It says a lot about the current Republican party — and just how painfully desperate Kevin McCarthy was to be named Speaker of the House of Representatives — that one of the new congress’ very first acts was to essentially give a middle finger to the Ethics Committee. And pathological fabulist George Santos, for one, couldn’t be happier.
While it took House Republicans several days, 15 rounds of voting, and one near-brawl to actually name a leader, they didn’t waste any time in essentially disabling the Office of Congressional Ethics. As Insider reports, one of the group’s first acts on Monday was to enact a new set of guiding rules for members of the House that will make it much more difficult for the Ethics committee to actually investigate a congressperson for suspected wrongdoing. Which seems like a terrible idea to pretty much anyone who is not a corrupt congressperson. And explains why New York congressman Santos, who has reportedly lied about everything — from his school to his jobs to his religion to his MOTHER DYING ON 9/11 — is all for the new ruling.
“I think it’s fantastic,” the controversial congressman told Insider of the new rules, which just passed with a vote of 220 to 213. Though he was just sworn into congress a few days ago, Santos is already the subject of at least two Office of Congressional Ethics complaints related to financial matters. He’s also the subject of multiple investigations due to the many lies he told in order to secure his congressional seat.
While Santos didn’t want to talk about any of the accusations against him, he disagreed with the idea that handcuffing the Ethics committee would be a good thing for him and other shifty types. “I think it just gives them more power,” he bizarrely said of the changes, then mentioned that he is very much for term limits.
Ultimately, Santos thinks the changes are “a good thing for transparency. It’s a good thing for Americans. Renewal.” Whatever that means.
It’s been a week since the GOP took control over the House. They won’t exactly be very powerful; they won by a slim margin, which means the legislation they wish to pass requires some Democratic support, which means said legislation can’t be too loony. But there’s nothing stopping them from almost getting into physical altercations, or from making bizarro rants on the taxpayers’ dime, which is exactly what one freshman Republican did.
Meet Ryan Zinke. You might know him. He was once one of the quieter members of the Trump administration. As secretary of the interior, his big controversies involved using charter jets for personal reasons and spending way too much money on doors. No big whoop. Zinke was recently sworn in as a Montana representative, but on Tuesday he made himself known by taking to the House floor and ranting about how the “deep state” was after an obvious foe: cowboys.
Zinke: Despite the deep state’s attempts to repeatedly stop me I stand before you as a duly elected member of the congress and tell you that a deep state exists… They want to wipe out the American cowboy pic.twitter.com/BrOiIltbMp
He started by painting himself as a target of shadowy minions. “Despite the Deep State’s attempts to repeatedly stop me, I stand before you as a duly elected member of the United States Congress and tell you that a Deep State exists and it is perhaps the strongest covert weapon the left has against the American people,” Zinke told his colleagues. He then went even more conspiratorial.
“There is no doubt the federal government Deep State coordinates with liberal activists and uses politicians and willing media to carry their water,” Zinke said. “The Deep State runs secret messaging campaigns with one goal in mind: To increase its power, to censor and persuade the American people.”
But the alleged deep state — a favorite boogeyman of the Trump-era far right — weren’t only trying to stop him. “Dark money groups funded by liberal billionaires and foreign investors funnel money to shell organizations and repeatedly attempt to destroy the American West,” Zinke charged. “In many cases, they want to wipe out the American cowboy completely, remove public access to our lands and turn Montana into a national park.”
Sounds like someone’s been watching too much Yellowstone. And with that, following an entire week in which House Republicans struggled to elect a Speaker, it’s clear the next two years are gonna be bananas.
I have been working to better myself physically and mentally since grade school, collecting certifications and accreditations as a form of higher learning. Like many who have become students of wellness, the only thing I know for certain is that there is always more to learn. I have also discovered along the way that it can be incredibly effective to travel somewhere new when I want to kick off a new habit, take a course, or learn a new skill.
There is no question that at home we have our habits, good or bad. They can be hard to break while you are stuck in the loop.
The new year is a great time to break out of those bad habits and add a few new positive ones. It’s also a great time to look for new places in this great country to explore. Below, we’ve compiled a list of Uproxx-approved hotels, resorts, and centers, that will help you find your way to wellness.
