Entertainment
Raunchy, Unrated Comedy Will Make You Hate Your New Neighbor
By Robert Scucci
| Published
If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class, you know how hard it is to use simple language to get your point across. Written, published words are forever, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of overcomplicating things. Mark Twain famously said, “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” As much as I wanted to enjoy 2020’s The Mimic, written and directed by Thomas F. Mazziotti, I mostly felt like I was back in college workshopping an overzealous undergrad’s short story that was clearly written with the help of a well-worn thesaurus.
It’s not that the movie isn’t funny at times, or that the characters aren’t great. It is, and they are. The problem is that nobody talks like this, and dialogue meant to sound witty often makes the whole thing play like a prolonged episode of Gilmore Girls. The Mimic certainly tries to be a smart and witty comedy, but I’d enjoy it more if it didn’t feel like it was constantly reminding me how smart and funny it was.
The Kid Is A Sociopath
The plot for The Mimic would make for a great sketch or even a sitcom episode, but its 81-minute runtime becomes tiresome once you get to know the principal characters. Our protagonist, simply billed as The Narrator (Thomas Sadoski), is a widower and a writer (it’s all starting to make sense now). When The Kid (Jake Robinson) becomes a presence in his life, The Narrator immediately suspects he might be a sociopath. His reasoning is simple: The Kid copies everything he does and seems to have no personality of his own. The Kid never breaks eye contact while conversing, suggesting he’s constantly sizing up whoever he’s interacting with.
The Kid also has a number of odd hobbies, including ducks (in general), wild mushrooms, and talking about a wife who is never seen on screen. Fascinated by The Kid, and eager to prove his theory, The Narrator consults a woman known only as The Librarian (Jessica Keenan Wynn) so he can learn more about sociopathy. His ultimate goal is to write a story about The Kid and impress the women who work at the local paper, who constantly “bicker over semicolons.” As the two men get to know each other better, it slowly dawns on The Narrator that he and The Kid aren’t so different after all, raising the very real possibility that The Narrator himself may also be a sociopath.
All of the above scenarios make for a solid comedy if done right, but the standout moments that truly made me cackle, like The Kid’s awkward, impromptu bathroom escapades with Gina Gershon’s “Woman at the Bar” character, are few and far between.
That’s It. That’s The Whole Thing
Being married to a woman who was a teenager when Gilmore Girls was the talk of the town, the only thought I had while watching The Mimic is that The Narrator and The Kid are basically male versions of Rory and Lorelai Gilmore. Every single conversation becomes a rapid-fire deluge of pop culture references, psychological ramblings, and gotcha-style exchanges that force the viewer to keep up with them, despite the fact that most of these exchanges don’t drive the story at all.
What’s unfortunate is that there are some tremendous zingers here, but you’ll probably miss them while trying to unpack every single line of dialogue in real time.
Circling back to that Creative Writing 101 vibe, The Mimic falls into all the familiar traps. Mazziotti is too precious with his jokes and doesn’t always know when to trim things down. Given the film’s 81-minute runtime, it often feels like there simply wasn’t enough story to stretch the premise into a feature-length film. It makes you wonder how much better this might have worked if the whole thing had been trimmed to a sharp 20 or 30 minutes.
Things get even more convoluted when the perspective zooms out and we learn that two characters known as The Director (M. Emmet Walsh) and The Writer (Doug Plaut) are actively writing the script for The Mimic, arguing about motivation and how much of each character’s backstory should be revealed to the audience. The whole thing smells like an undergrad’s notebook. The kind of smell you get when the PB&J they packed a week ago and forgot about breaches the Ziploc bag and leaks all over the first draft right before peer review.
The Mimic, as a concept, has a lot of promise. As a feature-length film, though, it ends up feeling like all flash and no smash. I wouldn’t mind spending more time with these characters because they’re genuinely fun and riff well off each other, but I wish we got a more distilled, cohesive version of what Mazziotti was trying to accomplish.
As of this writing, The Mimic is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Kathy Hilton Shares the Style Rule She Passed Down to Paris and Nicky: 'You Don’t Need the Whole Kitchen Sink'
Less really is more, just ask Kathy Hilton.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star spilled the effortlessly chic beauty and style tips she passed down to daughters Paris, 45, and Nicky, 42, while hosting a fête for LoveShackFancy’s Sweetheart fragrance at her Bel Air, California home on March 20.
Though Hilton loves a glamorous moment (and throws a party like no other), she’s all about keeping things polished, and never overdone.
“A classic rule I’ve told Paris and Nicky is to be comfortable. I’d rather be a little underdressed than overdressed because you can always throw on fun earrings or change your shoes if you’re leaving work or getting off a plane,” she tells ET.
“You don’t want to come in with the whole kitchen sink and make a fool out of yourself. Dim it down a little bit. Just be fresh, pretty, and confident. That’s the best,” the entrepreneur continues.
Naturally, the mother-daughter trio shares more than just style advice, they share closets too.
“They can’t wear my shoes because I have a smaller foot, but they wear my jewelry, my accessories, and my handbags. … I recently borrowed a bag that was so cute from Paris. She was calling every day saying, ‘I’m going to come by and get my bag.’ … She knows her inventory and doesn’t forget, but I’m happy that she takes care of her things and that she’s appreciative,” the Bravo star says.
When it comes to what Hilton actually keeps in her purse, she leans into easy and practical items.
