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Sydney Morning Herald
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
What to stream this week: The Mitford sisters and five more picks
This week's picks include a period romp about the British aristocracy in the 1930s, a documentary about Billy Joel, and a soap-tinged melodrama starring Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman. Outrageous ★★★½ (BritBox) Told with a giddy energy that matches the bottles of champagne repeatedly being popped, Outrageous is a period romp about the British upper class that traverses the fine line between farce and tragedy. The show's historic subject is the Mitford sisters – six daughters of the aristocracy who became a microcosm of Europe's ructions in the 1930s. Influencers in a tabloid headline era, they were the closest of siblings who eventually became adversaries. You couldn't make this story up if you tried. Really, really tried. It's 1931 and Nancy (Bessie Carter) serves as wry narrator – she's a budding novelist whose own family will provide irresistible material. Diana (Joanna Vanderham) is 'the beauty', soon to leave her Guinness heir husband for Britain's leading fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse). Unity (Shannon Watson) will go beyond that – she befriends Adolf Hitler. Jessica (Zoe Brough) becomes an ardent communist. Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones) loves her Angus cattle herd. Deborah (Orla Hill) simply wants a husband and a nice country house. Loading Put two or more of the sisters in a scene and the dialogue has screwball pace and droll retorts. In adapting Mary S. Lovell's 2001 biography, The Mitford Girls, creator Sarah Williams has captured solidarity as a kind of accelerant. Growing up together – their father, Baron Redesdale (James Purefoy), believed girls shouldn't go to school – the young women pushed at boundaries and ached for agency and purpose. Everything is a lark, until it very much isn't (hint: when Unity fangirls Hitler). There's frivolity, some truly sketchy male suitors, and ominous headlines; imagine Wes Anderson adapting Hilary Mantel. The six episodes roll through five years. The budget struggles with the sweep of history – a Nuremberg rally is done with merely dozens of extras – but the personal dynamics are fascinating. It's ultimately a story of how you respond when someone you love crosses a line you never imagined existed. There's a scene between Unity and Jessica, the sadness tinged with memories of joint silliness, that's quietly heartbreaking. Tellingly, the conundrums the Mitford sisters impose on each other couldn't be more timely. The appeal of fascism is debated at family meals, while opposing criticisms are righteously written off as propaganda and misinformation – free speech as an absolute defence is repeatedly invoked, political street violence threatens to become the norm. It's both entertaining and horrifying, as living in the moment often proves to be, with the Bright Young Things insouciance serving as a Trojan horse. The first season concludes in 1936, and I hope there's another – their story has earnt a reckoning. Billy Joel: And So It Goes ★★★(HBO Max) Consisting of two episodes each the length of a sizeable feature film, this documentary about Billy Joel, one of the biggest-selling artists in the history of popular music, will hold an obvious appeal to fans. His music is prominent throughout and Joel discusses his life with pugnacious candour. But it's also of interest to novices, because Joel has long been contradictory: a populist suspicious of his own hits, a superstar who struggled to fit in. 'The most original thing I've done in my life is screw up,' Joel tells directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, and while they don't tug too hard on the many tangled threads of Joel's life and art this comprehensive documentary is a reminder that anyone with such a gargantuan career – over 150 million albums sold, a residency at Madison Square Garden that lasted 10 years – has an intriguing psychological set-up. The 76-year-old, who recently shelved all touring plans because of a normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnosis, was primarily a storyteller with his lyrics, and talking about them takes him back into the highs and lows – but mostly lows – of his own life. The likes of Pink and Bruce Springsteen offer input, but Joel's real foil here is his former wife and manager Elizabeth Weber. They've been divorced since 1982, but her read on him remains essential. Very unlikely, very Billy Joel. The Hunting Wives ★★½ (Stan) Hightown creator Rebecca Cutter returns with this soap-tinged melodrama about switching from one side of America's cultural divide to the other. When a fresh start transplants Sophie O'Neill (Brittany Snow, The Night Agent) and her family from the East Cost to Texas, she becomes fast friends with the cadre of desperate housewives commanded by the wife of her husband's new boss, Margo Banks (Malin Akerman, Billions). The desire for female friendship is an intriguing lens, but the story is taken up with mildly outrageous behaviour and the growing shadow of a murder enquiry. Riff Raff ★★½ (Amazon Prime Video) This American crime-comedy, informed by far better movies from the Coen brothers and Quentin Tarantino, is less than the sum of its parts: Bill Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Pete Davidson, Gabrielle Union, and Lewis Pullman all have roles in the ensemble cast. Directed by Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognising Your Saints), the