What to Watch on TV and at the Movies This Week

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG)

In the most popular multiverse movie since Everything Everywhere All at Once, this animated sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (which was the most popular Spidey flick ever), there are six universes and over 240 characters, including the main Spidey (Shameik Moore), a Brit punk Spidey (Daniel Kaluuya), a Japanese and an Indian Spidey, Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac), at least three female Spideys, even a Spider-cat. It’s arty: the Vulture is based on a da Vinci drawing, and there are references to Roy Lichtenstein, Abstract Expressionism, Jeff Koons, No Country for Old Men and Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything. It’s also multigenerational, with an important subplot about how Spidey’s parents (Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez, 58) cope with their teen’s growing independence. It’s a movie that aims for the brain as well as the eyeballs, and challenges the bladder with its 140-minute length. —Tim Appelo (T.A.)

Watch it: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, June 2 in theaters

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​​Being Mary Tyler Moore

Get a deeper understanding of the TV titan, from her start as Happy Hotpoint, the dancing elf selling refrigerators; to her smash-hit shows with Dick Van Dyke and Ed Asner and her work in movies like Ordinary People, which showed her darker side; and Flirting With Disaster, which revealed a more irreverent comedic style. She and many famous friends explain her family tragedies and heroic battle with diabetes. As she told one pal in her last years, “It feels great to remember!”

Watch it: Being Mary Tyler Moore on HBO Max

Don’t miss this: Mary Tyler Moore’s widower, Robert Levine, M.D., explains her gift and legacy

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ About My Father, PG-13

Sebastian Maniscalco’s love letter to his real-life Sicilian-born father, Salvatore, About My Father could have been a cheese-fest — complete with Robert De Niro, 79, hamming it up in crazy dad shorts, cooking pasta and shouting in Italian in a plot involving Maniscalco (playing himself) dragging his working-class dad to meet his rich, waspy future in-laws. But thanks to a sharp script cowritten by Maniscalco that’s reminiscent of De Niro’s hits Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, the 90-minute film is both touching and funny — it got big laughs from a screening room full of tough New York City critics. The stellar cast helps, including Leslie Bibb as Maniscalco’s girlfriend and Kim Cattrall, 66, and David Rasche, 78, as her quirky but game parents. Maniscalco and De Niro have great chemistry, but surprisingly it’s Rasche (Karl on Succession), who steals every scene he’s in. Director Laura Terruso, whose mom is an immigrant from Sicily, said she wanted to make a film that parents, grandparents and kids could enjoy. Mission accomplished. —Dana Kennedy (D.K.)

Watch it: About My Father, in theaters

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You Hurt My Feelings, R

Scorsese has DiCaprio. Director Nicole Holofcener, 63, has Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 62 (Seinfeld, Veep), a comedienne with pinpoint timing who has the power to blatantly misbehave and charm nonetheless. In You Hurt My Feelings, the trouble begins when Manhattan author Beth (Louis-Dreyfus) overhears her therapist husband (The Crown’s Tobias Menzies) confiding his equivocal opinion of her unpublished novel to their brother-in-law, an actor (Arian Moayed). She immediately unravels — but doesn’t confront him. Instead, Beth goes on a neurotic bender, freaking out about her partner’s gaslighting, her literary ambitions, her maternal failures, and her inability to ever feel satisfied. When is having enough, enough? Swift, strongly acted, with sharp dialogue and wicked insight, You Hurt My Feelings finds the bitter humor in the minor apocalypses of the bourgeoisie. Together, Holofcener and Louis-Dreyfus have upended the modern romantic comedy. —T.M.A.

Watch it: You Hurt My Feelings, in theaters

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Kandahar, R​

Covert CIA Agent Tom Harris (Gerard Butler, 53) isn’t much of a husband or father. Wouldn’t you know, just as he’s about to leave Afghanistan for his daughter’s graduation, he gets yanked back for one last high-risk mission. In this nonstop action movie shot in Saudi Arabia, the man of few words and a big beard runs out one ticking clock after the next. The weathered and weary Harris confronts enemies from ISIS, the Taliban and the Pakistani secret service. Meanwhile, he must ensure that his beleaguered Afghan translator (Homeland’s Navid Negahban) survives and can be extracted — in distant Kandahar. Travis Fimmel, charismatic star of TV’s Vikings, plays Harris’ Muslim handler, along with an international cast, in an explosive adventure that hurtles from beginning to end, while underscoring the notion that terrorism and belief in Allah aren’t identical. —T.M.A.

Watch it: Kandahar, in theaters

FUBAR, Season 1 (Netflix Original)

In his first major TV series, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75, plays a retired CIA operative who’s recruited for one more mission — helping out an agent who’s in danger overseas and who turns out to be his own 28-year-old daughter. As one character comments, “They got more issues than Sports Illustrated.”

