Jerry Seinfeld’s week of difficult appearances continues, this time in Virginia.

As soon as Seinfeld took the stage for a stand-up comedy set at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk on Saturday night, a man in the audience jumped up and yelled, “Free Gaza,” TMZ reported. The audience immediately began booing the heckler and chanting “Jerry! Jerry!” as another bystander wrestled the protester into a headlock.

Security escorted the man out of the building, but the show was interrupted by other protesters eight times throughout its 90-minute run.

This isn’t the first time the “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” host has been interrupted lately — his commencement speech at Duke University was subject to walkouts and chanting by pro-Palestinian students.

The controversy around Seinfeld’s views stems from his vocal support of Israel — which he visited following the Oct. 7 attacks — and his wife’s $5,000 donation to a GoFundMe for pro-Israel counterprotesters at UCLA after a late April protest turned violent.

Seinfeld didn’t seem bothered by the interruptions, telling the crowd not to boo the man because he had a right to protest.

“This is exciting. I like this,” the comic said as the original protester was escorted out of the venue. “I like a little Jew hate to spice up the show.”

Hit Man, 2024.

Directed by Richard Linklater.
Starring Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao, Molly Bernard, Evan Holtzman, Mike Markoff, Ritchie Montgomery, Kate Adair, Beth Bartley, Morgana Shaw, Richard Robichaux, Bryant Carroll, Stephanie Hong, Gralen Bryant Banks, Jonas Lerway, Murphee Bloom, KC Simms, Jordan Joseph, Joel Griffin, and Garrison Allen.

SYNOPSIS:

A professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department, descends into dangerous, dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services.

Exploring murder as a crime of passionate love, personalities altering across adulthood, who and what danger truly comes from, the spontaneous urge to hire a professional killer (with the mythology of the entire fake profession deconstructed and picked apart), and a study of how to balance the id and the ego, co-writer/director Richard Linklater’s Hit Man (loosely based on a true story magazine article from Skip Hollandsworth, and star Glenn Powell assisting with screenplay duties), this film is much more than the vehicle for sizzling chemistry founded on erotic danger material that its two leads kill with command.

Skillfully wading between genres, Hit Man begins as a situational comedy about boring philosophy studies college professor Gary Johnson (Glenn Powell), who returns home from work to feed his birds (also knowledgeable and obsessed with them) and cat while casually having dinner at a pathetic but hilariously constructed one-person dinner table inside a mostly empty kitchen. Gary also does sting operations undercover for the police on the side, except his role in those operations is promoted to the field once the temperamental Jasper (Austin Amelio) storms onto the scene complaining about cancer culture, having been suspended for physically attacking some teenagers who “deserved it ” on the job.

This allows Gary to become Ron, or rather, the “constantly aggressive,” hardened, cold-blooded killer who couldn’t be any more opposite from his otherwise nerdy, well-articulated, loner real self. Gary comes across as so lame that during a brief reunion with his ex-wife (Molly Bernard), she almost seems disappointed that their marriage was apparently so loveless he never entertained the idea of putting a hit out on her if things went south or generally killing for love.

Nevertheless, Gary finds within himself a more charismatic, twistedly imaginative, likable badass easily capable of easing strangers meeting him in random locations to lower their guard and incriminate themselves into premeditated murder over a wire. At the same time, we are consistently amused observing the cuckoo, zany individuals desperate enough to resort to such an arrangement under the impression it will fix all the problems. It is equally funny that Ron switches up his wardrobe to appeal to different types of people seeking his supposed service, experimenting more with finding his true identity.

However, what happens when someone (Adria Arjona) doesn’t just bring an envelope filled with money to the meeting but a genuinely depressing story about an abusive husband who possibly does deserve to be whacked? It’s a brilliant inversion of what we have been watching up until this point, switching the proceedings from comedy to the aforementioned superheated romantic thrills as fake hitman continues to enjoy the more positive perception people bestow upon him as Ron by using that false identity to get closer to this woman, named Madison, while also giving her some rules to adhere to regarding entering a relationship with a professional killer. 

That shift largely works due to the performances from Glenn Powell and Adria Arjona (who seems to have mostly had smaller roles in blockbusters until this breakthrough, revelatory performance), delivering lines with suave and seduction. Small physical tics in the performances elevate that magnetism, whether it be the opening of an alcoholic bottle mid-sentence and mid-stare, a perfectly timed and corny one-liner, or actors always aware of what the character should be feeling and how they should react in a given scene. There is a moment where Ron does encounter the toxic boyfriend (Evan Holtzman), instantly turning fearful but also regaining that composure the second her new boyfriend whips out a gun. 

Most importantly, the snappy screenplay allows viewers to buy into the initially absurd idea that Madison would be comfortable around a killer, even if we know Gary/Ron has never actually done such a thing. She has been around someone legitimately abusive who has caused her immense emotional and psychological pain, so in her mind, how much worse could it be getting close to a professional killer if he is actually a compassionate human being to her outside that job? Ron even puts it to her in the best terms; he’s a people person outside this line of work.

Hit Man also has its share of convenient, strictly movie moments, although they never threaten to jeopardize or tear down the absorbing character work behind the simmering attraction. The third act does transition into a thriller where an actual murder is in the picture, which makes for a noticeable small drop off in the introspection on identity, but Richard Linklater and the company also find ways to make that refreshing and exhilarating, most notably in an electric sequence involving what amounts to role-play on top of role-play. More to the point, nearly every single moment of Hit Man, well, hits. It is high-voltage fun, armed with smarts, sexiness, showiness, and substance.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist

As one of the “California Gurls” is crowned the winner of “American Idol” Season 22, another is closing her chapter on ABC’s reality singing competition.

Abi Carter, a 21-year-old musician from Indio, was declared the victor on Sunday night finale, the final episode of Katy Perry’s seven-season judging stint alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. The pop star announced in February that she was leaving her post as a judge to focus on other artistic endeavors.

During the finale, Perry was sent off with a performance of her classics — “Teenage Dream,” “California Gurls” and “Dark Horse” — by “Idol” contestants.

Donning a dress decorated with more than 100 face cutouts of “Idol” competitors, Perry also took to the stage one last time to sing “What Makes a Woman” with third-place finisher Jack Blocker. She told the crowd, “143, I love you,” as butterfly confetti floated in the air. The phrase refers to the number of letters in each word of the phrase “I love you.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Perry shared a short message after the show: “There it is… 7 years.”

Richie called Perry’s departure “bittersweet” because the show would lose “one of the originators” of its ABC run, which began in 2018.

When announcing her departure to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in February, the “Firework” singer said she appreciated her time on the reality competition show.

“I love ‘Idol’ so much,” Perry said. “It’s connected me with the heart of America, but I need to go out and feel that pulse of my own beat.”

While on the show, Perry mentored up-and-coming talent such as “Idol” winners Noah Thompson and Chayce Beckham of Seasons 20 and 19, respectively. She was criticized for allegedly “mom-shaming” contestant Sara Beth Liebe, who later quit the show to spend time with her children despite Perry’s plea to have her stay.

Last year, Perry made waves for condemning gun violence in America after “Idol” contestant Trey Louis shared during his audition that he survived the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, which killed eight students and two teachers.

As she looks toward a new era in her life, Perry hinted at big plans that will make 2024 “a very, very exciting year for all the pop star girlies.”

“I love the show so much, but I want to go and see the world and bring new music,” she said. “Maybe I’ll come back if they’ll have me one day.”