move struggles to lay out the many circumstances required to explain how an unexpected family gathering at the Maine cabin belonging to Harris' Vincent is soon crashed by Murray and Davidson's vengeful gangsters. Nothing really cuts through. Somebody Feed Phil (season 8) ★★★ (Netflix) One of Netflix's longest-running shows, this culinary travel show continues to take Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal from one tasty global locale to the next. More a chatty enthusiast than sombre gourmand, Rosenthal is visibly delighted by good food – his face finds the most delightfully idiosyncratic shapes when he bites into something he enjoys. Phil's format is quick-fire stops, and this latest season fills a major gap in his planner by finally featuring an Australian episode that covers Sydney and Adelaide. The outside perspective makes for a refreshing change. Sold! ★★★½ (Binge) Loading Mark Humphries has been many things on our TV screens, from sketch satirist to game show host, but he may well have found his defining purpose with this tragicomic documentary about Australia's housing crisis. As a self-deprecating truth-seeker working with long-time collaborator Evan Williams and The Chaser 's Craig Reucassel, Humphries manages to cut through the unsettling numbers, partisan policies, and grim ramifications of a housing market that, over the course of this century, has flipped from inclusive to exclusive. The explanations are concise and bittersweet – it's your choice to laugh or cry.
The Age
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
What to stream this week: The Mitford sisters and five more picks
This week's picks include a period romp about the British aristocracy in the 1930s, a documentary about Billy Joel, and a soap-tinged melodrama starring Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman. Outrageous ★★★½ (BritBox) Told with a giddy energy that matches the bottles of champagne repeatedly being popped, Outrageous is a period romp about the British upper class that traverses the fine line between farce and tragedy. The show's historic subject is the Mitford sisters – six daughters of the aristocracy who became a microcosm of Europe's ructions in the 1930s. Influencers in a tabloid headline era, they were the closest of siblings who eventually became adversaries. You couldn't make this story up if you tried. Really, really tried. It's 1931 and Nancy (Bessie Carter) serves as wry narrator – she's a budding novelist whose own family will provide irresistible material. Diana (Joanna Vanderham) is 'the beauty', soon to leave her Guinness heir husband for Britain's leading fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse). Unity (Shannon Watson) will go beyond that – she befriends Adolf Hitler. Jessica (Zoe Brough) becomes an ardent communist. Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones) loves her Angus cattle herd. Deborah (Orla Hill) simply wants a husband and a nice country house. Loading Put two or more of the sisters in a scene and the dialogue has screwball pace and droll retorts. In adapting Mary S. Lovell's 2001 biography, The Mitford Girls, creator Sarah Williams has captured solidarity as a kind of accelerant. Growing up together – their father, Baron Redesdale (James Purefoy), believed girls shouldn't go to school – the young women pushed at boundaries and ached for agency and purpose. Everything is a lark, until it very much isn't (hint: when Unity fangirls Hitler). There's frivolity, some truly sketchy male suitors, and ominous headlines; imagine Wes Anderson adapting Hilary Mantel. The six episodes roll through five years. The budget struggles with the sweep of history – a Nuremberg rally is done with merely dozens of extras – but the personal dynamics are fascinating. It's ultimately a story of how you respond when someone you love crosses a line you never imagined existed. There's a scene between Unity and Jessica, the sadness tinged with memories of joint silliness, that's quietly heartbreaking. Tellingly, the conundrums the Mitford sisters impose on each other couldn't be more timely. The appeal of fascism is debated at family meals, while opposing criticisms are righteously written off as propaganda and misinformation – free speech as an absolute defence is repeatedly invoked, political street violence threatens to become the norm. It's both entertaining and horrifying, as living in the moment often proves to be, with the Bright Young Things insouciance serving as a Trojan horse. The first season concludes in 1936, and I hope there's another – their story has earnt a reckoning. Billy Joel: And So It Goes ★★★(HBO Max) Consisting of two episodes each the length of a sizeable feature film, this documentary about Billy Joel, one of the biggest-selling artists in the history of popular music, will hold an obvious appeal to fans. His music is prominent throughout and Joel discusses his life with pugnacious candour. But it's also of interest to novices, because Joel has long been contradictory: a populist suspicious of his own hits, a superstar who struggled to fit in. 