Crestone Mountain Zen Center is located on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado. Nestled against rugged 14,000-foot peaks and surrounded by 240 acres piñon pine and juniper forest, the beauty and seclusion of our Center is a unique environment for contemplation and inquiry. Crestone Mountain Zen Center offers residential monastic Zen practice and meditation under the guidance of Head Teacher, Zentatsu Baker Roshi, Dharma Heir of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Zen practitioners are welcome to join the daily schedule or apply for a variety of Zen programs.
This center has everything someone looking for quiet (both inner and outer) needs to achieve a more silent state. The accommodations range from a stay in their calming guest house or having your own cabin. The meals are vegetarian and clean, which will give you healthy energy for a clear mind. Spending time with your own thoughts doesn’t mean you have to stay in one room the whole time either. There are plenty of great activities like hikes, hot springs, and sand dunes.
Getting away can mean a lot of different things to different people. For some, it may mean seclusion, while others might want connection outside of their usual routine. That is why Honor’s Haven makes a great choice for a great number of travelers. Their mission is to be a place for an authentic human connection and integrative personal development, where people can improve themselves and better appreciate others.
Their accommodations are perfect for solo travelers, couples, or families. There are workshops all day, as well as hikes, meditations, yoga, qigong, tennis, and much more. They also have a fully-outfitted fitness facility, in case your escape includes getting a workout in. Being in the beautiful Catskills means there is plenty of nature around, meaning that if you want your own space you can find it.
For people wanting to go on a wellness journey but finding the options overwhelming, it can be comforting to have a helping hand at the beginning. CIVANA’s guest experience guides are offered to connect with guests before their arrival to guide them through the many wellness choices available.
Whatever that desire ends up being, their world-renowned guides and healers should be able to help. The location is also stunning, nestled in more than 20 acres of succulent-studded Sonoran Desert. Given the setting, there are plenty of outdoor experiences and adventures to be had, as well as a world-class spa.
A PLACE TO FIND FITNESS — Equinox Hotel (New York, NY)
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WHY IT’S GREAT FOR A FRESH START:
Equinox is famous for it’s world-class gym facilities, and it’s only fitting that their first hotel has also turned out world-class. For those looking to push themselves physically in a new setting, and perhaps try some new modalities, all guests of the hotel are able to utilize the adjoining Equinox Hudson Yards. The experts there, when combined with state-of-the-art equipment and recovery tools like sauna and cold plunge, offer a one-of-a-kind experience.
The training programming is personalized, all the way down to how you chose to wake up or wind down at the end of the day. This includes a streaming series of stretches that you do in the room. On top of that it is located in the trendiest neighborhood in Manhattan, with a pool-side lounge that has every bit of New York cool you want and great sunset views. The perfect to wrap up the day with a well-deserved bite or cocktail, before doing it all over again.
This resort is the ultimate base camp for adventure, set amongst the red rock cliffs and canyons of southern Utah. Set in the midst of Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, with Snow Canyon State Park just down the road, just calling out for independent exploration. There is top-notch rock climbing in the area, for those who want to go with a group or without. Starting a love for hiking, if you don’t already have one, is an accessible way to maintain your health.
The vistas around the area are stunning from sunrise to sunset, and of course late into the night when a blanket of stars will illuminate the dark sky. The resort is also a beautiful place to come back to, with 55 acres of vibrantly-colored earth amongst the mountains. There you can recover from your day on the mountain with their nature-inspired treatments like a red mountain revitalizer or a soothing agave ritual.
A PLACE TO FIND YOUR BODY — Treebones Resort (Big Sur, California)
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WHY IT’S GREAT FOR A FRESH START:
Yoga has been shown to benefit the mental state as well as a great way to improve your physicality. Big Sur is a beautiful place to go no matter what the reason, and it’s an incredible area to wake up. For someone curious about trying yoga, Treebones Resort is an off-grid glamping experience that kicks off every day with breakfast and an instructor-led yoga class either in their panoramic outdoor platform or a fireside studio.
This is a perfect place to go for someone curious about trying yoga more, without the pressure of a three or five-day yoga retreat, which can cost thousands. The accommodations are simple but charming, including yurts, tents, and even a “human nest’ built beautifully from sticks and wood. Outside of the daily yoga, there are plenty of other activities to fill up the day from hiking to kayaking in the Morro Bay National Estuary.
