Paul and Corey Cross the Streams is a bi-monthly podcast in which hosts Paul Pakler and Corey Pepper watch and review streaming content. It’s the Great American Podcast where two friends learn about life as they float down the river of streaming services.
Let’s put on a show! It’s season 8 for Paul and Corey Cross the Streams, and this season we’re watching musicals. It’s a singular art form with a dynamic history, and we get to listen to a lot of cast recordings…
This week, Corey wanted to take a look at a musical that exemplifies a style of theatre that flourished in the ’90s and ’00s, formally inventive and indebted to Stephen Sondheim. This week’s film is The Last Five Years (2014), adapted from the 2002 Off-Broadway show.
The show was written by Jason Robert Brown, and the film was adapted and directed by Richard LaGravenese. It stars Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan as the star-crossed lovers in what was a two-hander show.
The show/film’s premise is that we watch a relationship and marriage begin and end from the perspectives of these two people in opposing chronological order. Confusing?! Not really, but kinda. We meet Cathy at the end of the relationship, and her story ends at the beginning, and then we meet Jamie at the beginning of their relationship and follow to the end.
It’s a good idea! But that’s about where the praise of the show and especially film end. There’s just a lot wrong here, folks. Obviously, social media has had a field day with this show and how problematic Jamie is. And everyone knows about the legal disputes that surrounded the show – being that is a thinly-veiled autobiographical account of Jason Robert Brown’s own experience. And then, the film itself is just so…amateurish.
A lot to discuss, and Paul even comes up with the definitive take on The Last Five Years!
This Episode’s Focus: The Last Five Years (2014)
Host’s Choice: Corey Pepper
Stream on: Stream on YouTube, The CW, Fandango, PLEX, Tubi; Rent on all the usual suspects
Corey’s Recipe Recommendations for This Episode:
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Special thanks to Tobin for our incredible theme song and Dave Droxler for our podcast’s logo and artwork.
