moments as well.

The dramatic segments are even more forced, especially the POV flashbacks in which Charlie recalls his courtship and marriage with the beautiful Carrie (Louisa Krause), whose tragic untimely death continues to haunt him. While the stylistic choice eliminates the need for Crystal to be awkwardly de-aged or substituted with a younger actor, it also proves alienating.

Everything about the film, which runs a little under two hours but feels longer, registers as vaguely overstuffed, down to the needless celebrity cameos including Itzhak Perlman performing an impromptu violin solo on the balcony of his apartment, and Kevin Kline, Sharon Stone and director Barry Levinson playing themselves taking part in a panel discussion in which Charlie’s deteriorating mental state becomes painfully evident. The brief appearances smack more of Crystal’s well-stocked rolodex than dramatic necessity. Meanwhile, such supporting players as Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti and Anna Deveare Smith are unable to make very much of their underwritten roles.

Here Today certainly means well, delivering inspiring messages about living in the moment and savoring the meaningful relationships that make life worth living. It’s a hard film to dislike. But it’s also one that, much like Charlie’s fading memories, won’t linger very long either.

Production companies: Astute Films, Face Productions, Big Head Productions Distributor: Stage 6 Films Cast: Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith, Nyambi Nyambi Director: Billy Crystal Screenwriters: Billy Crystal, Alan Zweibel Producers: Fred Bernstein, Billy Crystal, Dominique Telso, Alan Zweibel, Tiffany Haddish Executive producers: Rick Jackson, Claudine Marrotte, Samantha Sprecher Director of photography: Vanja Cernjul Production designer: Andrew Jackness Editor: Kent Beyda Costume designer: Cynthia Flynt Composer: Charlie Rosen Casting: Tara Rubin

116 minutes

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‘Here Today’ Review: Billy Crystal, as a Comedy Writer Losing His Memory, Meets Tiffany Haddish in a Lively Movie With a Soft Center

Its view of the comedy world is tartly authentic, but as a buddy movie it's both winning and mushy.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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“ Here Today ,” starring Billy Crystal as a venerable TV comedy writer and Tiffany Haddish as the saintly, rough-around-the-edges street singer who becomes his unlikely pal, is a movie that feels like it could have been made 30 years ago: a friendly, adult-skewing, tart-witted but never nasty, jokes-and-hugs-built-around-a-serious-crisis character study that’s just ’90s enough to be comfortably old-fashioned, like an old pair of tasseled loafers. What’s good about the movie is that Crystal, who co-wrote and directed it, has an inside knowledge of the showbiz comedy world (as he demonstrated in 1992 when he directed and starred in the acerbically accomplished “Mr. Saturday Night”), and the prickly vivacity with which he portrays it roots the movie in something real.

Crystal’s Charlie Burnz lives in a beautiful Brooklyn brownstone and walks each day to the cable-television studio where he’s the senior writer on “This Just In,” a popular sketch-comedy show that’s like “Saturday Night Live” done for Comedy Central. It’s always gratifying to see the comedy world captured by someone who doesn’t feel the need to satirize it too broadly, and Crystal, who co-wrote the script with the former “SNL” writer Alan Zweibel (based on Zweibel’s short story “The Prize”), nails how a show like this one works: the neurotic electricity in the writer’s room, the jockeying between laughs that aim high and aim low, the performative office politics of who’s up and who’s down.

At first, when we see Charlie surrounded by hip New York sketch writers 30 years his junior, or seated in his office typing up jokes on his bath-tile-green manual Smith-Corona, we suspect that the movie is going to be about a relic who gets tossed out of a comedy establishment that’s outgrown him. But Charlie, who has Broadway plays, hit movies, and five books to his credit, hasn’t lost the instinct for how to spin a joke, and for what he calls the “music” of comedy. He’s the show’s mentor, its organizing editor, its tribal elder. What he’s losing is his memory.

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Each day, on his walk to work, he fixates on the same stop sign and tells himself to turn left. At home on the wall, he’s got photographs of his adult children, the menschy Rex (Penn Badgley) and the resentful Francine (Laura Benanti), with Post-It notes of their names attached. Most of the time, though, his mind is fine: perky, nimble, compulsively funny. Crystal makes Charlie a worldly spieler — someone who has spent his life winning people over with one-liners, driven by a show-off abrasiveness that has been softened by success. As Crystal plays him, with a scraggly beard and a gentle aging-boomer edge, Charlie is an intensely likable guy, but the names from his past are starting to slip away from him. As we learn early on, during a meeting between Charlie and his doctor (Anna Deavere Smith), it’s not information overload. He’s in the early stages of dementia. He’s hiding it for the moment, but it’s only going to get worse.

Charlie keeps having weirdly vivid flashbacks, usually to moments with his wistful late wife, Carrie (Louisa Krause), which the film plants us right in the thick of. And what he’s going through is dramatized in a terrific scene set at Lincoln Center, where he appears onstage for the 30th-anniversary tribute showing of “Call Me Anytime,” a rom-com classic he wrote 30 years ago. It’s a movie that comes right out of that ’90s sweet spot; onstage with him are the film’s director, Barry Levinson, its two stars, Sharon Stone and Kevin Kline, and the moderator, Bob Costas (all four playing themselves). Charlie keeps asking Levinson who he is, which the crowd takes as a joke, and when he says the same thing to Sharon Stone, it’s obvious to them that he must be joking. But he’s not. And the laughter freezes in our throats.

It’s hard to watch “Here Today” without thinking, at moments, of the battle against mental deterioration that was waged, and lost, by Robin Williams. It’s not that this is some “version” of that story, but Williams’ ordeal shadows it: the spectacle of a brilliant comedian, a man with a pinwheel brain, losing touch. That said, “Here Today” is no movie-of-the-week. It’s a comedy in which Charlie’s increasingly desperate attempts to hold onto who he is put him on a rocky collision course with his job and his family.

What inspires him to go forward is his flowering friendship with Tiffany Haddish’s Emma, who won a lunch with him (actually, it was her ex-boyfriend who won it; she’s never heard of him). During the lunch, in which it’s quickly established that the two have nothing in common, she suffers an allergic reaction to her seafood salad and gets rushed to the hospital. She has no insurance, so Charlie, who can afford it, picks up the rather sizable tab for her meds and several other expenses.

She shows up to repay him, and they become pals. Why? Because that’s the motor of the movie. She calls him “old man” and ribs him relentlessly; he goes to see one of her musical performances (and sees that she’s got something). Mostly, though, this is a sentimental buddy comedy, with a trace of romantic feeling that never translates to anything literal (though the two do, at one point, spoon). Haddish kicks off her role on a note of high abrasiveness, then grows more and more mellow with every scene. She has a warmly appealing, star-burst presence, but even as Emma’s music career gets sparked to life, we can’t help but notice that she isn’t given any real drive as a character except to hang around and help Charlie. The idea is that she brings some soul into his life, and there’s at least one scene where that gets a bit cringe-worthy: He takes her to the bat mitzvah of his granddaughter, Lindsay (Audrey Hsieh), and Emma gets the stodgy party rockin’ with her rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” This is the kind of feel-good moment that may make you glad the ’90s aren’t around to make you feel so good anymore.

Much better is the scene where Charlie loses it during the live broadcast of “This Just In.” He has developed a fulminating obsession with one of the cast members, who has a way of saying the simplest phrases with the wrong emphasis, and during the show’s equivalent of Weekend Update, Charlie charges on camera and goes into a freewheeling tirade — it’s at once a mad-as-hell “Network” tantrum, an honestly funny comedy scribe’s complaint, and an incipient dementia breakdown. Crystal plays it with a force that reminds you of why he became such a hilarious and winning actor. “Here Today,” as good as some of it is, is a watchable movie with a soft center. But it makes you very glad to see Billy Crystal take center stage again.

Reviewed online, May 4, 2021. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 117 MIN.

• Production: A Stage 6 Films release of an Astute Films production, in association with Face Productions, Big Head Productions. Producers: Fred Bernstein, Billy Crystal, Dominique Telson, Alan Zweibel, Tiffany Haddish. Executive producers: Rick Jackson, Claudine Marrot, Samantha Sprecher.
• Crew: Director: Billy Crystal. Screenplay: Billy Crystal, Alan Zweibel. Camera: Vanja Černjul. Editor: Kent Beyda. Music: Charlie Rosen.
• With: Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith, Matthew Broussard, Alex Brightman, Max Gordon Moore, Audrey Hsieh, Nyambi Nyambi.

