There’s nothing new on Netflix next month. April fools! There is, of course, a large crop of content both dropping onto and exiting from the platform come April 1; read on to learn about the best of what Netflix is bringing to the screen next month, as well as what to catch now, before it fades into the black hole of the Internet.
Movies
What’s Arriving . . .
Bad Boys
Like all of director Michael Bay’s films, Bad Boys is loud and dumb, but stylish. Sometimes, though, the loudness and dumbness intermingle with the stylishness in just the right way—as in this 1995 buddy-cop action movie, featuring a lively Will Smith at the start of his movie career, partnered with an even livelier Martin Lawrence, close to the start of his. Both were just about to wrap up their runs on popular sitcoms, and they seem eager and ready to tackle film stardom, energetically bantering and bad boy-ing through Bay’s magic-hour Miami. This was also Téa Leoni’s first major film role, which she takes to with aplomb. Again, the movie is loud and dumb. But it’s the fun kind of loud and dumb, a balance Bay is able to strike every once in a while. Maybe pair this with another Miami-set Bay film, the bizarrely good Fargo riff Pain & Gain. It won’t be a day for high art, but not every day can be.
Cabin Fever
It seems dumb-but-fun is going to be a theme this month. Fitting for April, maybe. This 2002 gross-out horror movie—about a flesh-eating disease infecting a bunch of horned-up twentysomethings on a weekend getaway—is most notable for two things. First, it was the directorial debut of horror mainstay Eli Roth, who here introduces his taste for both viscerally repellent imagery and snickering humor. A particular aspect of that humor is the second distinguishing thing about Cabin Fever: it famously concludes with a terrible fake-out joke that is so incongruous and absurd and perhaps offensive that it almost feels like a middle finger to the audience. Because of that, or despite that, or some mix of both, the movie has become a cult hit, spawning a prequel, a sequel, and a 2016 remake. The original is worth a watch as a cultural oddity, if you can stomach it. Perhaps one last enticement might be that it stars Rider Strong, the great heartthrob of Friday night television for all you 90s kids out there.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
While we’re on the topic of endings, Jonathan Mostow’s 2003 film has a dark and nifty one. Too bad the film is pretty much no longer part of the Terminator canon. Didn’t Terminator Genisys wipe all that out? Who really knows with time-travel stuff. The point is, T3 is a strange and oft-forgotten installment in the franchise, pitting a post-adolescent John Connor (Nick Stahl) against a female terminator (as much as robots have gender, I guess) and pairing him with a character played by Claire Danes. Yes, Claire Danes was in a Terminator movie. Also interesting is that this was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last film before he was sworn in as governor of California later that year. In that way and others, Rise of the Machines is an odd, engaging time capsule of a movie. And its startlingly grim conclusion is a rare downer for big tentpole filmmaking.
Seven Pounds
A confession: I’ve never seen this much-maligned 2008 drama, a movie so mocked and reviled upon its release that its star, Will Smith, had to lie low for three and a half years, then win back moviegoers’ hearts with another Men in Black movie. Now the movie that nearly killed Will Smith’s career will be on Netflix, and I’m more than curious to finally lay eyes on it. Adding to that curiosity is the fact that the plot involves some sort of jellyfish. Let’s all promise to suffer through this on some rainy April day and try to figure out what anyone was thinking 10 years ago.
What’s Leaving . . .
Leap Year (April 15)
I recently re-watched this 2010 romantic comedy, and while it’s by no means good, it is a fascinating artifact of its time. The big studios effectively stopped making romantic comedies shortly after this one, so the film plays a bit as a last, desperate gasp. Sadly, it doesn’t make the case for itself, nor for its genre. Director Anand Tucker had fared much better a few years prior with Shopgirl, a movie as wise and wistful as this one is grating. Tucker’s presence was surely part of the reason star Amy Adams agreed to do the movie. She was hot off Enchanted when she signed on, and had Doubt and Julie & Julia on the way. By the time Leap Year came out, Adams had a second Oscar nomination and was set to be Lois Lane—so this movie gets understandably overlooked in the Amy Adams narrative. But it is worth a revisit, if only to remember when every actress needed a movie like this on her early-stardom resume. Also, Matthew Goode is cute in it.
TV
The Boss Baby: Back in Business (April 6)
Listen, if Boss Baby the movie can be nominated for an Oscar, then anything is possible. As part of its deal with DreamWorks Animation (also responsible for the TV version of Trolls, which debuted in January), Netflix is bringing the bossy, suit-wearing business baby back for another round of corporate hijinks. None of the film’s voice cast (not even Alec Baldwin) is returning to this version, which means the new Boss Baby is already starting from behind—but kids likely won’t notice the difference. If it’s slightly more educational fare you crave, then families can also try Season 2 of The Magic School Bus (April 13), starring the voice talents of Baldwin’s frequent S.N.L. foil Kate McKinnon.