“I carry an eye mask that I found years ago at a drugstore in New York, pale pink silicone foot pads for comfort, my little fan, and my Lorna Murray hat because it gives an outfit a great look, makes me look a little bit taller, and keeps the sun off my face,” she explains.
“I’m also always trying the latest and newest product to moisturize my lips because they’re chronically dry, and I love the Revive neck cream and can’t put on makeup without it.”
Beyond her essentials, one thing Hilton never leaves the house without is a signature spritz.
“I spray my perfume at the end, but I make sure I don’t have pearls on. … I have a collection of fragrances. … There are ones I would wear to a ladies’ lunch, and others that are romantic and sexy that I would wear after 5 p.m. for dinner with my husband.”
Luckily, her current favorite works for just about any occasion.
“Sweetheart is so fruity and floral, and the bottle is the pinkest, most sparkly, and gorgeous. … It’s perfect for spring and summer because it’s happiness in a bottle. … I like to bring a little bit of summer everywhere I go. … Hot girl summer every day, even in the winter,” Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder of LoveShackFancy, notes.
“It can take you anywhere. … It’s so beautiful that you want to just hold it or keep it on your dressing table,” Hilton continues.
Still, there is one area where Hilton doesn’t hold back: health and wellness.
“I do Tru Niagen IV treatments every week and take two of their supplements every day to give me energy. … I’m a mad professor with putting things together. I always have my lotions and potions, and everyone loves it. … My girls are very into it and it’s fun to compare notes.”
Through it all though, her philosophy stays grounded.
“I’ve always mixed high and low. I’m as happy at Target and Walmart as I am on the seventh floor of Bergdorf Goodman.”
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Entertainment
Pro Wrestler Dennis Condrey, Chuck Norris and More Stars We Lost This Year
Hollywood mourned the deaths of some of its most legendary stars in 2026.
The year started off with Broadway performer and influencer Bret Hanna-Shuford’s death at age 46. At the end of the month, comedy acting icon Catherine O’Hara died at age 71.
In February, Designing Women’s Camilla Carr died at age 83, Dawson’s Creek actor James Van Der Beek died at age 48, Harold and Maude star Bud Cort died at 77, Robert Duvall died at age 95 and actor Eric Dane died at age 53. That same month, Lizzie McGuire actor Robert Carradine‘s family confirmed his death on February 23.
Dallas star Annabel Schofield, former NASCAR driver Chase Pistone, Ghostbusters actress Jennifer Runyon, British actor John Alford, Back to the Future actor Matt Clark, British reality TV star Jordan Wright, Chuck Norris and pro wrestler Dennis “Loverboy” Condrey all died in March.
Scroll down to remember all the stars who died in 2026:
Entertainment
The Zombie Remake As Good As The Original Horror Classic
By Brian Myers
| Published
Remakes are a source of a great divide among horror fans, seemingly split into even-numbered camps that either welcome new visions of old classics or consider the very thought of reimagining a beloved film blasphemous. When it was announced in 1989 that George Romero’s zombie cult classic Night of the Living Dead would be remade for modern audiences, the news was met with mixed reaction. For those who have seen the finished 1990 version, most will agree that it is every bit as much of a gem as its 1968 predecessor.
The Night of the Living Dead remake begins in the same way of the original, with brother and sister Johnny and Barbara (played by Bill Moseley and Patricia Tallman, respectively) visiting their mother’s grave in a country cemetery in Pennsylvania. While putting flowers on the plot, the siblings are attacked by an elderly man. In the scuffle to protect his sister, Johnny is killed.
Barbara runs from the graveyard and finds what she thinks is an empty farmhouse. But a small group of zombies, much like the one that attacked her and Johnny in the cemetery, are there to greet her. She is suddenly joined by a man named Ben (Tony Todd), who helps her keep the undead at bay.
The Night of the Living Dead remake continues along much of the same path as the Romero original, with the farmhouse being occupied by a group of survivors in the basement. Conflict between the newcomers and the squatters arises, with devastating consequences. With limited resources and even fewer options, the small group tries to develop a plan to escape and find better digs.
The Night of the Living Dead remake marks the directorial debut for special effects and film makeup wizard Tom Savini. While he did not work on the 1968 Romero original, Savini became a staple of Romero‘s subsequent films. The filmmaker/special effects master helped to bring the undead to life on screen with Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, as well as lending his acting talents to small roles in several of Romero’s films that include Dawn of the Dead and Martin.
The Night of the Living Dead remake brought the horrors of the original in full, gory color. Little is left to the imagination in this version, and Savini was forced to edit out some of the more brutal scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating. The added gore aside, the movie sticks pretty close to the original as far as plot and character development, with one glaring and welcomed exception.
For the role of Barbara, Savini had actress Patricia Tallman (best known for her role on Babylon 5) evolve the character over the course of the film into a powerful player who takes no prisoners. This is a far cry from the original Barbara from 1968, who was meek and pretty helpless.
The Night of the Living Dead remake delivers better performances from its stars, particularly Tallman and Tony Todd. Sharp-eyed horror fans will recognize two faces from the 1968 version in Bill Cardille (who played a TV news reporter in both versions) and Russell Streiner, who played Johnny in the 1968 version and was cast as Sheriff McClelland in the 1990 reboot.
You can stream the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead on Amazon.
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