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‘Here Today’: Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal Are a Rude Duo, Not an Odd Couple

By K. Austin Collins

K. Austin Collins

The doctor asks, “May I ask what your relationship is?” And Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal — whose roles in their new comedy Here Today are more fun to imagine if you pretend the actors are playing themselves, so we’ll keep calling them Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal — say, in unison, “I dunno.” It’s one of the running, mild jokes of the movie that people can’t quite seem to make up their minds as to what’s going on between this unlikely-seeming pair. They’re either too polite to assume the obvious or too rude not to. Hence the fun in imagining that Haddish and Crystal are playing themselves — fun which, because the movie more or less gets lost in its own, sticky-sweet emotional sauce, the audience may as well sneak into the proceedings on their own, like contraband snacks. 

So. Haddish and Crystal: a couple? Certainly they’re together often. Haddish uses Crystal to make an ex-boyfriend jealous, which stings all the more for her ex being the reason she befriended the older man to begin with. Crystal brings Haddish as a date to his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah, to the utter distress of his daughter Francine ( Laura Benanti ) and the bemusement of his son Rex ( Penn Badgley ), so-named because he was born in a museum, under a T-Rex skeleton. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie. Gently humorous and often cute, until its most saccharine instincts take the wheel. It’s a welcome dash of rom-com nostalgia, too, harkening back to those New Yorky, stroll-in-the-park Billy Crystal romances of yore, with their tamped-down chaos and likable personalities; movies in which it always seems to be fall — the chill in the air fresh, the leaves a lush orange, no one sweaty and disgusting, none of the city’s landmarks overcrowded. 

But Here Today is a curiosity, too, precisely because of the attractively uneven qualities of its stars, and because of what the movie does and doesn’t make of them. I’ll spoil it: They aren’t a couple. Maybe that’s because the May-December romance narrative is a bit played or because, as Crystal recently said , the comedy scene nowadays is a “minefield”; maybe it’s because the idea of sexual chemistry between these two actors simply wouldn’t make sense, even if that idea does have the makings of a great satire. 

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Whatever the reason, Here Today is more friend-romance than romance, and because of that it has the benefit of putting two naturally funny, charismatic stars in each others’ orbit for no other reason than because the cameras are rolling. Good enough for me. Haddish and Crystal do go through a good chunk of the usual movie-couple motions, though, minus the bedroom variety. They have a meet-cute in which, not recognizing who Crystal is, Haddish holds a Wikipedia page up to the face of every older white gentleman in a restaurant to find him — a classic case of white guy face-blindness. Her character, Emma Payge, winds up in the hospital (long story), and Charlie Berns (Crystal), winds up footing the bill. It’s not exactly star-cross’d, but paying Charlie back in increments from the money she makes doing singing gigs gives Emma an excuse to keep showing up and getting to know the guy. 

We, on the other hand, only grow too acquainted with Charlie, a semi-famous comedy writer for an SNL -like show who, flashbacks to better and worse times in his life tell us, has suffered some great tragedy. He is also, we learn early on, suffering from early stage dementia. This dilemma is ultimately what sits at the core of the movie — to a fault, really, because of how the script (co-written by Crystal and Alan Zweibel, an original writer on Saturday Night Live ) weaves it the rest of the story. The half of Here Today that goes down easy is by and large the Haddish half, with a few helpings of scenes set at Charlie’s job, in a writer’s room, that aren’t really funny, but are likable easygoing, hitting the right notes in the right way at the right time. Haddish, a comic force that can unleash a whirlwind when she wants to, keeps a lid on her wilder talents here, but not so much so that she can’t make Crystal blush, as with her jokes about how, if they did have sex, she’d break his back — she’s just too much for the guy.

She really is, isn’t she? Inevitably, the movie is most interested in Charlie, and while Emma is hardly a mere accessory, she’s too vibrant a force to remain so little-known by the end of the movie. She makes a selfless choice late in the plot which, instead of moving us, only draws attention to how little of that “self” had entered the picture, to begin with. It’s of a piece with what makes Here Today a likable but unmistakable misfire, proving unsatisfying for the narrowed-in view of the story it’s most committed to telling: about Charlie, his illness, and the family dilemma running parallel to that illness. A climactic scene, played at the expense of one of the SNL -wannabes (and sort of funny to imagine as a bit of shade toward the real Saturday Night Live ), loses the thread when its mild comedy morphs into totalizing dementia melodrama, a high in the movie conceived only to knock Charlie back down to the lowest of lows. This is too bad for a movie that’s good enough at the smaller things: Charlie’s mentorship of a soft spoken colleague who has potential, his friendship with Emma, cute cameos from the likes of Itzhak Perlman. The movie certainly has heart; its purpose is unmistakable. But the spark — for which it has all the necessary ingredients — is somehow missing.

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Movie Review – Here Today (2021)

May 5, 2021 by Robert Kojder

Here Today , 2021.

Directed by Billy Crystal. Starring Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Stone, Penn Badgley, Kevin Kline, Laura Benanti, Barry Levinson, Louisa Krause, Anna Deavere Smith, Nyambi Nyambi, Susan Pourfar, Shiloh Verrico, Alex Brightman, Joanna Adler, Matthew Broussard, Grayson Eddey, Brandon Uranowitz, Andrew Durand, Justin Linville, Max Gordon Moore, Audrey Hsieh, Gianmarco Soresi, Tony Naumovski, and Bob Costas.

When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz meets New York street singer Emma Payge, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.

Fictional once-famous comedy writer at the center of Billy Crystal’s Here Today , Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal pulls triple duty directing, co-writing, and starring) is a firm believer of finding comedy within the personal. Going a step beyond comedy, most would probably agree, but the critical problem here is that nothing in the film (co-written by and based on Alan Zweibel’s short story The Prize ) is sincere; it’s all hollow drowning in schmaltz.

It’s clear something is off about Charlie right away as he sticks to inexplicable routines (walking a specific way to work and noting random objects such as stop signs) and sometimes has his brain interrupted to a late-night memory where a police officer knocked on his door with sad news. Charlie also appears to be in denial that something is wrong despite having been diagnosed with dementia. It’s also getting to a fairly serious stage where he has to pin a family tree with pictures to a wall in his home just to keep track of loved ones, not to mention make daily reminders to follow through with plans.

Speaking of upcoming events, Charlie’s granddaughter Lindsay (Audrey Hsieh) has her bar mitzvah coming up with his estranged parents (played by Penn Badgley and Laura Benanti) already concerned he will bail. He is a workaholic and seems to have not always been there for his children, so the skepticism is reasonable. A fading but still notable celebrity, (Charlie has numerous awards ranging from comedy to Broadway to screenwriting), at a charitable meet and greet he is graced by the clownish presence of Tiffany Haddish’s Emma. Except, she’s not actually there to see him but rather just cashing in a bid her ex-boyfriend won before cheating on her and causing a bad breakup. As to be expected from a slapstick screen presence such as hers, shenanigans transpire a bad allergy reaction to seafood, and Charlie is saddled with the subsequent hospital bill.

An aspiring singer, Emma decides to also pay Charlie back whenever she has money to spare, which usually includes stalking him by one method or another. Typically, it involves coming to his workplace where Charlie punches up scripts for sketches on a stand-in for Saturday Night Live . Confusingly, there is a writer’s room where someone mentions that a particular sketch has been assessed to ensure it doesn’t offend anyone, except most of them actually are against PC culture or crass. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of personalities here for Charlie to interact with whether it’s offering support and words of encouragement or simply being grated by one member’s incorrect inflections delivering words.

Naturally, the more time she spends around Charlie she picks up on his condition. They also develop a friendship with her being able to make him laugh and him being an overall likable person. The problem is that Here Today veers from truly lame comedy (a “caution: wet floor tattoo” on Emma’s butt, at least two scenes about how been having sex would injure Charlie) to aggressively sappy flashbacks of memories between Charlie and his deceased wife Carrie (Louisa Krause), who he is writing a book about before he eventually forgets everything. It doesn’t help that because these flashbacks are really just memories inside Charlie’s head, we see them from a first-person perspective that makes the romance especially awkward.

To be fair, almost everything about Here Today is plain bizarre and that’s without even acknowledging the 30 year age gap between the leads (which actually might widen considering I’m sure the character of Emma is being passed off as younger than Tiffany Haddish’s age) or the cameos from Sharon Stone and Barry Levinson. Also, that’s not a judgment on age gaps, but rather a criticism that what is supposed to be a blossoming romance never works; the script is far too all over the place building to its cringe-cloying climax. Anytime the story goes for an emotional payoff, it’s just embarrassing to watch these talented performers (you never once feel that Billy Crystal is slipping into a harrowing state of mind whereas Tiffany Haddish needs a stronger director if she wants to take on a role with dramatic elements again). The good news is that you will forget every terrible joke and melodramatic moment Here Today has to offer by tomorrow should you choose to watch it.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Content Caution

In Theaters

• May 7, 2021
• Billy Crystal as Charlie Berns; Tiffany Haddish as Emma Payge; Laura Benanti as Francine; Penn Badgley as Rex; Louisa Krause as Carrie; Audrey Hsieh as Lindsay; Anna Deavere Smith as Dr. Vidor

Home Release Date

• July 20, 2021
• Billy Crystal

Distributor

• Sony Pictures

Movie Review

Charlie Berns’ first love has always been language.