Watch it: FUBAR on Netflix

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Monica, R

A sense of immediacy and deep conflicting emotions struggling to pierce the surface elevate this variation on the you-can’t-go-home-again theme. Knowing that her bedridden mother (a grounding and generous Patricia Clarkson, 63) may not have long to live, Monica (Transparent’s Trace Lysette) reluctantly returns to the family home from which she was exiled when she came out as a transgender woman. Now, with years passed, and a stronger sense of who she is in her body, Monica returns to ease her mother’s pain, and confronts her own identity against the backdrop of family life. Is Monica big enough, authentic enough, to love herself and share that love with the now-frail mother who once negated her existence and caused so much pain? Lysette’s committed, complex performance, in tandem with Clarkson, powers a restrained tale of reunion and resistance with a gender identity twist. —T.M.A.

Watch it: Monica, in theaters

Fast X, R

In the tenth rip-roaring Fast and Furious franchise flick, will lead-foot driver Dom (Vin Diesel, 55) survive the vengeance of Dante (Jason Momoa), embittered son of the drug lord Dom killed? And could anybody be cooler — or drive faster — than Helen Mirren, 77, as Queenie, the matriarch and Dom’s pal?

Watch it: Fast X, in theaters

Don’t miss this: 9 Reasons You Should Give the 'Fast & Furious' Films a Try

​​⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, R

“Still” may be the last adjective we’d use when discussing Back to the Future's kinetic Michael J. Fox, 61. The Canadian actor found domestic TV success at 16 — and then had three years of Hollywood poverty before stealing the show on the hit American sitcom Family Ties. In this bio-doc he addresses the youngster who topped out at 5 foot 4 inches, and the wall he hit in 1991 when at 30 he received a diagnosis: Parkinson’s disease. Now, decades later, still married to former costar Tracy Pollan, 62, and with four grown children, the ’80s icon faces the camera, revealing how he copes with pain and muscle tremors, and how his priorities shifted when forced to confront the stillness beneath the shaking surface. —T.M.A.

Watch it: Still on Apple TV+

​Don’t miss this: New Test Hailed as ‘Game Changer’ in Parkinson’s Diagnosis

​⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ It Ain’t Over, PG

Baseball season’s in full swing — the perfect time to look back at legendary catcher and slugger Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra (1925-2015). The Italian American got the nickname for his tendency to sit cross-legged like a yogi; the Hanna-Barbera cartoon star Yogi Bear appropriated his name but didn’t share royalties. The sturdy sports doc, created with the approval of many in Berra’s family, notches his many achievements: a Purple Heart serving in WWII, 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (almost exclusively with the New York Yankees), 10 World Series rings as a player, plus his tenure as Yankees coach and manager. He wasn’t pretty, but Berra had a beautiful swing and a penchant for catchphrases — aka Yogi-isms — like the tautology that provides the film’s title: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Filled with game footage, home movies and knowledgeable talking heads, It Ain't Over ensures Berra’s exalted status in the annals of America’s pastime. —T.M.A.

Watch it: It Ain’t Over, in theaters

​Don’t miss this: 12 Great Baseball Movies to Stream Now

​Love Again, PG-13

Devastated by her fiancé’s death, Mira (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) sends a bunch of romantic texts to his work phone number, which has been reassigned to journalist Rob (Sam Heughan). Wanting to meet the mysterious romantic-text woman, Rob persuades his latest profile subject, Celine Dion (who plays herself in her first film role), to help out. Dion also contributed five songs to the film.

Watch it: Love Again, in theaters

​Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix Original)

In a prequel spin-off of Bridgerton, we get the origin story for Golda Rosheuvel’s sharp-tongued, snuff-sniffing Queen Charlotte (Rosheuvel, 53, with India Amarteifio as young Charlotte) — from her days as a teenager when she wed King George III (the British monarch against whom the Americans revolted). Expect more swooning romance, witty dialogue and anachronistic song choices.

Watch it: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Amy Poehler, 51, hosts the Scandinavians behind the best-selling book about getting rid of stuff so your heirs don’t have to. They help eight people declutter their lives. “This is not a show about death,” says Poehler. “It’s about life."

Watch it: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning on Peacock

Don’t miss this: Swedish Death Cleaning Makes a Comeback

White House Plumbers

Nixon’s henchmen E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson, 61) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux, 51) try to save his presidency and nuke it instead by incompetently burglarizing his political enemies. But we’re most eager to see Kathleen Turner, 68, as the hellraiser lobbyist Dita Beard, who drank like a fish, swore like a sailor, did dirty deeds, faked a heart attack and got off scot-free while others went to jail.