Located amongst the mountains, in the mystic juniper forests of Central Oregon, Juniper Preserve is a perfect place to bathe in nature and breath fresh air. The health and wellness offerings are plentiful, with classes held throughout the day. The biggest draw for me was the breathwork and sound healing experiences, surrounded by pristine nature. The landscape is more than Instagram-worthy, though you should try to keep your phone off as much as possible.
The cuisine on site is farm-to-table, with plenty of nutritious offerings to help you power through the day. The accommodations are all you could ask for, simple but modern, with warm decor and great views. Some rooms have fireplaces, the perfect place to remember the lessons of the day and prepare for the next day of growth.
These days finding quiet, true quiet, can be incredibly difficult. Between the constant buzz of technology, direct or indirect, and the social construct in which we live now, noise is constant. That is compounded by the inner voices that we have about work or life, which can make it virtually impossible to process everything that is going on. Or even pay attention to the things that really matter. Studies show that spending significant time in silence can help our concentration and focus.
That is why going on a silent retreat can be an incredible way to reestablish your relationship with your inner voice and get comfortable in your own mind. This is like a detox for the brain, but not of toxins or chemicals, for the pollution of noise. Here at the center, you won’t just practice silence, but also breath work that has been scientifically shown to reduce stress.
I love El Pollo Loco, it’s one of the few fast food joints on the market making Mexican-inspired fast food that actually tastes like Mexican food. For that alone, I want them to win. Their fire-grilled chicken is the best in the fast food landscape, their beans are savory and delicious, and do I even need to talk about the avocado salsa? It’s amazing.
But alas… I’ve been burned before. When El Pollo Loco rolled out its birria menu, I was sadly disappointed to see that a trend that has taken the US by storm was being done so poorly by one of my favorite chains. Now, whenever El Pollo Loco rolls out a new dish I’m struck with excitement tinged with some trepidation.
This brings us to the new El Pollo Loco Burrito Grillers.
The new burritos, which will join the menu nationwide from now until February 22nd, are inspired by the Northern Mexico State of Sonora, and feature meat (either grilled chicken or shredded beef) Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, and onion all wrapped in a tortilla and then grilled. The burritos are served with a new savory side sauce that El-PL is calling “Loco Sauce.” So… let’s get crazy! Here is our review of the new Loco Burrito Grillers.
Loco Burrito Grillers (Beef and Chicken)
Dane Rivera
Tasting Notes:
Before I even bite into a burrito we need to talk about what El Pollo Loco means when they call these burritos “Sonoran-style.” A typical Sonoran-style burrito consists of seasoned beef, refried beans (though not always refried), cheese, and salsa wrapped in a giant super thin, and stretchy flour tortilla and grilled, either on a skillet or straight on the fire.
The Burrito Grillers are not that.
First of all, these things are tiny, they don’t have beans, and while they are grilled, they aren’t grilled on a skillet or the fire. Instead, they’re placed in some sort of burrito press which results in faint grill marks that don’t add the sort of texture you’d expect from hearing the words “grilled burrito.” Also, a Sonoran tortilla is a distinct thing that evokes certain qualities — made from just water, salt, fat, and flour. Generally, they’re known for being huge. I don’t know what El Pollo Loco’s tortillas are made from for this burrito, but it’s not what comes to mind when talking about the cuisine of Sonora.
Basically, this is Taco Bell-level shit and I expect more out of El Pollo Loco.
Having said all of that — these things taste f*cking great. Let’s start with the chicken, it combines tender, fire-grilled charred chicken breast with the perfect medley of savory onions and cilantro with nutty and creamy cheese. Each bite is a perfect balance of fresh and citrusy notes with a prominent charred aftertaste. Dipping the burrito in the Loco Sauce adds some fatty and savory qualities and truly elevates the flavors of this burrito into something mouthwatering and special.
Dane Rivera
The shredded beef version might be even better, the amount of beef El Pollo Loco packs in this tiny burrito is kind of amazing, and with its beefy slightly sweet flavor and tender melt-in-the-mouth texture, it pairs even better with the Loco Sauce. I love these burritos.
The texture from the burrito press is kind of a joke, as I hinted at before. It doesn’t add very much texture at all but this could be a result of the El Pollo Loco restaurant I visited. If the burrito spent a little more time in the press it might have a better texture, but for me, it was too faint to make a difference or even be noticeable.