He might not have always said so. I mean, he was married , for crying out loud, and his now-deceased wife Carrie would’ve been offended (even if she kinda knew). He fiercely loves his grown kids (Rex and Francine) and his granddaughter, Lindsay.

But his words—written, spoken, recited on the Broadway stage or mumbled in comic monologues—came first. They made him happy, those little jokes he wrote, and they made other people happy, too. He loved making people laugh, and they loved him for it: They bought tickets to his plays and showered him with awards. And whenever Charlie had to make a choice between two loves—spending time with his wife or making sure a joke landed just so —the punchline always won.

But now Charlie worries that his words may leave him. Just like his memories are beginning to.

Charlie’s in the early stages of some form of dementia. His doctor isn’t sure what label to slap on the condition just yet, but it doesn’t really matter. Charlie knows that, more than likely, everything he is and everything he knows will slip away, inch by inch.

He hasn’t told anyone—not even his kids. Not time yet , he tells himself. While he sometimes forgets names and can lose track of where he is, Charlie’s still Charlie. He still writes for This Just In , a sketch comedy show in the mold of Saturday Night Live . He still walks to work, still keeps track of his appointments. Why, he has a lunch date of sorts right now, in fact, with a stranger who “won” him during a charity auction: a fan, no doubt, and Charlie still remembers how to treat a fan.

But when Emma sits down, she’s clearly no fan. Her ex-boyfriend was actually the lucky winner, nabbing a lunch with Charlie for the bargain price of $22. But when Emma caught the guy cheating on her, she nabbed the winning ticket out of spite. She wouldn’t know Charlie Berns from Charlie Brown.

But hey, a free lunch is a free lunch, am I right? So she promptly orders the deluxe seafood salad (extra seafood, please) with an added lobster tail right on top.

Alas, Emma is allergic to seafood.

It’s a surprise to everyone. But after a trip to the emergency room, an epinephrine shot and $2,000—two grand flying straight out of Charlie’s wallet, by the way—and she’s just fine.

As the weeks go by and Emma slowly pays Charlie back (a paper bag full of bills at a time), they become friends. Charlie makes Emma laugh. Emma makes Charlie smile. Soon, the two spend whatever free time they have together.

Words might be Charlie’s first love. But as those words slip away, Emma might sidle in somewhere and provide a little love and support of her own.   

Positive Elements

Charlie and Emma’s difficult-to-define relationship serves as the centerpiece of Here Today . As the two grow closer, even they struggle to define who and what they are to each other. Friends? Something more? It’s difficult to say.

But if the relational label is fuzzy, the affection and compassion they have for each other is not. The two get along incredibly well despite their obvious differences—an age gap of decades perhaps chief among them. And even when their friendship requires sacrifices—especially on Emma’s part—both are willing to make them.

But the movie’s not just about Charlie’s new relationship; it’s about old ones, too—especially with his grown children.

Charlie and his daughter, Francine, don’t get along that well these days. Their relationship has taken some hits over the decades. She (and her brother, Rex) probably have reason to be mad. But as the story, and as Charlie’s condition, both progress, Here Today moves into a space that allows healing and reconciliation.

Spiritual Elements

Charlie and his family are Jewish, and granddaughter Lindsay’s bat mitzvah is another major part of the plot. Lindsay chants from the Torah as an approving rabbi looks on. During the ceremony itself (inside a synagogue festooned with Jewish symbols), Lindsay cracks a philosophical joke (about life being a cookie), courtesy her “Papa Charlie.” At the reception later, people dance traditional Jewish dances and wear yarmulkes. Emma enjoys herself so much at the reception that she declares she’ll be converting soon.

Charlie unleashes a profane tirade toward God after his doctor tells him that the dementia is progressing quickly. “This God is a real jokester, isn’t He?” he shouts. “’Hey, live your whole life and you won’t remember any of it!’”

During a television comedy sketch, a character (the Incredibly Single Guy) threatens listeners with the “wrath of my god … the great Zoomgali.” Another segment on the show uses Jesus’ name simultaneously as a reference to the person and as a profanity. We see a wax statue of Pope Francis, which Charlie and Emma joke about. We see the words “atheist mantis” written on a white board. Someone briefly appears in a devil costume.

Sexual Content

When someone asks Charlie and Emma whether they’ve had sex, both say simultaneously, “We’ve spooned.” As far as the movie’s concerned, that’s as close to sex as the two of them get. Indeed, the most physical intimacy we see between them extends to just a bit of handholding and some light kisses on the cheek and forehead. But we hear quite a bit of sexual dialogue anyway.

Emma repeatedly (and graphically) tells Charlie that the two of them are sexually incompatible. “Your frail little body would not be able to handle all these groceries!” she tells him at one point. But when they run into Emma’s ex, Emma lies and tells him that she and Charlie are sleeping together (again, using more frank terminology). Both Rex and Francine are concerned that she and Charlie are seriously dating—in part because both have unpleasant memories of how Charlie dated much younger women after their mother died.

Charlie reminisces about his wife, Carrie, often. “The sexiest thing about her—she made me laugh,” he says. But that was hardly where their relationship stopped. In flashback, Charlie and his then-girlfriend Carrie lie in bed together. In another scene, Charlie holds a stick of butter—ostensibly to get tar off the souls of Carrie’s feet. “De-tar me,” Carrie tells him, adding suggestively, “But seems a shame to waste the butter on my foot.” Later, when Carrie’s about to give birth to their first child, a doctor removes her panties (we see the underwear but nothing critical). Carrie quips that he’s being rather forward for a first date.

Comedy sketches include references to sex and sexual acts, including some very graphic and anatomical allusions to them. We see a bit of Emma’s bare bum and a “SLIPPERY WHEN WET” tattoo on it—the name of Emma’s band. During a reception, she dances a bit suggestively (albeit jokingly) with a few attendees. Charlie wonders at first whether Emma is a pole dancer. (She’s not.) The two make some crass jokes involving some wax figurines. One of Charlie’s old plays features two married people having an affair, and we see the illicit couple kiss in a bathroom during a Halloween party. There’s a mild double entendre involving a Herman Melville book.

Violent Content

A confused Charlie freezes while walking in the middle of an intersection: A biker crashes to avoid him, and a taxi driver nearly hits the old man.

[ Spoiler warning ] We learn that Charlie’s wife died in a head-on traffic accident.

Crude or Profane Language

The film pushes the limits of PG-13 territory, language-wise, using two f-words and nearly a dozen s-words. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “crap,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ssed.” God’s name is misused 15 times—three of those with the word “d–n”—and Jesus’ name is abused twice.

Drug and Alcohol Content

In a flashback, Carrie smokes. We learn that a kid “loaded on pills” was involved in a serious traffic accident. Emma receives an epinephrine shot and is prescribed more medication. Charlie’s on plenty of meds himself. We see people drink wine with dinner.

Other Negative Elements

A comedy sketch is predicated completely on toilet humor (and on the fact that the flushing toilet was invented by someone named Thomas Crapper). Another sketch culminates in a television audience chanting “dumb turd” (which is later referenced in a Twitter missive).

Charlie discusses his cranky bowels with his doctor. When Charlie has to inject Emma’s rear with an epi pen, he admits he didn’t close his eyes (and thus saw a tattoo on her rump). He says that you don’t want to be doing stuff in that region with your eyes closed, because the epi pen “could’ve ended up someplace that we both would not have been happy about.”

During a meeting for the television sketch show This Just In , the producer considers placing a sketch involving sexual consent—along with some really graphic anatomical descriptions—at the top of the show. Charlie disagrees: The sketch is just too crude for that kind of plum placement.

When someone tells Charlie that those crude lines got a huge laugh, Charlie says that crudity always gets a laugh. “But is it the right kind of laugh?” he adds.

That scene tells us something: It tells us what kind of movie its makers wanted Here Today to be, but it also reminds us where the film falls short.

Here Today tackles the issue of dementia—a condition that’s having a bit of a pop-culture moment right now. And in its depiction of an aging comic legend striking up a mostly platonic relationship with an unexpected new best friend, the movie means well. It wants to be the right kind of story.

The fact that it’s not is at least partly aesthetic. Directed by and starring the legendary Billy Crystal, Here Today seems guilty of trying too hard. The jokes and the emotions both feel strained. And while the film took pains to acknowledge and explain the weirdness in Charlie’s and Emma’s relationship—hoping to redeem it—I kept thinking about whether there’d be a legal battle over Charlie’s will after he passes.