'The most original thing I've done in my life is screw up,' Joel tells directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, and while they don't tug too hard on the many tangled threads of Joel's life and art this comprehensive documentary is a reminder that anyone with such a gargantuan career – over 150 million albums sold, a residency at Madison Square Garden that lasted 10 years – has an intriguing psychological set-up. The 76-year-old, who recently shelved all touring plans because of a normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnosis, was primarily a storyteller with his lyrics, and talking about them takes him back into the highs and lows – but mostly lows – of his own life. The likes of Pink and Bruce Springsteen offer input, but Joel's real foil here is his former wife and manager Elizabeth Weber. They've been divorced since 1982, but her read on him remains essential. Very unlikely, very Billy Joel. The Hunting Wives ★★½ (Stan) Hightown creator Rebecca Cutter returns with this soap-tinged melodrama about switching from one side of America's cultural divide to the other. When a fresh start transplants Sophie O'Neill (Brittany Snow, The Night Agent) and her family from the East Cost to Texas, she becomes fast friends with the cadre of desperate housewives commanded by the wife of her husband's new boss, Margo Banks (Malin Akerman, Billions). The desire for female friendship is an intriguing lens, but the story is taken up with mildly outrageous behaviour and the growing shadow of a murder enquiry. Riff Raff ★★½ (Amazon Prime Video) This American crime-comedy, informed by far better movies from the Coen brothers and Quentin Tarantino, is less than the sum of its parts: Bill Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Pete Davidson, Gabrielle Union, and Lewis Pullman all have roles in the ensemble cast. Directed by Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognising Your Saints), the move struggles to lay out the many circumstances required to explain how an unexpected family gathering at the Maine cabin belonging to Harris' Vincent is soon crashed by Murray and Davidson's vengeful gangsters. Nothing really cuts through. Somebody Feed Phil (season 8) ★★★ (Netflix) One of Netflix's longest-running shows, this culinary travel show continues to take Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal from one tasty global locale to the next. More a chatty enthusiast than sombre gourmand, Rosenthal is visibly delighted by good food – his face finds the most delightfully idiosyncratic shapes when he bites into something he enjoys. Phil's format is quick-fire stops, and this latest season fills a major gap in his planner by finally featuring an Australian episode that covers Sydney and Adelaide. The outside perspective makes for a refreshing change. Sold! ★★★½ (Binge) Loading Mark Humphries has been many things on our TV screens, from sketch satirist to game show host, but he may well have found his defining purpose with this tragicomic documentary about Australia's housing crisis. As a self-deprecating truth-seeker working with long-time collaborator Evan Williams and The Chaser 's Craig Reucassel, Humphries manages to cut through the unsettling numbers, partisan policies, and grim ramifications of a housing market that, over the course of this century, has flipped from inclusive to exclusive. The explanations are concise and bittersweet – it's your choice to laugh or cry.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
"There was some self-revelatory stuff": Billy Joel opens up on challenges, struggles of his life, career in new documentary
Billy Joel's whose music speaks a lot about him, is all set to open up about his complicated life in a new two-part HBO documentary ' And So It Goes' Billy Joel 's whose music speaks a lot about him, is all set to open up about his complicated life in a new two-part HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes', according to People. "I've resisted this kind of thing for so long. I'm sick of talking about myself," said Joel, adding, "Some of the stupid stuff I did, that's painful to talk about. But they asked me for some thematic guidance. I said, 'Just tell the truth.'" The documentary, directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, is a rare, revelatory glimpse into the private world of one of rock music's most enduring acts -- and how he overcame substance abuse, mental health struggles and more to find peace and happiness with his wife, Alexis, and his three daughters. "There was some stuff I found out about myself. There was some self-revelatory stuff," said Joel, while Lacy added, "He actually thanked me for connecting the dots of his life, and he said, 'I now understand why I did what I did.' I think it was a revelation to him in some ways as well, this story." Joel's story includes his incredibly successful music career, throughout which he's sold more than 150 million records and won five Grammy Awards thanks to hits like "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are" and "We Didn't Start the Fire." Though he hasn't released a pop album in 32 years, Joel's cultural relevance has never wavered, thanks in part to his epic, 10-year Madison Square Garden residency that ended in July 2024, according to People. There are also some lesser-known aspects of his life that included the painful absence of his father from much of his life, a complicated beginning to his marriage with first wife Elizabeth Weber, struggles over the years with alcohol abuse and a contentious relationship with the media. "My goal was to get it over with," Joel said about his initial involvement in the film. "When I do interviews, people just ask you about yourself, and you get a little self-conscious about it eventually. It's almost embarrassing. When you're talking about your personal life detached from the material... I suppose there's a little bit of wariness involved." The film features interviews with members of his inner circle, including his sister Judy, daughter Alexa Ray, 39, and others, as well as longtime