Camp Content worth your time
A Week Away was trash.
Hi All,
Let’s start out by saying what everyone is in Ontario is thinking: Doug Ford is TERRIBLE at his job. This lockdown 3.0 has knocked everyone’s morale back to zero and I for one am so done with this. For those of you reading this from out of the province — I’m jealous. Anyways I will be moving to New Zealand as soon as possible.
Sadly I don’t think I’ll be able to get a visa soon enough and thus here I am back with another list of escapism content that will hopefully boost your spirits and have you temporarily relaxed.
Let’s get to it.
This week on the blog:
I know you were all looking forward to my review on A Week Away. I said last week that it was going to be the best thing ever or absolutely awful.
I hated it.
I couldn’t even finish it to give you a review. The “camp” “musical” “movie” drew me in, but it was way too religious for me (which is saying something because I’m normally fine with that sort of thing). Instead, I’ve got a list of my favourite camp movies and shows you should watch instead of A Week Away. Read that here.
If you have somehow gone this long without downloading TikTok, do it. It’s time. This time last year I wrote up a handy little guide for everyone joining the trend and while there have been some updates — the basics will help you out in 2021. You can read that here. Also, I’m making TikToks now. No longer lurking. Follow along here.
Things to watch this week:
Okay let’s start with some pure escapism:
On CBC Gem today you can stream Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs — What Happened Next and Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs — Back in Business. There will be cute dogs. Enough said. Check out some clips here.
Also over on CBC Gem, you can watch the exclusive Canadian premiere of Prince William: A Planet For All of Us. Is this part of Prince William’s positive PR campaign? Yes. Let’s be honest, the guy needs it — especially after The Interview and then getting absolutely destroyed for winning “World’s Sexiest Bald Man.” However, will this be enough? No. Will I watch this? Maybe. Watch a clip here.
On Crave the David Bowie movie Stardust starts streaming today. It looks really fun.
Now, this might be a bit embarrassing — but if you really want to turn your brain off go to Disney+. The 2008–2013 show The Secret Life of the American Teenager is now on the platform and it is both absolute trash and ridiculous teen drama. Basically, the main teenager gets pregnant at band camp and it’s *dramatic*. I was secretly obsessed with this show when I was in university. It’s honestly so bad but it stars Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, and Daren Kagasoff who I adore. Plus it really proves how good of an actress Shailene Woodley is because the writing is sooooo terrible but she manages to do something with it. Watch the cringe-worthy trailer here.
If you are looking for something to watch on Sunday, check out Us, a new BBC show. It will be airing weekly on CBC TV at 9 pm, but all the episodes will be on Gem on Sunday if you want to binge it. Watch the trailer here.
On Netflix, there are three shows coming out on the 7th (Wednesday):
1) There is a reality show called The Wedding Coach. Comedian Jamie Lee will try to help six couples get married. It looks super cheesy but perfect for Friday-Brideday with a big glass of rosé. Check out the trailer here.
2) I’m here for anything with Dolly Parton and she’s got a new special, Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute. Filmed pre-Covid, this concert event had a lot of buzz at the time and I’ve seen clips of it on the internet (from people’s cell phones) — but I’m really excited to sit down and watch a high-res full show. There will be lots of celebrities in this and it should be a good time. If you want to “go to a concert” watch this. Watch the trailer here.
3) I love a crime show and This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist looks juicy. The trailer tells you everything you need to know about this so check that out here.
Other things to check out:
There is a lot of buzz around the movie Zola. The trailer just came out. I’m deeply curious about this film. The Twitter thread it’s based on is wild, so this movie will be something else. It’s scheduled to hit theatres in the summer, but I know people who are seeing it at festivals and getting screener copies. If you end up seeing it let me know what you think.
YouTuber Johnny Harris has a great explainer video on the Suez Canal. Obviously this was an international shipping crisis but all I could think about was how the Below Deck cast would have dealt with it.
The National Theatre’s cast of Romeo and Juliet played Shakespeare or Swift. It’s very fun. Try not to smile while you watch this.
We’ve got a great new song from Olivia Rodrigo called “deja vu.” The music video is lovely. I don’t know if this will be as huge as “driver’s license” — but I do think this song is helping round out her catalogue and proving she can do more than one song.
For K-Pop fans — we’ve got a new BTS track called “Film Out”. I’m into it.
For people into the music BUSINESS of K-Pop — the company that manages BTS (HYBE, formally Big Hit Entertainment) merged with Ithaca Holdings aka Scooter Braun. This is deeply interesting to me. Variety has a write-up about it here. Scooter is also currently managing Demi Lovato and I said it last week, but her doc series is fascinating to me both for the content and the way it will influence other music docs. Add in all the Scooter–Taylor Swift drama and I want to talk about Scooter. If you work in the music biz send me an email because I have a lot of questions about the brand Scooter is currently building.
Fun fact about me: I love covers (my favourite Spotify playlists are full of acoustic covers) — so I’m always on the lookout for new and fresh ones to add to the list. I just found this Sam Smith cover of “Time After Time” and I love it. I’ve also been playing a lot of k.d. lang this week and her cover of “Helpless” is a must-listen.
Need a new morning alarm? This made me laugh.
Finally, what day is it? Who knows? CBC has a piece about how time is blurring for all of us. They link this tweet from last year and when I say I cackled…
In case that confused you — today is Friday, April 2nd — not the 10th. However, today is Good Friday like in that tweet. I always get Fish and Chips on Good Friday — it’s the British-Catholic in me — but this year I don’t know if I have the energy to queue up. That being said, if you do have the energy — Olde Yorke in Leaside and Sea Witch on St. Clair W are my two favourites in the city. #supportlocal
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto 📝📝📝
Editor’s Pick:
Remember when 14-year-old singer Birdy did that haunting cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love”? Well, it’s been 10 years! She released a 10th anniversary video this week. It’s the original music video, followed by a clip of present-day Birdy returning to the house where they filmed the video and playing the song on a falling-apart piano. It feels nostalgic. Her upcoming album releases at the end of the month.