But the movie also pushed into some other areas of concern. While Charlie believes that jokes can be too cheap, that doesn’t stop him or others from mining the bathroom and bedroom for gags of their own. It’s almost like he’s working with an unspoken ratio: 80% smart, 20% smutty , perhaps. But for many viewers, especially moms and dads thinking about their kids watching, that ratio will still feel out of whack.

Taking a serious subject and making us laugh about it just might be one of the most difficult tricks in moviemaking—the equivalent of a tightrope walk in a strong breeze. I like that Here Today tried to walk that rope. But still, can’t ignore that the film lost its footing along the way.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Sometimes the most heartwarming friendships are the ones that emerge from the most unexpected places. This was true for the recently released  Together Together  and it's true for  Here Today , Billy Crystal's tender new dramedy. The comedy icon serves as leading actor, director, co-screenwriter, and producer here; it's impressive to see how much of himself he has put into this project.  Here Today is based on Alan Zweibel's (who also serves as Crystal's co-writer) short story "The Prize," and the transition from a shorter narrative to a longer film hasn't caused any glaring adaptation issues. In telling the story of a surprising friendship,  Here Today succeeds with its sweet story. However, it isn't without its issues. Ultimately, Here Today finds warmth in leads Crystal and Tiffany Haddish, which then allows it to push past some tricky tonal and pacing problems.

Crystal plays Charlie Burnz, a renowned comedy writer who now serves as the oldest staffer on an  SNL -like sketch show. His life is turned upside down when he meets outgoing street singer Emma Payge (Haddish) in an awkward first interaction: Her cheating ex won a lunch date with Charlie and she's taking his place despite not knowing a thing about Charlie. Though their relationship gets off to a decidedly rocky start (particularly when Emma's shellfish allergies act up), Emma and Charlie settle into an odd companionship that only gets more vital as Charlie's dementia starts to worsen.

Related:  Together Together Review: This Unexpected Friendship Will Warm Your Heart

Though  Here Today puts a big focus on Charlie and Emma's bond, this is very much Charlie's story. His work at the sketch show and his complicated relationship with his family (played by Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, and Audrey Hsieh) are just as much a part of the movie as his growing affection for Emma is, and  Here Today takes many detours into his past. Crystal and cinematographer Vanja Cernjul's decision to shoot these detours as though the camera's lens is Charlie's eyes is a smart one, as it firmly plants the viewer in Charlie's shoes. As his condition worsens and his memories take on a more affecting tone, the move (which could easily be viewed as a gimmick) keeps  Here Today rooted in poignancy. Even when the camera isn't positioned from Charlie's point of view, Cernjul finds some creative ways to frame certain moments.

Because of the later turns into more dramatic territory, the first portion of  Here  Today feels more awkward than it should. Emma's allergic reaction during her first meeting with Charlie, as well as the aftermath where he must inject her with an EpiPen, send the movie careening into a campy tone that it makes little effort to maintain. There's humor throughout, and with two comedic forces like Haddish and Crystal, there's laughter to be had. However, when  Here Today pushes things too much into a broader sort of comedy, it falters. The dramedy tone of the rest of the movie suits it far better. The film also struggles a bit with the pacing; Crystal and Zweibel's script charts Charlie's story in a natural way, but the initial beats of his friendship with Emma feel a little disjointed. The climax of the movie comes about quicker than one might expect, though it manages to end in a satisfying way.

Luckily, for all its inconsistencies, Crystal and Haddish's performances keep  Here Today on track. One gets the sense Crystal is drawing upon his impressive career for Charlie's own work and his comedic timing is as pitch perfect as ever. When things get more serious as Charlie's dementia rears its ugly head, he tones it down and strikes right into viewers' hearts. A standout moment comes during a special presentation of one of Charlie's films and he cannot recognize the stars (Sharon Stone and Kevin Kline as themselves) and director (Barry Levinson), even though they are sitting right beside him. Charlie can play it off as a joke and Crystal straddles that line of heartbreak and humor well. As his scene partner, Haddish brings her typical raucous nature to Emma, though she too knows when to get vulnerable. She shines in the scenes where Emma is performing and she can just let loose.

Here Today isn't exactly a perfect movie, but it has a lot of heart. For anyone who enjoys a wholesome story about friendship, this just might scratch that itch. Haddish and Crystal are a winning pair, and when the movie sticks to being a dramedy, it fares well. Charlie's story could easily get melodramatic and disheartening, but with both Emma and the audience by his side, there's some hope for the future. After the past year, that's all anyone can really ask for.

More:  Disney+: Every New Movie & TV Show Coming In May 2021

Here Today releases in theaters on Friday, May 7. It is 117 minutes long and rated PG-13 for strong language and sexual references.

Let us know what you thought of the movie in the comments!

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Common sense media reviewers.

Memorable dementia comedy has sex jokes, strong language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Value the time and relationship you have with some

Positive depiction of platonic love in the form of

Several sexually suggestive jokes. Plot includes f

Strong language includes "ass," "balls," "bulls--t

Smoking in one scene by supporting characters. Men

Parents need to know that Here Today is a compassionate dramedy that was directed and co-written by Billy Crystal, who also stars as Charlie, a widower who's trying to keep his growing memory loss a secret. The movie's message about appreciating loved ones while they're with us is solid, but the lasting…

Positive Messages

Value the time and relationship you have with someone today, since there's no assurance they'll be there tomorrow. Encourages empathy.

Positive Role Models

Positive depiction of platonic love in the form of a friendship between two people who are different in just about every way. Diversity within the cast. Emma is a positive, supportive influence in Charlie's life. Charlie is an excellent mentor and enjoys a great relationship with his granddaughter. Jewish culture and rituals are portrayed.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Several sexually suggestive jokes. Plot includes focus on Charlie's love for his late wife, with flashbacks to their romance, including waking up in bed together. Woman's rear end is partially exposed while she's getting a shot.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language includes "ass," "balls," "bulls--t," "damn," "goddammit," "s--t," and a couple uses of "f--k." Name-calling is used to humiliate.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Smoking in one scene by supporting characters. Mention of the consequences of drug use.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Here Today is a compassionate dramedy that was directed and co-written by Billy Crystal , who also stars as Charlie, a widower who's trying to keep his growing memory loss a secret. The movie's message about appreciating loved ones while they're with us is solid, but the lasting impression is of walking in the shoes of a terrified dementia patient who suddenly can't remember how to get to work or recognize family and friends. Events surround a granddaughter's bat mitzvah, and Jewish culture is a key element of the film. Charlie is a veteran comedy writer who mentors a young up-and-comer, offering real-world comedy writing tips. But some of his character's jokes feel problematic in today's world, including ones about the late Stephen Hawking and a tirade humiliating a co-worker that includes an audience chanting an insult at a performer. Co-star Tiffany Haddish 's character also makes quite a few sex jokes, and part of her rear end is seen when she gets a shot. Sex is implied in a flashback scene. Strong language includes "s--t" and "f--k," there's one scene that includes smoking, and characters touch on the consequences of drug use. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (2)

Based on 2 parent reviews

Enjoyable to see Billy Crystal direct and star in this heartfelt passion project

What's the story.

In HERE TODAY, a winning celebrity auction bid brings together aging TV comedy writer Charlie ( Billy Crystal ) and young street singer Emma ( Tiffany Haddish ), whose lunch meeting turns into an evening at the hospital. As their friendship grows, Charlie's cognitive health starts to decline, and they find themselves in undefined territory when it comes to love, trust, and support.

Is It Any Good?

To create empathy for those dealing with dementia, Crystal cleverly creates a memorable comedy that allows viewers to walk in the shoes of someone whose moments of memory loss are increasing. Thankfully, the movie's humor doesn't center on Charlie's impairments; instead, the funny comes from all of the other moments. Having Charlie write for a sketch comedy show creates a scenario that lets viewers laugh with ease, and casting Haddish always ensures crack-up scenes. The balance between comedy, heart, and head is excellent. It's the hand that's too heavy.

Crystal has so much to say and apparently not enough films in which to say it, so he and co-writer Alan Zweibel cram a little too much in to Here Today . Emma and Charlie's relationship is beautiful, exploring the idea that even for a man who's known to date younger women, sometimes love takes the form of platonic companionship. But it's never clear exactly why vibrant Emma prioritizes her friendship with Charlie over every other thing in her life. Haddish also feels a bit shoehorned into the role: Whenever she's allowed to fly, it's great fun, but most of the time she's restrained, as if the role was initially intended for someone else. Then there's the stiff relationship between Charlie and his children, his granddaughter's bat mitzvah, and Charlie's constant memories of his late wife, floating in and out of the scenes. And in between Charlie's complicated life, there's work -- including the young writer (Andrew Durand) he's mentoring. While it all comes together, sometimes the effect is mawkish, melodramatic, and a little much.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how dementia is portrayed in Here Today . How does Charlie's condition affect him and his family?