friends such as lighting designer Steve Cohen and booking agent Dennis Arfa. "Billy has always been a blue-collar guy, a man of the people. He's always been honest. He's funny, he loves to entertain," Cohen, an executive producer on the film, said of what it's like to be friends with Joel behind the scenes. "I think all of that came through in the documentary. I didn't see much of a difference between the Billy I know and interact with every day and the Billy in this film." The film is structured around Joel's iconic song catalogue, as he admits that much of his lyrics are autobiographical. "Big Shot," he says, is a "hangover" song, while "I Go to Extremes" covers the ups and downs of his marriage to then-wife Christie Brinkley , according to People. "Vienna," he explains, is about his father Howard, who left Joel, his mother Rosalind and sister Judy when the star was 8 years old, and eventually settled in the Austrian city, where Joel tracked him down years later. "Co-director Susan Lacy pointed out that a lot of the things I was searching for were my father in my life, and I recognised that in the documentary," Joel said. "I said, 'You know what? I think that's true. I was looking for my dad," reported People.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Billy Joel likens his neurological disorder to ‘being in a boat,' says he feels ‘good' nonetheless
Billy Joel is sharing a health update months after the cancellation of his tour, which was the result of his being diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a condition that affects the brain. Joel offered the update during Monday's episode of Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast, saying that while the condition is 'not fixed' and 'still being worked on,' overall he feels 'fine.' 'My balance sucks. It's like being on a boat,' Joel said, later adding, 'I feel good. I think they keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I'm feeling.' Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is a 'very rare condition' that 'occurs when a person has too much fluid in the brain,' according to Yale Medicine. Fewer than 3% of adults over the age of 65 are diagnosed with NPH, and it affects men and women equally. Joel announced in May that his tour dates had been canceled so that he could seek treatment for NPH, saying in a statement at the time that the condition 'has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.' 'Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period,' the statement read. 'Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.' Joel's announcement in May came after he previously postponed eight tour dates so that he could focus on recovering from recent surgery. Last week, a new documentary about Joel's early years and career debuted on HBO Max. Titled 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' the doc covers Joel's beginnings and early musical partnerships, and also goes in depth into some of his personal struggles. (CNN and HBO Max share the same parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery.)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Music Legend, 76, Is 'Healing' After Heartbreaking Rare Brain Disorder Diagnosis
Music Legend, 76, Is 'Healing' After Heartbreaking Rare Brain Disorder Diagnosis originally appeared on Parade. Billy Joel is on the mend following a brain disorder diagnosis earlier this year. According to Susan Lacy, co-director of the Piano Man's upcoming HBO documentary And So It Goes, the legendary singer is focusing on recovery. During an appearance on Good Morning America, Lacy said Joel, 76, has been 'doing physical therapy, he's healing, he's working on getting better.' In May, Joel revealed he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that affects vision, hearing and balance. The condition forced him to cancel several shows, which he said were 'exacerbated by recent concert performances.' The singer shared that he was undergoing targeted physical therapy and had been advised to pause performing during his recovery. His daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, shared a touching tribute to her father following the diagnosis. "We love you and we got you, Pop," she wrote on Instagram. "My Dad is the strongest and most resilient man I've ever known… and he's entirely committed to making a full recovery with ongoing physical-therapy treatments as he continues to regain his strength." This latest update comes as HBO gears up to release And So It Goes, a two-part documentary exploring Joel's life and legacy. Part one premieres Friday, July 18, followed by part two on July 25. The film offers a rare look into Joel's highs and lows — from his incredible career to his personal struggles, including past suicide attempts. It also features interviews with music legends like Bruce Springsteen, who praises Joel's songwriting, saying, 'His melodies are better than mine.' The documentary takes fans behind the scenes of Joel's most iconic songs — from 'River of Dreams,' which he says came to him in a dream, to 'New York State of Mind,' inspired by a bus ride to his new home in upstate New York. "He's a savant, and music saved his life," Lacy told GMA. "Billy trusted two women to tell his story and we're quite proud of that," added co-director Jessica Levin. "And I think we were able to really reveal a side of him that another set of filmmakers may or may not have been able to." Music Legend, 76, Is 'Healing' After Heartbreaking Rare Brain Disorder Diagnosis first appeared on Parade on Jul 17, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
