Death Of A Unicorn And What's Making Us Happy
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At the heart of every monster movie is a menacing, often oversized creature. A werewolf, gorilla, dinosaur, shark, half-fish man. And then there's Death of a Unicorn, which offers up a different kind of cinematic adversary. The film finds Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega facing off against some angry-as-hell horned beasts. And like so many creature features, it poses a direct question amid all the chaos and carnage. Who's the real monster here?

I'm Glenn Weldon. And I'm Aisha Harris. And today we're talking about Death of a Unicorn on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. Joining us today is Jordan Cruciola. She's a writer and producer and the host of the podcast Feeling Seen on Maximum Fun. Welcome back, Jordan. Thank you so much for having me. Thrilled to be back as always. Awesome to have you here. And also, like, I don't think we could have thought of anyone better to be on this show to talk about this. All right. It's going to be a fun conversation. All right.

So Death of a Unicorn stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a dad and daughter, Elliot and Ridley. And along the way to a business retreat, their car strikes a mysterious creature. But it is horse-shaped. Right.

With some sort of protrusion or growth. Right. That's my working theory, too. Feral horse. Mad. Tumor-ridden. Jumps in the middle of the road. Not the fault of any one driver, per se. It's a f***ing unicorn. Hmm. Yes. The accident sets off a fateful chain of events after they finally arrive at the secluded compound of Elliot's billionaire boss, Odell Leopold, who's played by Richard E. Grant.

Now, it turns out that the unicorn has wondrous, game-changing restorative benefits that Odell and his family would love to exploit for profit. But it's also the case that the poor dead unicorn was part of a pack, and its survivors aren't too happy with what the humans have done. Death of a Unicorn is the feature debut of producer Alex Sharfman, and it's in theaters now.

So, Jordan, I'm going to start with you. Did you have a good time here? What's your vibe on this? I had a fun time. The ensemble held it together for me. I liked what every person was choosing to do, with the exception of I think you guys are going to get more specifically into this, too, so I won't take it all up. The first time I have ever found Paul Rudd to be, like, truly...

unredeemably unlikable cast him out. But that Jenna Ortega is a star and she can carry a film, Will Poulter, a hottie I have loved forever and I'm so glad the world is starting to recognize his juice.

Richard E. Grant, great as always. And Taya Leone. This was as Andy McDowell was in Ready or Not. For me, Taya Leone is in this. Ah, great comparison. And I love this surprise interjection of her being the worst. Thank you, Jordan. Glenn, how about you? I feel like we are a little bit more aligned on this movie, but tell me more. Yeah.

I don't know. Did you find it kind of a slog and kind of a snooze? Then we're aligned here. Look, I love all these actors, Jordan, that you mentioned, but the thing is...

Those folks, to different degrees, are not just any actors, right? They're all gifted comic actors. It's true. It's true. And the film does not seem willing to embrace or acknowledge that. Instead, it walks us through like 40 minutes of setup that any other horror movie in the world would have centered around what I found to be a really tedious daddy-daughter-dead-mother dysfunction. And these rich people, as you mentioned, they're being obnoxious, but they're not hilariously obnoxious or interestingly obnoxious. They're just...

There's just a general paucity of fun, I guess, is what I took away from this. And again, even if there aren't enough jokes in the script, which I would argue there aren't, these are all comic actors. They could run with it if you let them. They've got comic timing. They've got comic chops. They've got comic instincts.

They could generate funny just in the delivery, but they're not given leave to do so. Will Poulter comes close. Yes. But even he seems reined in, kind of hamstrung. And for me, the answer is that the filmmaker is committed to giving this film some heart. In his mind, heart means that Rudd-Ortega relationship is

But it's kind of boring and it's kind of rote and it ends up getting so much screen time that it's just this gravity sink at the center of the story. It pulls everything in. So it makes this story about stabby magic horsies, which should be fun and over the top and literally fantastic. It just seems, I mean, I think the filmmaker would call it grounded. I would call it somber and slow. And at the end, we'll get there. It reaches for some kind of spiritual significance, which what are you doing, stabby horsey movie? Yeah.

That's a great description. I will say the spiritual stuff does come up earlier than that. I think the first time when they actually hit the unicorn, there is a moment where Ridley is transported while like touching the unicorn. And it's supposed to give this sense that like she is one, she is like,

spiritually linked to this unicorn. It's a weird thing to think about, but it's not quite weird enough. And I think for me, that's where I find myself struggling with this movie. Alex Sharfman has talked about being inspired by any number of monster classics, including Jurassic Park. And this entire time, I was getting big Jurassic Park vibes. But the problem with that is that

Most movies can't be Jurassic Park. Sure, sure. For one thing, Jurassic Park was made at a time when practical effects still reigned. And here, these unicorns, they're supposed to be menacing. They're supposed to be terrifying. You're supposed to, at times, there are shots that feel almost like directly taken from Jurassic Park. Like moments with a car, like all these things. Yeah, definitely. But like the unicorns look like CGI unicorns. There's no real like feeling of...

and threatening other than what we're just seeing these actors do. And I think that is the problem is that it's not immersive in that way. For me, Will Poulter was the thing that kept this from just sinking completely. He has so many great lines and his line delivery is very good. Griff! Get Elliot a suit! Oh, no, no, really. It's okay. Are you sure? Yeah, yeah. He doesn't mind. No, no. Okay. Griff! Forget it!