Why do you think movies centered on platonic love are rare? Is it important to show that men and women can have deep, non-romantic relationships?

The outrageous origin of Charlie and Emma's meeting is actually based on a true story, including the $22 winning bid and the allergic-reaction hospital visit. What does this tell us about how we can view life's challenges?

Charlie mentors a new writer and, in doing so, explains to viewers how to write comedy. Similarly, in Crystal's movie Throw Momma from the Train , his character is a writing teacher who gives actual tips on how to write murder mysteries. How does this device help viewers be more informed about the production they're watching?

How does this movie encourage empathy ? Why is that an important character strength ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 7, 2021
• On DVD or streaming : August 3, 2021
• Cast : Billy Crystal , Tiffany Haddish , Penn Badgley
• Director : Billy Crystal
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Stage 6 Films
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Friendship
• Character Strengths : Empathy
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : strong language and sexual references
• Last updated : June 2, 2023

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Here Today review – Billy Crystal’s disingenuous dementia romcom

This frustrating tale of a comedy writer battling memory loss lapses into another showcase for Crystal’s onscreen charm

A t first glance an inoffensive plodder of a movie about a veteran comedy writer grappling with the early stages of a rare form of dementia, Here Today is in fact a glossily disingenuous piece of work. It’s a film that sets out to tackle the impact of degenerative disease, but, barring a few moments of confusion and a forgotten name or two, is infuriatingly evasive when it comes to showing the realities of the condition.

Co-written, directed by and starring Billy Crystal , as TV writer Charlie Burnz, it is, unsurprisingly, a showcase for Crystal’s affable comedic charms. Which is fine, if droll sentimentality is your bag. But the film largely fails to capitalise on the considerable talents of Tiffany Haddish , playing the aspiring jazz singer who, after a chance encounter with Charlie, offers him the support that his semi-estranged family have failed to provide.

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When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) meets New York singer Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.

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Here Today Parent Guide

Plenty of humor lightens this depiction of the challenges of aging..

In Theaters: Comedy writer Charlie Burnz sees his career fade as young writers overtake him and medical issues slow him down. Then he meets Emma Payge, a singer much younger than he is. The two form a fast friendship...but will it survive his illness?

Release date May 7, 2021

Run Time: 117 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by donna gustafson.

Charlie Burnz (Billy Crystal) teeters somewhere between “here today” and “gone tomorrow.” After a thirty-plus year career as a comedy writer, he isn’t quite as up to date as his little-used cell phone, nor as obsolete as his typewriter. Still plying his trade as a contributor and mentor for a weekly TV sketch show, Charlie has enough celebrity to be auctioned off as a prize in a charity fundraiser. Yet the winner of the lunch date with the once-famous scriptwriter isn’t the fawning fan he was expecting.

Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish) is a loud, brash black woman who has taken the seat at the table away from her cheating boyfriend. Oblivious of Charlie’s identify, she views the meeting as revenge and a free lunch. But when the dining experience turns into a medical emergency, Charlie ends up at the hospital where he is mistaken as Emma’s nearest loved one and expected to foot her bills.

With a good dose of humor (and a lot more sexual innuendo, crass comments and coarse language than needed), this movie explores the challenges of aging, facing incurable illnesses, dealing with difficult family members and soothing past grief. While its portrayal of mental deterioration has its flaws (characters are conveniently lucid when the script calls for them to be), this depiction of the early stages of dementia may provide parents and older children a good starting point for discussions about this important subject.

Despite being a little too sentimental, the film also offers an interesting look at judging others, learning to see beyond face value, the power of friendship and the healing effects of family relationships. For viewers of a similar vintage as actor Billy Crystal, there are also some entertaining reminiscing thanks to cameo appearances from other stars teetering between here-today and gone-tomorrow: Sharon Stone , Barry Levinson and Keven Klein , plus violist Itzhak Perlman .

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Donna Gustafson

Watch the trailer for here today.

Here Today Rating & Content Info

Why is Here Today rated PG-13? Here Today is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for strong language, and sexual references.

Violence:  A character has flashbacks of a traumatic incident which include intimidating police officers and a distraught child. A character is nearly hit by a car. A cyclist to fall off a bike. Characters discuss an accidental death, loss and grief. Sexual Content: The script contains frequent sexual innuendo, crass jokes and crude language. A character uses a hand gesture to imply sex. A woman’s bare backside is seen when she prepares for an injection. A woman goes into labor and a doctor removes her underwear as he helps her give birth. Sexual relations outside of marriage are implied. Characters are shown in bed together. Cheating on one’s partner is discussed. An affectionate kiss is shown. Profanity: A sexual expletive is used twice. A sexual hand gesture implying a strong expletive is shown. Frequent use of scatological slang, mild profanity, sexual slang words, crude jokes and name-calling. Infrequent use of moderate profanity and terms of deity. Alcohol / Drug Use: An allergic reaction causes a medical emergency. Character discuss prescription drug use and some of the medications’ side effects. A medication is injected. Characters discuss a time when they were drunk. An impaired driver is mentioned. Characters drink alcohol at a party. A woman is seen with a cigarette.

Page last updated October 2, 2021

Here Today Parents' Guide

Why do you think Charlie is in denial of his health condition? Why does he not want to share this information with his family? Why are those close to him fooled by his behavior? What makes the situation so easy for Emma to see? What would you do if you faced the same challenges as Charlie?

The character Charlie is a comedy play and screen writer. Why does he describe his craft as, “Taking the truth and making it more interesting”? Is embellishing the truth lying? Or is it just good storytelling? Are there times when it is necessary to stick to just the truth?

The character of Emma feels that, “Life is too short for commas!” What does she mean? Why is her way of seeing the world good medicine for Charlie? How is he good medicine for her?   Charlie reacts negatively to the consoling words, “Everything is going to be okay.” Why? What things does he feel he needs to make things “okay”? What do you need to make things right in your life?

Related home video titles:

The Father shows the world of dementia from a very personal point of view. Other films that look at aging include Still Alice , Quartet and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel . Unlikely friendships can be seen in Hearts in Atlantis and Miracles From Heaven .

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CRITIC’S PICK

All Furiosa, no Max.

‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’

The latest installment in George Miller’s apocalypse thriller series premiered at Cannes this week. It tells the origin story of the Imperator Furiosa, the breakout character from the 2015 “Fury Road,” played then by Charlize Theron and now by Anya Taylor-Joy .

From our review:

Furiosa’s reticence is strategic, as well as a trait she shares with Mad Max himself, the model for her taciturn avenger. While Furiosa is hiding in plain sight in the Citadel, her circumspection protects her, but it also accentuates her existential plight. She’s alone, spiritually and in every other respect, at least before meeting Praetorian Jack (not that they’re chatty). Hers is a lonely burden and, as the story and the fighting continue, it gives “Furiosa” a surprising emotional heaviness which can make this exciting, kinetic movie feel terribly sad.

In theaters next week. Read the full review .

You know that it’s no good.

‘back to black’.

This biopic follows the pop star Amy Winehouse’s rise to fame and her tumultuous personal life, including her complicated relationships with her father and her boyfriend.

Given the movie’s light-fingered treatment of some facts around the two most important men in Winehouse’s life, the picture starts to sharpen. “Back to Black” is far from the first biopic that smooths the edges off real people for the Hollywood treatment. But because the movie’s stated aim is to re-center Amy in her own story, it feels gross.

In theaters. Read the full review .

Unimaginative friends.

Young Bea (Cailey Fleming) discovers a group of forgotten imaginary friends and teams up with her neighbor Cal (Ryan Reynolds) to reunite them with their BFFs.

Any child over 5 will predict the Keyser Söze twist in Bea and Cal’s relationship. But this is a film that spells out its intentions for an audience still learning its ABCs, a film where Michael Giacchino’s misty violins never stop insisting how to feel, where Krasinski’s goofy dad literally wears a heart on his chest.

A pregnancy comedy that doesn’t quite deliver.

In this comedy from Pamela Adlon, two lifelong best friends (Michelle Buteau and Ilana Glazer) navigate changes to their relationship when one embarks on single motherhood.

Sometimes a pile of good ingredients doesn’t make something delicious, and I guess that’s what happened here. The marketing for “Babes” suggests something akin to “Bridesmaids,” the runaway 2011 hit that reminded Hollywood that raunchy comedies starring women can be hilarious and profitable. “Bridesmaids” owes some of its punch to its rapid-fire rhythm, the pileup of relentless jokes both verbal and physical. “Babes” has plenty of raunch, but it’s otherwise very different.

These strangers are too familiar.

‘the strangers: chapter 1’.

This reboot of a 2008 horror film rehashes the standard home invasion plot: a sweet young couple in a secluded cabin face off against masked tormentors.

