Woman of the Hour (2023)

Not for the faint of heart, Anna Kendrick's directorial debut is based on the true story of an actress who appeared on the long running reality show The Dating Game in 1978, and picked a charming serial killer as her date. We thought it was well done. Kendrick stars as Sheryl, with Daniel Zovatto as the murderer Rodney and Tony Hale as the callow TV host, among others. Several beautiful women play Rodney's targets and the final one, a teenager played by Autumn Best, has the most to do.

Kendrick, who also produced, natch, works from a script by Ian McDonald, and the score by Dan Romer and Mike Tuccillo can be streamed on Apple Music. Seven songs are listed here, including Laura Nyro's Lonely Woman.

I noticed that the captions spelled Kendricks' character's name as Cheryl, but whenever it was printed in the actual movie it was spelled Sheryl. Apparently the real person's name was Cheryl Bradshaw but in the movie her name was Sheryl. That's not the first time the captions have it wrong, nor will it be the last. Here's some trivia about the real Cheryl and the movie.

Kendrick was last blogged for acting in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (as was Aubrey Plaza in today's other post), Hale for Happythankyoumoreplease (in the 14 years since then he's had a ton of work but no leading roles), and Romer for A Chiara. I don't remember seeing Zovatto in Laggies nor Lady Bird, among his two dozen credits, but he was there. Best makes her feature debut. She is "differently limbed," which in this case means she has only a thumb on her left hand, but that's not mentioned. This is McDonald's second feature screenplay and Tuccillo has scored three before this–one shared with Romer, one shared with someone else, and one on his own.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are more timely at 91% than its audiences at 67. We watched it on Netflix November 26. 

Kendrick donated all of her pay to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and the National Center for Victims of Violent Crime. So, if you do see it, you'll be making a donation.