Again, like you, Glenn, I kind of struggle with just like we've seen this story and these many stories that it's trying to tell so many different times, especially like the rich people are terrible. We know this. This is nothing new. But Jordan, I want to hear like a little bit more about like what worked for you. Because I think I did see this with the big audience and people were really enjoying it. This was South by Southwest. I mean, what a perfect place to see this movie. Exactly. Particularly a very enthusiastically

crowd. Yeah, I'm good at a certain point. For the most part, if a movie lets me buy into what it's doing, I can fully give myself over and be like, listen, these are computer horses. Whatever, man. They're ripping people apart. And I can find the thing that's going to carry me on a good time through the roller coaster of something. The thing I just couldn't process the entire time was the inexplicably bad positional

pathetic mealy-mouthed dad that was Paul Rudd's character because it's almost like we're going to break convention and make you think that this is the point where he's going to see to reason and he's going to come around and then it's like kidding! He's going to stay the worst. So it just lasts so long and in a way that's like his impetus is

for being there and bringing her is like, they want the family appeal. They need to know that I am the man to be the proxy of their estate when the cancer-ridden patriarch dies. So I need to let them know that I am the man for this job. And he's like, if I do everything right, I will have so much money that you will never have to worry about anything again. Where you're like, I'm pretty sure college is bad.

just paid for. I'm pretty sure she could have a beautiful wedding. Granted, rich people always want one more, but he's not presented as that guy. But then it's like, oh, we're all the same. It's all greed. Every time he talked, I got mad. But when it was like the buildup, I was in it with the ensemble. I like Richard E. Grant being silly. I like Taylor Leone like squinting constantly and looking down her nose.

We can be rich, craven, terrible people right here. It's fine, sister. You don't have to lie to me. Loved that. Once the carnage started happening, even if they're computer horses, it's good unicorn justice. Like, we are taking a while to get here in a movie that isn't even long, like an hour and 40 minutes, hour and 30 minutes.

But once it starts happening, the people are getting gored. The people are getting trampled. The people are getting literally held in mouths by one unicorn on one end and another unicorn on the other and torn apart. That is what this movie exists for for me. I'm like, am I going to see people shredded by unicorns? Because this movie is called Death of a Unicorn. And it takes a bit to ramp up to get there. But once it did, I'm like, okay, good. I'm so glad all of these people are getting destroyed.

See, I don't know, Jordan. I love a good eat the rich story. I just didn't think this was a particularly good one. I wasn't even eat the riching. I was just like, give me the blood and guts. Like, I'm here for a robot kaiju movie. I needed a bit more flair and wit and style, especially if you've hired Richard E. Grant. I mean, look, Salt Burn is a divisive film, but you can't deny that in that film, he is making eat the rich really tasty. And this is just comparatively good.

ham-fisted and dull and plotting. And I thought we might get a little wit in the beginning. It is not inspired. No. But I thought there was going to be some wit at the beginning because we see Will Poulter and they make the choice that the Will Poulter character is a 24-7 shorts and boat shoes guy. Now, that's not a fresh take, but it is a take at least. And that's what I wanted from everybody in this film that I just wasn't getting. I don't think I should be in swim shorts for this moment. I don't think so.

I will say there were also a couple of nice moments. Anthony Kerrigan, who I think most of us recognize from Barry as NoHo Hank. He's playing one of the service staff of the family, of the Leopold family. And he has some moments, I think, he's just a good actor. And like he does what he can with that. There are moments of wit and cunning, but they are so few and far between. And we're not going to spoil the ending, but I do think

that to me, that was where I kind of got pushed over the edge because this is a movie that like is so generic in every way possible. Like most of the characters are white. The characters of color are like some of the ones who get murdered first. Like all of these things are happening and then it ends on such like a conventional ending. And I'm like, why did we do this? Yeah.

I don't know if that makes sense. Like, it's hard to talk about without talking about the ending. Oh, it makes complete sense. It just felt like this filmmaker is afraid to break the mold in every way. And the Paul Rudd character felt like maybe this is a way of breaking the mold because he's playing against type. But then for what? This movie does not seem to know what it is and wants to be this...

pseudo-spiritual grappling with the dynamics of a father and a daughter, which, what are we doing? You know? My only comfort is that if this movie had been made in the 80s or 90s, there would have been a lot more gay panic in it. Yeah, so much. We would have gotten a lot more penis jokes, and at least one of those impalings would have been in the butt. We were spared that at least. Oh, you are so right about that. Yes, yes. Well, I guess we dodged a bullet with that one.

