One 'Medium,' One Underdone (Patreon)

Medium (Edgardo Cozarinsky, 2020)

So many documentaries about the arts tend to feel like medicine. They are so intent on telling you just how serious and important their subject matter really is, either because they are afraid you won't take heed otherwise, or (more likely) so that by the end of the film, you feel as if you have accomplished some monumental task. So a small, sprightly film about high culture is always a joy. Medium is a brief portrait of Argentinian musician Margarita Fernández, who was a sharp-minded, nimble-fingered 93 year old at the time the film was finished. We see her interacting with her music students. We hear her discuss her more experimental, theatrical music works of the 1970s. But most significantly, we get to hear her play the piano. Fernández's critical insights on Brahms form a sort of backbeat through the film, making Medium a more subdued cinematic cousin to Pere Portabella's magnificent The Silence Before Bach. This is the kind of documentary that makes a viewer anxious to learn more about its subject -- probably the highest compliment I can pay.

The Lovebirds (Michael Showalter, 2020)

Originally slated for theatrical release but COVIDed onto Netflix, The Lovebirds actually makes a lot more sense as a home streaming selection. Almost defiantly unambitious, the film is truly a weird non-flex by Showalter and co-star Kumail Nanjiani, following their breakout hit The Big Sick. I can imagine that Nanjiani wanted to have a leading man turn that didn't emphasize his Pakistani-American ethnicity. But why go so mid-lowbrow? Mostly just a riff on Date Night, with a bit of Game Night tossed in, The Lovebirds only demonstrates what happens when you swipe a formula without bringing any newer, better ideas to the table. Granted, Nanjiani and co-star Issa Rae are winning throughout. But that only prompts us to wish they'd landed up in a much better film.