Lost in Space (April 13)
Every month now, it seems that Netflix puts a massive push behind at least one of its new original shows. In April, that show is the latest adaptation of the misadventures of the Robinson family. The 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson has inspired a number of filmed adaptations, most notably the 1960 Disney film of the same name. The story of a shipwrecked family was also given a galactic update in 1965, with three seasons of the groovy Lost in Space. That, in turn, led to an infamously terrible movie remake in 1998, starring Matt LeBlanc and Heather Graham. After an aborted attempt to get another TV series off the ground in 2004, Lost in Space finally has the re-imagining it deserves with this latest iteration, starring the underrated Molly Parker (Deadwood, House of Cards) as science-minded Maureen Robinson and, crucially, Parker Posey as the scheming Dr. Smith. Posey’s darkly comedic, unhinged performance—channeling her House of Yes and Josie and the Pussycats days—should be enough to get anyone to tune in, but the rest of this glossy, well-made series meets her on every level.
Troy: Fall of a City (April 6)
Continuing its status as a premier importer of high-end British television (sorry, BBC America), Netflix delivers this sword-and-sandal epic from David Farr, associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the writer behind the much-ballyhooed Night Manager. Forget your Brad PittTroy; this version tells the story of the well-known invasion from the perspective of the Trojans, who are often the maligned Easterners in a story about heroic Greeks. Make all the comparisons to Game of Thrones you want; Farr will have none of it. His thoughtful answer on that front to The Guardian hints at the kind of intellectual war epic audiences are in for: “Game of Thrones is fundamentally based on a Machiavellian, almost Jacobean, idea of power and intrigue. By contrast, our story is perhaps a more melancholy one. Our characters are driven by great passions, but they’re not cynical about the world, and there’s nothing cynical about the story we wanted to tell.” Farr has also stacked his cast with a number of little-known (to Americans) actors—and though his colorblind casting of both Achilles and Zeus drew some protest in the U.K., U.S. audiences will no doubt be eager to get to know an entire roster of new faces.
The Letdown (April 21)
For fans of quirky Australian comedy and shows that hit a bit too close to home, this zippy, seven-episode season gives a realistic look at what the first flush of motherhood is actually like. From writers Sarah Scheller and Alison Bell (who also stars), the show follows Audrey (Bell) as she tries to tackle the sleepless nights and relationship strain of having a first child. The show also looks at what becoming a new mother can do to a woman’s relationship with her own mother. If the title alone doesn’t give you a clue, this is hardly a rosy, cutesy story. Instead, it’s a clear-eyed take on parenthood, told hilariously—the sort that many mothers (and fathers) have been telling their friends for years. No shame in it; having a baby takes a tremendous toll.
FULL LIST OF ARRIVALS
April 1
A Sort of Family
Along Came Polly
Bad Boys
Battlefield Earth
Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure
Big Time
Body of Lies
Cabin Fever
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever
Cats & Dogs
Cold Mountain
Dare to Be Wild
Deep Blue Sea
Fish People
Friday Night Lights
Jackass 2.5
Life Is Beautiful
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Mortal Kombat
Nancy Drew
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Scarface
Seven
Sin City
Speed Racer
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
The Duchess
The Family Man
The Flintstones
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Iron Giant
The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale
The Lost Boys
Queen of the Damned
The Spy Next Door
Wakfu: Season 3
April 2
La Piloto: Season 1
April 3
Fary Is the New Black
April 5
Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall
Despicable Me 3
April 6
6 Balloons
Amateur
Fastest Car: Season 1
Money Heist: Part 2
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Jay-Z
Orbiter 9
Ram Dass, Going Home
Sun Dogs
The 4th Company
The Boss Baby: Back in Business: Season 1
Todo lo que sería de Lucas Lauriente
Troy: Fall of a City: Season 1
April 7
24 Hours to Live
April 9
AMO: Season 1
April 10
Greg Davies: You Magnificent Beast
April 12
Pickpockets
April 13
Chef’s Table: Pastry
Come Sunday
I Am Not an Easy Man
Lost in Space: Season 1
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Season 2
April 15
Lakeview Terrace
Seven Pounds
April 17
The Chalet: Season 1
The Honeymoon Stand Up Special: Collection
April 18
Friend Request
Pelé
April 19
Charité: Season 1
Chasing the Dragon
April 20
Aggretsuko: Season 1
Dope: Season 2
Dude
Kodachrome
Mercury 13
Spy Kids: Mission Critical: Season 1
April 21
The Letdown: Season 1
April 24
Call the Midwife: Series 6: “Christmas Special 2017”
Kevin James: Never Don’t Give Up
April 25
Bill Nye: Science Guy
Psychokinesis
April 27
3%: Season 2
Bobby Kennedy for President
Candy Jar
Holy Goalie
The Man Who Knew Infinity
The New Legends of Monkey: Season 1
The Week Of
FULL LIST OF WHAT’S LEAVING
April 1
30 Days of Night
88 Minutes
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
American Pie
American Pie 2
Apollo 13
Batman
Batman & Robin
Batman Forever
Batman Returns
Caddyshack
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Cool Runnings
Death Sentence
Dolphin Tale
Eagle vs. Shark
John Mulaney: New in Town
Never Let Me Go
Set Up
Small Soldiers
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Shawshank Redemption
The Whole Nine Yards
Wild Wild West
April 3
Starry Eyes
April 5
The Hallow
The Nightingale
April 12
The Emperor’s New Clothes
April 15
Happy Tree Friends
Leap Year
April 16
Son of God
April 17
Z Storm
April 20
The Exorcism of Molly Hartley
April 21
The Prestige
April 22
Exit Through the Gift Shop
April 26
Kung Fu Panda 3
April 27
Begin Again
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