I would say, if you're going to go see this movie, I would say you can be looking forward to this movie. See it in a theater. Like, try and see it on a Friday night kind of situation. Because when certain elements of Unicorn Justice were happening, it was literal, like, yells and cheers in the audience. Bring a group of friends and hoot and holler kind of movie. Low stakes in that affair because...

it tries to gin up at stakes in a way that it, it cannot see through, but it is like, there's fun to be had in the in-between. If you're just like, okay, movie, you go and play now at those parts, I would say. Yeah. I don't know. I would see it at an Alamo if you could, because if you got 40 minutes of nothing happening, if you can order a wine or six while you're watching, I think. Absolutely. Absolutely. This is the opposite of a plane movie, unless you want to fall asleep on the plane, which is possible. Well,

Well, once you've done that, once you've gone to a theater, gotten your beverage and pre-gamed and all that fun stuff, tell us what you think about Death of a Unicorn. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com slash pchh and on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com slash nprpopculture. We'll have a link to that in our episode description. Up next, what's making us happy this week?

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Now it's time for our favorite segment of this week. And every week, what's making us happy? Jordan, let's start with you. What is making me happy? Thank God it's back. Season three of one of the great shows on television. It's Reacher on Amazon, ladies and gentlemen. Alan Richson, as vice victus of the Action for Everyone podcast, says Tyrannosaurus Flex.

The vanilla gorilla. Talk about a thing that knows exactly what it is. Talk about a thing that like if it had been made in the 90s, it feels like that. Reacher is giving us the 90s one procedural military investigator with a code at a time.

He's in hot water again, folks. He's in Maine and he's ended up in the home of a rich family who is running guns for an even worse high level criminal kingpin. And guess what? Jack's got a grudge to resolve and he has got some young people to save because, again, his code demands that he do so. Alan Richson.

Pure charm yet again. Can't wait. Make this show for the rest of my life. Find that on Prime. That is an Amazon Prime show. Thank you, Jordan. And this is where I must note that Amazon supports NPR and Pace to distribute some of our content. All right, Glenn, what is making you happy this week? Oh,

The actor, writer, comedian Jeffrey Self has a new memoir. It's called Self-Sabotage. Get it? Self-Sabotage and Other Ways I've Spent My Time. He's a novelist. He's a working actor. You might have seen him in Search Party or 30 Rock or Difficult People. I first became aware of him way back in 2009, 2010 when he had a sketch show with Cola Scola on the logo. Self-Sabotage is about exactly what the title says. The many ways he has managed to be his own worst enemy over the years.

And this guy writes with a kind of hilarious intensity about bad decisions, bad behavior, bad breakups. And I want to be clear, when I say he's being self-deprecating, he's not just being charmingly, wittily self-deprecating. This is searingly self-laceration. Wow. Whether he's telling stories about moving to New York and paying the rent with sex work or finding a real mentor in the Broadway actor Gary Beach. That's a very sweet and moving part of the book because it's all about...

what we gay men owe to our elders and how there's an entire generation of elders who are missing because of AIDS. And even if you don't know the Jeffrey self, the actor, you should get to know Jeffrey self, the writer, because this guy's in complete command of,

If you want to read a book and it's by a performer and that performer reads it, get the audio book. He reads it. His timing and delivery is spot on. That is Jeffrey Self's Self-Sabotage and the Other Ways I Spent My Time. Thank you so much, Glenn. That sounds very, very fun. Yeah, I'd be super into that. I'm so glad you put that on my radar. It's terrific. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Well, what is making me happy this week? Kendrick Lamar and SZA's duet Luther has been number one on the Billboard charts for like a few weeks now. And that song, of course, heavily samples the Luther Vandross, Cheryl Lynn duet, If This World Was Mine, classic. And this led me down a rabbit hole to a Soul Train performance of Vandross and Lynn doing this song. It is so good. Life is so wonderful.

Whoa. Give me pretty love and make me

The mic is on. The mic is on. It sounds like it could be the studio recording, but it's just different enough that you know it's not. They are ad-libbing in ways that they don't do in the studio version. It is beautiful. It is magnificent. I'm so glad that the song Luther has really sort of like put this classic back into the rotation. So that's Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn performing If This World Were Mine on Soul Train. And you can find that online.

On the internet, online. And that is what's making me happy this week. If you want links for what we recommended, plus some more recommendations, sign up for our newsletter at npr.org slash pop culture newsletter. That brings us to the end of our show. Jordan Cruciola, Glenn Weldon, thanks so much for being here. This was a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much. We survived the unicorns. We did. We did. We did.

This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and edited by Jessica Reedy and Mike Katzeff, and Halil Kamin provides our theme music. Thanks so much for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Ayesha Harris. We'll see you all next week. This message comes from BetterHelp. With BetterHelp, you can pay a flat fee for weekly online therapy sessions, saving you big on cost and on time. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.

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