What to stream this week: Sally4Ever, Borat, The Queen’s Gambit, On The Rocks and more

A crass, almost sadistic black comedy is a delicate balance of cringe humour and laugh-out-loud funnies. And you can binge it in one sitting.

We’ll have to wait until the end of the week for the Borat sequel, but until then, if you didn’t catch the little-known Sally4Ever when it first came out in 2018, it’s the perfect week for it.

Plus, a slew of other streaming recommendations this week.

SOMETHING ABSURD

Sally4Ever: A delicate balance of cringe humour and delicious laugh-out-moments, Sally4Ever has probably one of the highest ratios of crude jokes per minute – drugged out tots, graphic sex scenes and family deaths are all played for frenzied, unapologetic laughs.

Julia Davis’ follow-up to Camping (which was adapted by the Americans and lost half its verve), is a crass, almost sadistic black comedy that will have you crying out for more, even as you’re still trying to unbundle your tense nerves.

The seven-episode series is centred on meek Sally whose life changes when she meets the loose, unfiltered and ever-so-slightly unhinged Emma. Watch it: Binge/Foxtel Now*

Sally4Ever and Borat 2.

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Borat 2: I think this Borat sequel deserves to have its full title laid out, so here it is: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That kind of tells you everything, right? Probably no one asked for it, but we feel blessed to have it, though it will be interesting to see how Sacha Baron Cohen’s brand of Borat farce plays at a time of peak American silliness. Maybe it’ll be like a doco? Watch it: Amazon Prime, from Friday, October 23

SOMETHING STYLISH

The Queen’s Gambit: Anya Taylor-Joy plays a 1950s fictional chess prodigy in this handsome six-part miniseries packed with luscious period visuals. Beth (Taylor-Joy) is an orphaned girl with a gift for chess but in her quest to become grand master of the game, she flirts with a pill addiction and the blurred line between genius and madness. The series also stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Marielle Heller, Bill Camp and Harry Melling. Watch it: Netflix, from Friday, October 23 at 6pm AEST

The Queen’s Gambit and Manhattan.

Manhattan: Actually set in New Mexico, this 1940s-set two-season series is named for the Manhattan Project, the scientific work that led to the creation of the nuclear bomb that would go on to decimate Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Starring Rachel Brosnahan, Olivia Williams, Ashley Zukerman and John Benjamin Hickey, the drama follows the scientists ensconced in Los Alamos working on the top secret Project Y – secrets they have to keep even from their families. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play (seasons one and two)/Amazon Prime (season two)

SOMETHING WITH A FAMILY CAPER

On The Rocks: Sofia Coppola’s seventh narrative feature (so we’re not counting A Very Murray Christmas) is out on Apple TV+ this Friday after a limited cinema run this month. It’s an endearing, small and tender movie about a daughter (Rashida Jones) and her father (Bill Murray) who tries to catch her husband being unfaithful. Spurred on by her larger-than-life Lothario dad, the stake-outs aren’t exactly low-key, tailing him around New York in a vintage red sports car. It’s a second-tier Coppola but there’s still a lot of charm. Watch it: Apple TV+ from Friday, October 23

On The Rocks and Paper Moon.

Paper Moon: Speaking of family capers, real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal star in this comedy-drama directed by Peter Bogdanovich as small time hustlers during the Great Depression. Ryan’s Moze and orphan Addie hit the road scamming widowers out of Bible money among other little cons, getting into all kinds of trouble. It’s a classic and the junior O’Neal is still the youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar for her role. Watch it: SBS On Demand

SOMETHING GOTHIC

Rebecca (2020): Adapting Daphne Du Maurier’s classic gothic novel is a gutsy move, especially when it’s previously done by Alfred Hitchcock. Director Ben Wheatley takes on the challenge with Lily James playing a young woman who marries a rich widower (Armie Hammer). When she moves to his Cornwall mansion, she must face the spectre of his dead wife Rebecca and the formidable housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas) who tries to keep her memory alive. Watch it: Netflix, from Wednesday, October 21 at 6pm AEST

The two Rebeccas.

Rebecca (1940): Alfred Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning masterpiece is not on any streaming or digital purchase platforms, so unless you have an old DVD lying around, it wasn’t looking good. But, oddly, there a couple of versions of the full movie on YouTube, including a great quality copy that shows off George Barnes’ striking black-and-white cinematography. Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine are in the main roles and Hitchcock’s version remains the defining adaptation. Watch it: YouTube

SOMETHING MUSICAL

No Time for Quiet: A feel-good and inspiring documentary, No Time for Quiet was filmed in Melbourne, back in the BC times when people were allowed to be – shock horror! – in the same room as other people. It’s centred on a group of 40 girls and gender diverse youngsters at band camp – but not the American Pie-type, these are rockers – as they find where they belong over a week. Watch it: ABC iview

No Time for Quiet and Whiplash.

Whiplash: If the girls in No Time for Quiet were supported in their musical aspirations, the fictional character in Whiplash, Andrew (Miles Teller), faced quite a different scenario. Damien Chazelle’s intense 2014 film explores the toxic relationship between a talented jazz drummer and the hard-nosed conductor of a prestigious studio band who will draw literal blood, sweat and tears to make his musicians “great”. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play

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