NEW YORK (OSV News) – Screwball comedies showcasing couples verbally duking it out in the battle of the sexes comprised a significant and often winning subgenre during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether the sparring partners were Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur or William Powell and Carole Lombard, audiences were likely to enjoy every round.

Such examples of amusing tension are comparatively rare these days, which makes the advent of “The Fall Guy” (Universal) a refreshing development. Although ostensibly an actioner — and a snappy one at that — director David Leitch’s loose adaptation of the eponymous 1980s TV series has even more appeal as a toothsome romantic comedy.

Unfortunately, however, the wit and engaging sentiment that characterize Drew Pearce’s script are offset by an excess of off-color dialogue. As a result, this bit of otherwise classy fun can only be endorsed for grown-ups.

After a near-fatal accident, veteran Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) loses confidence in himself and leaves the film business. He also cuts off contact with Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), the aspiring director he’d been dating, though he continues to carry a torch for her.

Having hit the skids and become a restaurant parking attendant, Colt is summoned back to the world of Tinseltown by producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham). She’s at work on the science fiction epic that will represent Jody’s feature debut.

The lavish project is under threat, however, as Gail eventually explains, because its lead, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) — the egotistical star for whom Colt used to substitute — has disappeared. Gail begs Colt to track the actor down and, with Jody’s welfare in mind, he complies.

As a cover for carrying out this surreptitious mission, Gail has arranged for Colt to join the set of Judy’s production. This offers Judy the opportunity to take sweet revenge on Colt for his ghosting of her.

The screenplay tends to turn Colt’s misdeed into more of an obstacle to reconciliation than it might represent in real life. But the path to reunion is a thoroughly enjoyable one to travel, especially as it leads through some savvy satire of the entertainment industry’s mannerisms.

Although one exchange in the dialogue can be interpreted as suggesting that Colt and Judy’s former liaison included a sexual component, this remains uncertain. As for what’s seen on screen, past or present, nothing of the sort transpires. Instead, they pursue their kicks by doing fast doughnuts in Colt’s truck.

While Pearce keeps his lovers away from the bedroom, he also lowers the tone with a constant barrage of S-words. It’s a shame that indulging in them necessarily restricts the appropriate audience for his sharp barbs and Leitch’s well-choreographed bumps.

The film contains considerable stylized violence, including gunplay, a possible offscreen premarital sexual relationship, several instances each of profanity and milder swearing, fleeting rough language, pervasive crude talk and obscene gestures. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Walt Disney Co. is making massive strides toward making its streaming business profitable, a milestone that comes none too soon as its traditional TV networks continue to decline.

The Burbank media and entertainment giant reported overall streaming business revenue of $6.19 billion for the second fiscal quarter of 2024, up 12% compared with a year earlier. Disney’s streaming business — which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — reported an operating loss of $18 million for the three-month period that ended March 30, a 97% change from last year, when it reported losing $659 million.

The company’s “entertainment streaming” business, which consists only of Disney+ and Hulu (and not ESPN+), was profitable during the quarter, notching operating income of $47 million, compared with a loss of $587 million a year earlier. Excluding ESPN+, streaming revenue of $5.64 billion was up 13% from a year earlier.

Overall, Disney generated $22.1 billion in revenue that quarter, up 1% from the same period a year earlier. Sales came in roughly in line with analysts’ estimates, according to FactSet. Earnings, excluding certain items, were $1.21 per share, up from 93 cents a year earlier and better than the $1.10 that analysts had predicted, on average.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger noted the growth in streaming in a statement, saying that the business, in addition to the company’s continued strength in experiences, which includes the parks, drove the company’s second-quarter performance.

Disney’s investment in streaming, which accelerated to grow the Disney+ service that launched in 2019, has lost billions of dollars to date. The company expects its combined streaming operations to finally turn a profit in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024.

This marks Disney’s first quarterly earnings report since Iger trounced activist investor Nelson Peltz in a proxy fight, in which Peltz had sought a board seat. Investors, in a vote tallied at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting in April, decisively rejected Peltz’s bid.

Peltz, among other things, had demanded that Disney show a realistic plan for Netflix-like profit margins in the costly streaming business. To get Disney closer to its profitability goals, Iger waged a severe cost-cutting plan, eliminating more than 8,000 jobs.

“Looking at our company as a whole, it’s clear that the turnaround and growth initiatives we set in motion last year have continued to yield positive results,” Iger said in a statement.

Although Disney’s streaming business was a bright spot for its entertainment segment, the company’s linear TV business struggled in the quarter, reporting $2.77 billion in revenue, a decrease of 8% compared with a year earlier. The linear networks reported operating income of $752 million, down about 22% from the same period last year.

The company said its losses in linear networks stemmed from lower affiliate revenue because of a decrease in subscribers after Spectrum dropped eight networks, including Freeform and Disney Junior, from its lineup as part of Disney’s new cable licensing agreement with cable giant Charter Communications. Those negotiations resulted in a more-than-10-day blackout of ESPN and ABC channels as the two companies hashed out an agreement.

The company’s film studio business also struggled, with revenue falling 40% to $1.39 billion for an operating loss of $18 million. Disney posted weak box-office results compared with last year’s second quarter, when it had Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Disney movies have had a weak run in 2024 and the company is hoping for a rebound with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Disney’s sports sector reported revenue of $4.31 billion, up 2% compared with a year earlier. ESPN operating income was $778 million, down 2% from the year-earlier period.

Meanwhile, its “experiences” division — which encompasses theme parks such as Disneyland and Walt Disney World; cruise lines and consumer products — continued to drive profit for the company with $8.39 billion in revenue, an increase of 10% from a year earlier. Operating income from the parks division was $2.29 billion, up 12%. The segment accounted for 59% of the company’s operating income.

The growth in experiences came from higher results at Walt Disney World in Florida and Disney Cruise Line, the company said.

Additionally, Disney took a $2-billion write-down of its troubled Star India business after agreeing to merge the operations into a joint venture controlled by rival Reliance Industries, a major Indian conglomerate. The Star India business, along with its HotStar streaming service, became part of Disney through its 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

Want to be a yoga influencer?

If ever you wanted to be a yoga influencer, then Mind Body Spirit will cure you of that. Just kidding, as it isn’t the practice of yoga that makes this a horror movie, but rather an old book full of ancient rituals. I always find myself thinking “Has nobody watched Evil Dead?” whenever they embark on reading out loud from weird books.

However, for this particular horror story, the book was left behind by the lead character’s grandmother. Anya has just inherited her grandmother’s old house and before she finds the book, she also discovers a huge part of the house. Including a strange room and a huge attic.

Both would have made me leave the house immediately. And if not then, the things that happen next most certainly would have. You see, I have actually watched a whole lot of horror movies, so I already know that this cannot end well for Anya.

From self-help to despair

Anya has never met her grandmother, but the book (along with the house) was left for her. While Anya’s mom begs her to leave the place and recognizes that her grandmother was not a good person, Anya looks at it all like some sort of fate.

What starts as a spiritual self-help guide that Anya follows to kick off her aspiring career as a yoga influencer turns into something very sinister. The only other person in Anya’s house is an already established lifestyle influencer who tries to help Anya get started – because Anya’s mother asks her to.

While Anya is portrayed wonderfully (and also creepily, at times) by Sarah J. Bartholomew, the influencer Kenzi is portrayed by Madi Bready. I loved how we also got to watch commercials for various products that sponsor these influencers.

Not least seeing Kenzi from KenziFit in her element. A great detail that made it all come alive and feel very real.