Watch it: White House Plumbers on HBO

Don’t miss this: 10 Quick Questions with Kathleen Turner on AARP Members Only Access

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret , PG-13

Oh, joy! The lifesaving 1970 YA novel by Judy Blume, 85, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret springs to life in a bighearted, faithful adaptation. When tweener Margaret (a sweet and spunky Abby Ryder Fortson) moves to suburban New Jersey with her mixed-faith parents (a generous Rachel McAdams and Bennie Safdie), she leaves her darling Jewish grandma (Kathy Bates, 74) in Manhattan. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as she’s a city kid entering junior high and the danger zone: puberty. She makes new friends quickly, but can she survive mean-girl antics, interfaith confusion, playing spin the bottle — and the mystery that is menstruation? The beloved book that got so many grandmothers, mothers and daughters through the fraught narrows of the preteen years with love, laughter and easily digestible life lessons is now a film with a terrific cast, a light touch and genuine affection. —T.M.A.

Watch it: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, in theaters

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Somewhere in Queens, R

More than a comedian, Ray Romano, 65, won raves in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and he’s superb in this partly autobiographical film about a doting, dysfunctional blue-collar dad, which he cowrote and directs. It’s like a funny (but deeper and more dramatic) takeoff on Everybody Loves Raymond. —T.A.

Watch it: Somewhere in Queens, in theaters

Don't miss this: Ray Romano on His Directorial Debut at 65: ‘This Is the Story I Want to Tell'

​Barry, Season 4

Do not miss the final season of this inspired, touching, grisly comic thriller about a hit man (Bill Hader) sent to prison by his beloved acting teacher (Henry Winkler, 77, in one of his best roles), plus the hit man’s awful actress ex-wife (superb Sarah Goldberg), his ex-handler (still more superb Stephen Root, 71), and the funniest, most original foreign gangster you ever saw (Anthony Carrigan). And keep your eye peeled for some fun guest stars, like director Guillermo del Toro, 58, as a crime lord.

Watch it: Barry on HBO and HBO Max

Tiny Beautiful Things

In a show inspired by Wild author Cheryl Strayed’s real-life advice column, Kathryn Hahn, 49, plays a 49-year-old advice columnist whose life is a mess and haunted by the death of her mother (Merritt Wever) years before. Hahn says it’s nice to star in a show involving “women’s bodies that are older, that can feel deep, complicated [things], not the butt of the joke, and that are interesting, funny, illuminating and powerful. In all ways.”

Watch it: Tiny Beautiful Things on Hulu

Don't miss this: Quick Questions for Cheryl Strayed on AARP Members Only Access

Schmigadoon!, Season 2

In the new season of the Broadway musical parody show, set in magical yet crime-ridden Schmicago, Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Jane Krakowski, 54, Kristin Chenoweth, 54, Fred Armisen, 56, and Alan Cumming, 58, spoof Cabaret, Chicago, Hair, Pippin, Company, Sweeney Todd and more.

Watch it: Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+

​Don’t miss this: Quick Questions for Jane Krakowski on AARP Members Only Access

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Air, R

The best movie directed by Ben Affleck, 50, since 2012’s Argo, Air is a funny, stirring, All-American triumph about the intersection of passion and capitalism. Matt Damon, 52, delivers gritty humor and unexpected insight as Sonny Vaccaro, Nike’s in-house basketball zealot, who persuades company co-founder Phil Knight (Affleck) that signing Michael Jordan could turn his running-shoe empire into an NBA powerhouse. Lacking the early-’80s sporting-world cachet of Converse or Adidas, Vaccaro and his Nike colleagues — a skeptical marketing whiz (Jason Bateman, 54) and an exuberant baller turned executive (Chris Tucker, 51) — must try to seduce MJ with a brand that reflects his hardwood genius: “Air Jordan.” Affleck can be too New Age-campy as Knight. But Matthew Maher, as a visionary footwear designer, brings eccentric soul to heels and soles, and Viola Davis, 57, understates to perfection as Jordan’s mom, who conjures a business plan that empowers athletes and transforms the industry. The result is a film that salutes and embodies entrepreneurial art. —Michael Sragow (M.S.)

Watch it: Air, in theaters and on Prime Video

Don’t miss this: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Bromance Hits a New High After 50

Lucky Hank

If you liked the academic satire The Chair (and you should), you’ll love Lucky Hank. Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) is William Henry Devereaux Jr., a bitter has-been novelist who chairs the English department at a mediocre university. Loosely based on Richard Russo’s 1997 campus novel Straight Man and his real-life experiences teaching, the show presents the school as a fractious war zone, and Hank’s big mouth does him no favors. Mireille Enos (The Killing) plays his more stable schoolteacher wife, Oscar Nuñez (The Office) his dean and friend, and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) the university’s business-minded president — Hank’s nemesis. Peter Farrelly (Green Book, Dumb and Dumber) directs.

Watch it: Lucky Hank on AMC+

​Don’t miss this: Quick Questions for Bob Odenkirk on AARP Members Only Access