The film’s few thrilling moments have little to do with blood and guts and more with the juxtaposition of dread and song, as when Joanna Newsom’s lilting hymn “Sprout and the Bean” and Twisted Sister’s power anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” pop up unexpectedly to disorient the action. These and other oddball musical interludes provide too-fleeting hints of what might have been had this film sought a novel household takeover, not the same old.

A slice of life with a side of gochujang.

‘in our day’.

In the latest from Hong Sang-soo, young people visit an actress, Sangwon, and an aging poet, Uiju, in separate encounters connected only by the image of spicy pepper paste being added to a cup of ramyun.

[The director’s] gochujang-inflected noodles provide a simple pleasure made all the more satisfying in recent days for Uiju, who, on doctor’s orders, is abstaining from drinking and smoking. But he can’t quite resist on either front, reflecting a sentiment from early in the film when Sangwon, offering up treats to a friend’s cat, says, “What’s the point of living, anyway? Eat your fill.” It’s a glimmer of existential wisdom buried in the mundane, if you look at it the right way. Most of the film is made up of these moments. Isn’t life like that, too?

A lockdown movie that’s refreshingly chaotic.

In Bertrand Bonello’s horror film set during the coronavirus lockdown in France, a moody teenager is cloistered in her room, where reality, nightmares and the videos she watches to occupy her time begin to blend together.

The film begins and ends with a subtitled message written by Bonello to his daughter, to whom he dedicated the film. It acknowledges the unique despair of her generation — of children accustomed to climate change and school shootings; their best years spent online, trapped at home during a global pandemic. This message is also what makes “Coma” surpass the trappings of a lockdown movie: It may be anchored to that period, but it speaks to an existential crisis that defines many right now.

Compiled by Kellina Moore.

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The Garfield Movie

After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist... Read all After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist. After Garfield's unexpected reunion with his long-lost father, ragged alley cat Vic, he and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered lives to join Vic on a risky heist.

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Jon : Say when!

[as he starts grating parmesan cheese on lasagne; from teaser and official trailers]

Garfield : Never, Jon! Bury me in cheese!

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The films of the prolific South Korean writer-director Hong Sang Soo are for the most part set in the contemporary world, but they rarely depict the bustle of our times. His characters interact in settings that are quiet, sometimes practically deserted. When a character ventures out into a location of potential action and disorder—in this movie, that character is a cat—we only see it upon its (spoiler alert, I suppose) return to where it took off from. While the ideas and concerns of its characters are those of urbanites, they’re articulated in settings suited for reflection.

Hong’s new film, “In Our Day,” is not atypical—it’s a plain-looking, often wry, and lightly nourishing character study with a diptych structure that adds enigmatic intrigue to the proceedings. Its scenes are introduced with texts of an almost remarkable banality. The first one, for instance, reads: “Sang-won relies on her friend Jung-soo after moving back to Korea…but she thinks the only one she can truly rely on is herself.” Sang-won is played by Hong regular Kim Min-hee, who, in addition to returning from time abroad, is processing a sundered relationship. She and Jung-soo ( Song Sun-mi ) don’t get up too much in their first scene together. They do some appropriate worship of Jung-soo’s cat, named Us (as in “This is Us,” which I reckon isn’t a reference to the U.S. nighttime soap), discuss their habits (nothing wrong with “a little wine while working,” Jung-soo observes) and steer around the question Jung-soo aims at her friend: “But why do you want to be an actor?”

The parallel story, such as it is, focuses on the old, or old-ish, poet Hong Ui-ju ( Ki Joo-bong ), newly renowned among the youth in South Korea, here being filmed by a young documentarian and visited by a young actor. On a day when he’s feeling self-conscious about a doctor’s orders to stop drinking and smoking, the poet is mildly flummoxed by the offerings of the male fan: some smokes and a bottle of high-end booze. Because this is a Hong Sang-soo picture, we know these will be consumed, and they are here without too terribly dire consequences (which is not always the case in this auteur’s filmography). As the poet’s visitor declares, “You’re really famous for loving alcohol and cigarettes.”

Hong’s early films were about young adults quietly screwing up their professional and personal lives, so why an old poet in this picture? Well, Hong himself is getting up there in years, a graying eminence in cinema. Kim Min-hee, about two decades Hong’s junior, took a hit in her mainstream career when she became personally involved with Hong. If you know this, it makes the seemingly unrelated musings of the actress and the poet more particularly resonant. But if you don’t, they’re reasonably resonant anyway, and the things that constitute the small dovetails connecting the two narratives—acoustic guitars, chili paste—remind us of the potentially marvelous in the everyday.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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From 'The Iron Claw' to 'The Idea of You,' here are 10 movies you need to stream right now

Sure, you could surprise your mom with a trip to the movie theater to see some smart apes or Ryan Gosling . But if she'd rather spend Mother's Day hanging at home – and she loves movies, too – there are plenty of options to make the holiday entertaining.

Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video, Peacock, Max, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and others boast all sorts of streaming films for fans with various tastes, from comedy and horror to an Anne Hathaway double feature. There are recent theatrical releases like Zac Efron's buzzy pro wrestling drama , a restored 1970 Beatles movie available for the first time in decades, plus a slew of original flicks such as  Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tarts movie , a new film adaptation of a John Green book and a return to the film world for Brooke Shields, in a Netflix flick perfect for moms of all stripes.

Here are 10 notable new movies you can stream right now:

'The American Society of Magical Negroes'

Yarn sculptor Aren (Justice Smith) is recruited by wise mentor Roger (David Alan Grier) into a secret organization of Black agents whose mission is to keep white people comfortable, and Aren's first assignment turns messy when love gets in the way of the job. It's a satirical take on the "magical negro" trope that makes some points about race and culture before losing its way (and any sort of bite) when the film turns into a predictable rom-com.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Where to watch: Peacock .

'The Book of Clarence'

An entertaining blast rather than being blasphemous, the biblical epic stars LaKeith Stanfield as the title character, a weed dealer in Jerusalem circa A.D. 33 who sees the respect Jesus gets and touts himself as "the new messiah." Directed by Jeymes Samuel ("The Harder They Fall"), it's a bold, thought-provoking retelling of the resurrection story through the lens of Black culture that anyone can relate to, believer or not.

Where to watch: Netflix .

Like "Carol" painted with some noir-ish shades, the 1960s-set thriller casts Thomasin McKenzie as the title character, a mousy secretary at a Boston boys prison who lives at home with an abusive dad (Shea Whigham) drinking himself to death. Eileen gets a pick-me-up at work with the arrival of sophisticated psychologist Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), who pulls the fragile younger woman into unfortunate circumstances.

Where to watch: Hulu .

'The Idea of You'

There's a bit of a "Notting Hill" vibe to this rom-com starring Hathaway as 40-year-old divorced mom Solène, who reluctantly takes her teen daughter to Coachella and inadvertently meets – and sparks a spicy romance with – Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), lead singer of a popular boy band. It's a lot more serious and emotionally wrought than you might expect, but Hathaway nails her character's layered nuance as Solène's relationship goes viral.

Where to watch: Prime Video .

'The Iron Claw'

A very ripped (and amazing) Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson play members of the Von Erich pro wrestling dynasty in this gripping 1980s-set biopic. Raised by their ex-wrestler father (Holt McCallany), the Von Erichs find success in the ring while navigating a series of tragic losses outside it in director Sean Durkin's touching story of Americana mixed with sibling rivalry, parental pressure and brutal despair.

Where to watch: Max .

'Let It Be'

For Beatles fans or music lovers in general who've just never seen it, Michael Lindsay-Hogg's restored 1970 documentary is a fascinating, candid look at the Fab Four recording the "Let It Be" album, bickering, goofing off and also creating timeless gems. Not as exhaustive or drama-filled as Peter Jackson's "Get Back" docuseries – which pulled from Lindsay-Hogg's wealth of footage – it's still a groovy watch of musical geniuses at work.

Where to watch: Disney+ .

'Mother of the Bride'

It's nice to see Brooke Shields still relevant, and as a lead in a rom-com no less. ("Suddenly Susan" hive, rise up!) But this cheeseball affair is only for Shields completists: The actress plays a famous geneticist whose daughter (Miranda Cosgrove) drops the bomb that she's suddenly getting married, and then the protective mom finds out at the destination wedding in Thailand that the father of the groom is her college ex (Benjamin Bratt).

'Prom Dates'

What could easily be just another R-rated "one crazy night" teen comedy gets a boost from its lively main characters. Jess (Antonia Gentry) and Hannah (Julia Lester) made a pact to have the perfect senior prom at 13, but on the eve of the big night, Jess dumps her cheating beau and Hannah comes out as a lesbian. When they have to scramble to find the perfect dates, assorted shenanigans and, of course, personal growth ensue.

