Hello Genius, it's Your Weekly Recs!Jacked, Whacked RFK Summer, Idris Elba, Olivia Rodrigo, Cocktails, and More...
Dear Wags, The Theater of Vigor is a strangely persistent feature of politics. We refer to macho performances in which The Fearless Leader demonstrates that he (it’s a he thing) has What it Takes. Throttling a grizzly bear has little to do with taking charge of a fractured modern society, but we have an old habit of falling for strongmen over more subtle paragons of wisdom and fortitude. And, the more complicated things get, the more humanity seems drawn to the Cro-Magnon. How else to explain that video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, doing push ups and pumping iron in jeans on Muscle Beach? The glistening torso was an ad for a testosterone supplement and the policy platform taps a clogged artery of disgruntlement. Never mind about thimerosal, Kennedy is swoll! The point of the cartoon is to underscore that the sitting president—no spring pterodactyl— is not so hale. This sort of exhibitionism is associated with goose-stepping nations (though shirtless Putin is making himself scarce lately). Still, America has a long history of he-man kabuki. Given the choice between a stammering Claudius and a strutting Caligula, the crowd knows what it likes. Kennedy is basking in his pectoral moment. Let’s not swoon into vaccine conspiracies again. They’ve been gone over in many dense, unsettling paragraphs. Spend time with the guy, and you’ll find he can’t avoid the topic. When we had lunch years ago, he had us half-convinced there was plutonium in the caesar’s salad. Sunny isn’t a word one would use to describe this fellow, but he’s gotten this far by sidestepping the old gatekeepers: “I’m not going to win this by winning the sympathies of the mainstream media,” he told a rapt Joe Rogan. “I really think these podcasts have the potential to change politics in this country.” They already have! Kennedy is on the radar in spite of being cold-shouldered by what’s left of legacy media. He’s relied on heterodox podcasters and righty pundits to go after the old hobgoblins — Fauci, Wall Street, the military industrial complex, rapacious corporations, clueless elites. His poll numbers shot up and he just did a town hall on something called News Nation. It matters not that Jake Tapper will have nothing to do with him; Rogan has a far bigger audience. Now CNN, the snotty New York Times, and the rest must pay attention. In July 2023, RFK drives traffic, which draws media desperados like moths to the zapper. Does it matter if much of the coverage is withering? See: Trump, Donald J. The operating strategy here is Made You Look. Kennedy points out how his uncle, JFK, manipulated a new medium, television, to eke out an electoral victory in 1960 and how Trump deployed Twitter trolling to devastating effect in 2016. He’s betting that alternative media will do the same for him. It seems to be working. Ultimately, Kennedy is unlikely to be the Democratic nominee for Brookline dog catcher. He will not pry Trump devotees away from El Jefe (though he does need a running mate) or dislodge partisans from Biden, no matter how many Methuselah jokes are made. He does appeal to plenty of the jumpy and disaffected. Lately, our elections are decided by them. This is a constituency. The idea that it is entirely composed of crazies in need of a stern lecture is foolish. Human beings are prone to conspiracy theories because actual conspiracies are not unknown to us. Mistrust of authority, exhaustion with overseas adventurism, hatred of big tech, big pharma, big finance and big scolds—one needn’t swallow a red pill to understand why these sentiments exist. They are rooted in legitimate anxiety, but American politics is not a game for serious people. It’s a performance space, in which players jolt the listless by saying and doing nutty things. People are bored — let’s hit the bench press! Who knows, maybe it will matter when more of us start paying attention. Meanwhile, buckle up for a multi-partisan carnival of crunches, spray-on hair, orange skin, hair plugs and veneers. There’s something poignant in all that masculine preening. Another show of strength won’t fix what’s broken. It is, in the end, just another show. Yours Ever, Joseph Frady
 What happened to the summer movie? This season was supposed to recapture the ol’ magic sucked out of Hollywood in the pandemic. Business is a few ticks up from where it was earlier in the year, but still way down from the summer 2019. There’s legit fear it may never come back. There are bright spots: Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse is the rare comic book movie that delivers. It joins Spring openers Guardians of the Galaxy Part III and The Super Mario Bros. Movie in a small winner’s circle. But those misses — The Little Mermaid, The Flash—oy! Now we plunge into the heart of the season. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny benefits from having a real star: 80-year-old Harrison Ford (digitally messed with, but still charming). Phoebe Waller-Bridge is game as always. The 42-year-old franchise is tracking to leap over mixed reviews. Stephanie Hsu’s Joy Ride (July 7) is another good-natured female raunch comedy, not unlike just-released Jennifer Lawrence vehicle No Hard Feelings. Hopes are pinned on Mission Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (July 12) the surest bet to be a blockbuster. “It’s just a pitch perfect summer movie,” says Our Studio Mogul Pal. Which brings us to summer’s most flogged juggernaut, Barbie (July 21). “Everything but the kitchen sink, and the kitchen sink is hot pink,” reports a Sharp-Tongued Publicist. “Here’s hoping audiences think it’s Legally Blonde.” Everybody is wondering about the weekend matchup between Mattel’s dolly and Wag Supremo Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (also July 21) a high-minded prestige picture that wandered in from a better era. July closes out with something more familiar— Disney raiding its I.P. closet again for The Haunted Mansion (July 28). The dog days of August offer up engaging Xolo Maridueña as the Blue Beetle, but rescuing Warner Bros.’ DC universe is superhuman lift. — Whitney Gersh  In Flight EntertainmentHijack (Apple TV+). In the event of an emergency, Sir Idris Elba is your man. He’s the world’s greatest negotiator on a flight from Dubai to London, which gets hijacked, which means he has to keep everybody calm and do his thing with the jumpy hijackers, sniff out several brewing plots, and … the whole thing is totally preposterous. And fun. Because, Idris Elba can do anything. If you need more proof, Season 5 of Luther is getting another airing on Britbox. Also swinging into action: Our John Krasinski in the final season of Jack Ryan. — Hans Gruber  Support the GreatsYou Hurt My Feelings (AppleTV+). Remember good little movies? Wag Nicole Holofcener’s gentle comedy about a writer (The One and Only JLD) who discovers that her therapist husband (Tobias Menzies) hasn’t been truthful about his opinion of work got lots of love at Sundance. We told you all about it, and now we’re reminding you this delightful little nugget is streaming. Michaela Watkins really ought to be more famous and David Cross and Amber Tamblyn are wicked. — Erica Benton
Marco Pantani —nicknamed the Pirate—was a cycling superstar. He was found dead in mysterious circumstances in 2004. Italian authorities ruled the 34-year-old athlete died of a cocaine overdose. His family and fans didn’t buy it. After three inquiries, new information surfaced in 2021 suggesting a mafia hit. In the latest installment of the BBC’s Sports Strangest Crimes, Hugh Dennis digs into a case involving drugs, corruption, and the mob. — Dave Stohler
Wag Gena Romanow points us to an addictive podcast: Amanda C. Reilly became an influencer by telling a tragic tale. The wife, mother and Christian blogger claimed she had a terminal cancer diagnosis; her stories drew a global following and thousands in donations. The truth, as unpacked by narrator Charlie Webster, reveals something far more twisted. — Daphne McQueen
We’ll move to Berlin/Stop being drug addicts/We’ll cycle and swim. Maestro Lloyd Cole, of Derbyshire and East Hampton, Mass., has a smart new tune called The Idiot about finally giving up on an empty, fast life in L.A. to live somewhere meaningful. Now that’s not idiotic at all! — Roberta Glass... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to CultureWag to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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