Where to watch: Hulu , Disney+ .

'Turtles All the Way Down'

Adaptations of John Green's young adult novels (including "The Fault in Our Stars") have been a mixed bag, but this one's the best if just for its effectiveness in capturing mental health struggles. Aza (Isabela Merced) dreams of going to college, has ride-or-die pal Daisy (Cree) in her corner and reconnects with camp friend Davis (Felix Mallard), though her crippling OCD – and fear of germs and infection – is a constant threat to foil each one.

'Unfrosted'

Jerry Seinfeld's delightfully ridiculous directorial debut explores the origins of Pop-Tarts with an extremely silly not-so-true story and tons of gags and cameos. The comedian and Melissa McCarthy play Kellogg's employees tasked in 1963 with creating a toaster pastry before their competitors, a processed food spin on the space race that also involves a milk mafia, disgruntled breakfast cereal mascots and a heap of nostalgia.

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Roger Corman, Hollywood mentor and ‘King of the Bs,’ dies at 98

Roger Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks, has died. He was 98. Corman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, his daughter Catherine Corman said Saturday in a statement.

FILE - Roger Corman addresses the audience during the awards ceremony of the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 27, 2023. Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors an early break, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. He was 98. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

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FILE - Producer Roger Corman poses in his Los Angeles office, May 8, 2013. Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors an early break, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. He was 98. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

FILE - Roger Corman arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Irishman,” Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors an early break, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. He was 98. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Roger Corman, the “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors early breaks, has died. He was 98.

Corman died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to a statement released Saturday by his wife and daughters.

“He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him,” the statement said. “When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that.’”

Starting in 1955, Corman helped create hundreds of B-movies as a producer and director, among them “Black Scorpion,” “Bucket of Blood” and “Bloody Mama.” A remarkable judge of talent, he hired such aspiring filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, James Cameron and Martin Scorsese. In 2009, Corman received an honorary Academy Award.

“There are many constraints connected with working on a low budget, but at the same time there are certain opportunities,” Corman said in a 2007 documentary about Val Lewton, the 1940s director of “Cat People” and other underground classics.

“You can gamble a little bit more. You can experiment. You have to find a more creative way to solve a problem or to present a concept,” he said.

The roots of Hollywood’s golden age in the 1970s can be found in Corman’s films.

Jack Nicholson made his film debut as the title character in a 1958 Corman quickie, “The Cry Baby Killer,” and stayed with the company for biker, horror and action films, writing and producing some of them. Other actors whose careers began in Corman movies included Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern and Ellen Burstyn.

Peter Fonda’s appearance in “The Wild Angels” was a precursor to his own landmark biker movie, “Easy Rider,” co-starring Nicholson and fellow Corman alumnus Dennis Hopper. “Boxcar Bertha,” starring Barbara Hershey and David Carradine, was an early film by Scorsese.

Corman’s B-movie directors were given minuscule budgets and often told to finish their films in as little as five days. When Howard, who would go on to win a best director Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind,” pleaded for an extra half day to reshoot a scene in 1977 for “Grand Theft Auto,” Corman told him, “Ron, you can come back if you want, but nobody else will be there.”

“Roger Corman was my very first boss, my lifetime mentor and my hero. Roger was one of the greatest visionaries in the history of cinema,” Gale Anne Hurd, whose notable producing credits include the “Terminator” film franchise, “The Abyss” and “The Walking Dead” television series, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Initially only drive-ins and specialty theaters would book Corman films, but as teenagers began turning out, national chains gave in. Corman’s pictures were open for their time about sex and drugs, such as his 1967 release “The Trip,” an explicit story about LSD written by Nicholson and starring Fonda and Hopper.

Meanwhile, he discovered a lucrative sideline releasing prestige foreign films in the United States, among them Ingmar Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Volker Schlondorff’s “The Tin Drum.” The latter two won Oscars for best foreign language film.

Corman got his start as a messenger boy for Twentieth Century-Fox, eventually graduating to story analyst. After quitting the business briefly to study English literature for a term at Oxford University, he returned to Hollywood and launched his career as a movie producer and director.

Despite his penny-pinching ways, Corman retained good relations with his directors, boasting that he never fired one because “I wouldn’t want to inflict that humiliation.”

Some of his former underlings repaid his kindness years later. Coppola cast him in “The Godfather, Part II,” Jonathan Demme included him in “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia” and Howard gave him a part in “Apollo 13.”

Most of Corman’s movies were quickly forgotten by all but die-hard fans. A rare exception was 1960’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” which starred a bloodthirsty plant that feasted on humans and featured Nicholson in a small but memorable role as a pain-loving dental patient. It inspired a long-lasting stage musical and a 1986 musical adaptation starring Steve Martin, Bill Murray and John Candy.

In 1963, Corman initiated a series of films based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. The most notable was “The Raven,” which teamed Nicholson with veteran horror stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone. Directed by Corman on a rare three-week schedule, the horror spoof won good reviews, a rarity for his films. Another Poe adaptation, “House of Usher,” was deemed worthy of preservation by the Library of Congress.

“It was my privilege to know him. He was a great friend. He shaped my childhood with science fiction movies and Edgar Allen Poe epics,” John Carpenter, director of “Halloween,” “The Thing” and other classic horror and action films, said on X. “I’ll miss you, Roger.”

Near the end of his life, Karloff starred in another Corman-backed effort, the 1968 thriller “Targets,” which marked Peter Bogdanovich’s directorial debut.

Corman’s success prompted offers from major studios, and he directed “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” and “Von Richthofen and Brown” on normal budgets. Both were disappointments, however, and he blamed their failure on front-office interference.

Roger William Corman was born in Detroit and raised in Beverly Hills, but “not in the affluent section,” he once said. He attended Stanford University, earning a degree in engineering, and arrived in Hollywood after three years in the Navy.

After his stint at Oxford, he worked as a television stagehand and literary agent before finding his life’s work.

In 1964 he married Julie Halloran, a UCLA graduate who also became a producer.

He is survived by his wife, Julie, and children Catherine, Roger, Brian and Mary.

This obituary was written by the late Associated Press reporter Bob Thomas, who died in 2014 .

The story was first published on May 11, 2024. It was updated on May 13, 2024, to correct the middle name of producer Gale Anne Hurd.

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We want you to know

To benefit from Wi-Fi 6, a compatible Wi-Fi 6 router, like the eero Pro 6, is required. Fire TV Stick 4K is also compatible with earlier wifi routers.

Dolby Atmos is only available on select streaming services when connected to compatible equipment.

Alexa Voice Remote includes 4 pre-programmed app buttons including Netflix and Prime Video; other two app buttons will vary.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K streaming device, more than 1.5 million movies and TV episodes, supports Wi-Fi 6, watch free & live TV

Sustainability features.

This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.

Carbon emissions from the lifecycle of this product were reduced compared to similar products or previous models.

The Reducing CO2 label applies to products certified by the Carbon Trust, that are lowering their carbon emissions year after year for the full lifecycle of the product. The Carbon Trust was formed in 2001 and introduced the world’s first carbon label in 2007. It produces its certifications to global leading and independently verified standards. The Carbon Trust has a mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

Learn more about this certification

Purchase options and add-ons

• Advanced 4K streaming - Elevate your entertainment with the next generation of our best-selling 4K stick, with improved streaming performance.
• Wi-Fi 6 support - Enjoy smooth 4K streaming, even when other devices are connected to your router.
• Cinematic experience - Watch in vibrant 4K Ultra HD with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio.
• Endless entertainment - Stream more than 1.5 million movies and TV episodes. Watch favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, and more. Subscription fees may apply.
• Stream for free - Access over 300,000 free movies and TV episodes from popular ad-supported streaming apps like Fire TV Channels, Amazon Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
• Enjoy MGM+ on us - Receive a 6-month subscription to MGM+, including access to thousands of Hollywood movies and Original series with your Fire TV purchase. Terms apply.
• Alexa Voice Remote - Quickly find, launch, and control content with your voice. Get to your favorite apps with preset buttons, and control TV power and volume with one remote.
• Do more with your smart home - Control compatible devices like cameras, lights, and more with your remote. Press and ask Alexa to check the weather or dim the lights.
• Your device

Smart home devices for you

• Smart Lighting
• Security Cameras
• Plugs and outlets
• Smart locks
• Wifi and Networking

"Alexa, turn on the lights."

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PRODUCT CERTIFICATION (1)

Reducing CO2 products reduce their carbon footprint year after year. Certified by the Carbon Trust.

An ultra-cinematic 4K experience

From playoffs to premieres, experience it all like you're there with support for cinematic 4K Ultra HD. Experience vivid color and brightness with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, immersive sound with Dolby Atmos, and smooth streaming with Wi-Fi 6. Add compatible Echo speakers for a complete Alexa Home Theater.

The next generation of our most popular 4K streaming stick

Upgrade your 4K streaming experience with Fire TV Stick 4K—now powered by a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor for faster app starts, and more fluid navigation. It makes getting to the good stuff even easier—all for an affordable price.

Wi-Fi 6 support

Dolby Vision.Atmos

Press and Ask Alexa

Enjoy smooth 4K streaming in your home

Our most popular streaming stick now supports Wi-Fi 6 for smooth 4K streaming, with less interference from other connected devices. To use Wi-Fi 6, you’ll need a compatible router like the eero Pro 6. If you have a Wi-Fi 6E router, we recommend Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Fire TV Stick 4K works with earlier wifi routers, too.

Reduces network congestion for smoother video streaming across multiple devices.

Fast speeds

Enjoy fast speeds and low latency when streaming 4K content or playing games in the cloud.

Supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, so you can connect to the least-crowded frequency.

Over 1.5 million movies and TV episodes

Enjoy favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, Apple TV+, Peacock, STARZ, Paramount+, and others. Stream live TV, news, and sports, and even watch for free with Pluto TV, Amazon Freevee, YouTube, and more. Plus, play millions of songs through services like Amazon Music, and Spotify.

Subscription fees may apply.

Stream free movies, shows, and clips

Power on and start watching a world of free entertainment through ad-supported streaming apps like YouTube, Amazon Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto TV. You can access over 300,000 movies and TV episodes without paying for subscriptions. And, the new Fire TV Channels hub brings you free news clips, sports highlights, music videos, movie trailers, cooking tips, comedy bits, gaming videos, and more.

From smart home control to smart living

Control compatible smart home devices right from your TV. You can press and ask Alexa to do things like show Live View Picture-in-Picture camera feeds without interrupting your show, check the weather, order a pizza, and stream music. And Fire TV is always getting smarter with new Alexa Skills and voice functionality. Learn more about compatible smart home devices.

“Alexa, show my nursery camera.”

Smart Camera

Alexa Voice Remote with TV controls

Just press and ask Alexa to find, launch, and control content, or even switch to cable. Quickly get to favorite apps with preset buttons, and go beyond streaming to check sports scores and play music. Dedicated power and volume buttons control your compatible TV, soundbar, and receiver.

Simple to set up and use

Plug Fire TV Stick 4K directly into your HDMI input.

Attach power cable, and plug into wall outlet.

Pair remote with TV, connect to internet, and enjoy.

Designed for Sustainability

We measure this device's carbon footprint and look for opportunities to reduce its emissions at every stage of its life cycle. Figures are for FTV Stick 4K 2nd gen, not including any other versions or any bundled accessories or devices. We update the carbon footprint when we discover new information that changes the estimated carbon footprint of a device by more than 5%.

See Fire TV Stick 4K fact sheet

Carbon Footprint

33kg CO 2 e total carbon emissions

Fire TV Stick and remote made from 22% recycled materials. 100% recyclable packaging (shipping packaging not included).

Low Power Mode reduces energy consumption when idle, except in certain situations . We also invest in renewable energy that, by 2025, will be equivalent to this device's electricity usage.

Trade-in and Recycle

Built to last. But when you're ready, you can trade-in or recycle your devices. Explore Amazon Second Chance .

Compare Fire TV Streaming Devices

Technical details, fire tv stick 4k (2nd gen), alexa voice remote (3rd gen).

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Should You Buy? Fire TV Stick 4K vs 4K Max with WiFi 6E #thisorthat

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Customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the performance, responsiveness, and streaming of the digital device. They mention that it performs satisfactorily, is responsive, and has a wide range of streaming capabilities. They also appreciate the ease of installation and remote control features. That said, opinions are mixed on connectivity and remote controls.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers like the performance of the digital device. They mention that it performs satisfactorily, is pleased with the functionality it provides, and has amazing performance. Some appreciate the enhanced performance and stability that Wi-Fi 6 provides. They also mention that the device is easy to set up and operate.

"...Value for Money: Considering the quality, performance , and access to a vast library of content, the Fire TV Stick 4K offers incredible value for..." Read more

"I’m not very tech savvy, but this was extremely easy to set up and also to operate . It’s “plug and play” easy...." Read more

"...It was difficult for elderly dad to handle & see. Therefore he was unable to use it ." Read more

"...chatting with friends and family, you'll appreciate the enhanced performance and stability that Wi-Fi 6 provides...." Read more

Customers find the installation of the digital device to be easy. They mention that it's very easy to set up, use, and program the remote. They also say that it easily connects to the screen and does exactly as it should. Customers also say it'll navigate through movies and shows than the previous version.

"...fire stick makes it easy to find what you’re looking for with its easy to use menu and voice search feature. The voice feature is awesome...." Read more

"...It's intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate through the vast content library. The voice remote with Alexa is a game-changer...." Read more

"...It’s “ plug and play” easy . I purchased it as a way to watch streaming services so I could discontinue paying for overpriced cable service...." Read more

"...I would definitely recommend considering how easy it is to use and how many apps it offers, this is so much better than just paying for live channels." Read more

Customers like the quality of the digital device. They say it's worth the money, easy to install, and navigate. Some say that it saves quite a bit of money.

"...The available content is surprising ...." Read more

"...Value for Money: Considering the quality , performance, and access to a vast library of content, the Fire TV Stick 4K offers incredible value for..." Read more

"...This was a great purchase for my home and it allows access to all the streaming apps I use. The price can’t be beat.So long, cable TV!" Read more

"...So one stick in one tv and two remotes working it. One stick dead ...." Read more

Customers like the responsiveness of the digital device. They mention that it's much faster, apps load quickly, and switching between content is seamless. The WiFi6 makes this super fast, and they have had no issues with lagging since the upgrade. They are quick to answer phone calls if you have a problem, and programed, this is a quantum leap improvement in performance. It connects quickly to their not-so-new TV and was ready to use in no time.

"...That’s me!The performance is great . The picture quality is awesome, and I haven't experienced any lag or buffering issues...." Read more

"... Apps load quickly , and switching between content is seamless. The device has handled everything I’ve thrown at it without any lag...." Read more

"...The downloads and updates were not difficult , but four were too much...." Read more

"...is another standout feature of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. With faster and more reliable Wi-Fi connectivity, you can enjoy smooth streaming and..." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the picture quality of the digital device. They mention that it has stunning picture quality, clear, bright, and rich in color. They are also impressed with the video quality, saying that it's crisp and clear.

"...That’s me!The performance is great. The picture quality is awesome , and I haven't experienced any lag or buffering issues...." Read more

"...of the essence with streaming devices, and the Fire TV Stick 4K doesn’t disappoint . Apps load quickly, and switching between content is seamless...." Read more

"...With support for 4K Ultra HD , HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio, you'll feel like you're right in the middle of the action from the comfort of your own..." Read more

"...It has a good picture on ordinary rental TVs . It was easy to set up at home before we took it on its first trip...." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the streaming capabilities of the digital device. They mention that it has impressive streaming capabilities, and the features are the very best for streaming. They say that the streaming is seamless, easy to navigate, and able to enjoy streaming live TV, latest movies, and TV shows. They also appreciate the great streaming quality, and say that switching between menus and different streaming options is nearly instantaneous.

"...to the all-new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and it has completely transformed my streaming experience ...." Read more

"...movies and TV episodes, support for Wi-Fi 6, and the ability to watch free and live TV , this powerful device offers endless entertainment options in..." Read more

"...The streaming and video quality is excellent ...However:The bad thing is that the audio/ sound quality is horrible...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the connectivity of the digital device. Some mention that the Bluetooth connects immediately, it is capable of connecting to 5G Wi-Fi, and it connects to their TV without much of a hassle. However, others say that they had issues pairing with their TV and having issues with the remote connectivity.

"...But we started having connectivity issues and lagging while playing videos...." Read more

"...Extras: One of my favorite features is the ability to use Bluetooth headphones for private listening ...." Read more

"...Now no connectivity on the new stick and the new remote works on the older stick in my bedroom. So one stick in one tv and two remotes working it...." Read more

"...This new one is fast, fast, fast. The remote didn't "attach" very smoothly , so I mostly just use the old remote, but I can pretty much use either..." Read more

Customers are mixed about the remote control. Some mention that it works perfectly, is handy, and simple. They also love the Alexa remote. However, others say that it doesn't work after only few uses, is cheap, and is difficult to see what is on.

"...to find what you’re looking for with its easy to use menu and voice search feature . The voice feature is awesome...." Read more

"...Even TiVo streams. There is no numbers on the remote of the firestick...." Read more

"...The voice remote with Alexa is a game-changer ...." Read more

"...an AppleTV device on another set, and I feel like the Firestick remote is easier to use and has volume control...." Read more

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