The Bottom Line:
Issues with the concept aside, I think both the chicken and beef version of this burrito are fantastic. The only thing that holds this burrito back is El Pollo Loco’s own conceptual branding, but in terms of flavor, this delivers on all fronts. The Burrito Grillers are great fast food burritos and if El Pollo Loco would put all of these same ingredients in a bigger tortilla with some beans and grilled it right on a cast iron skillet, it would dunk on Chipotle, easily.
Until then, it’s a great snack-sized burrito that packs a lot of flavor in a tiny package.
As wholesome and nourishing an activity as reading is, it has a hard time competing against screens for a child’s attention. However, some communities are bringing new life to reading by encouraging kids to embark on an interactive, never-ending literary treasure hunt.
In Braidwood, a small town in New South Wales, Australia, kid-friendly titles like “Goosebumps” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” are sealed in plastic bags then hidden around town, ready to be found in unsuspected places like shop windows, trees and nearby parks.
Inside the bag, in addition to the book, is a piece of paper that reads:
“You are the lucky finder of this book. Read it, enjoy it, and then hide it again for someone else to enjoy. Please reuse this bag. Add your name inside the cover and let’s see how many can find it!”
After reading, kids write their name in the book, then re-hide it or give it to a friend, adding an additional layer of fun involvement.
The whimsical idea was brought to Braidwood by a mom named Samantha Dixon, who had seen other communities with thriving hidden book projects online and noticed how positively kids responded to a previous trend of finding colorfully painted rocks scattered throughout the neighborhood. She saw a book hunt as a fun and creative way to keep kids from relying too much on technology.
“I enjoy the fact these books are being read and are not just being left on the shelves and that kids are outside finding them not on screens,” Dixon told ABC News Australia. “It’s lovely to watch the little kids’ faces when they find the books. It’s a bit magical.”
Indeed, the kids seem to love it—whether they’re simply visiting town and happen upon a book, or have found several. The community has a very active Facebook community filled with children sharing their finds.
Growing up as a techless bookworm, escaping into good books are some of my fondest childhood memories—and I know I’m not the only one. It’s crazy to think that future generations might miss out on that butterflies-in-the-stomach type of excitement that happens when you pick up a new book, or the pure joy of turning pages and allowing words to transport you to imaginary places.
And while there is nothing inherently wrong with reading a book from a digital device like an iPad or Kindle, especially for adults, there is something to be said for how it affects a child’s development as they are learning to read.
Print often encourages more slow reading, rather than fast scrolling for the sake of social entertainment, which comes with screens. And print definitely doesn’t have incessant pop-ups, making it easier to slowly absorb material without distraction. As Naomi Baron wrote in her book “How We Read Now: Strategic Choices for Print, Screen and Audio,” excerpted in The New York Times, “There are two components, the physical medium and the mind-set we bring to reading on that medium — and everything else sort of follows from that.”
It might be hard to break away from the convenience and instant gratification of technology, but hidden book hunts remind kids what’s so fun about reading in the first place. And fun is usually a great place to start with most things.
There are many reasons to worry about climate change’s effects and whether the world’s leaders are brave enough to make the bold decisions necessary to abate the growing crisis. But a new report from the United Nations shows that when people come together and follow the science, it’s possible to stop environmental disasters before they happen.
An executive assessment from the UN has found that the hole in the Earth’s ozone layer is on track to be completely healed within the next two decades. If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer should recover to 1980 levels by around 2066 in the Antarctic, 2045 in the Arctic and 2040 throughout the rest of the world.
The hole was first discovered by scientists in 1985 above Antarctica and it caused immediate worry. According to Discover magazine, the ozone layer acts as the planet’s sunscreen and without it, we’d be exposed to harmful ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer and cataracts. The radiation is also harmful to marine life and plants and would cause a major disruption to the world’s food supply.
“In the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole we see things getting better,” Paul A. Newman, co-chair of the scientific assessment panel of the Montreal Protocol, said according to the Associated Press. He added that the two biggest contributors to the hole, chlorine and bromine, have dropped from their peaks in the ’90s.
That bromine and chlorine levels “stopped growing and is coming down is a real testament to the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol,” Newman said.
The Montreal Protocol is an international agreement signed in 1989 that helped eliminate 99% of ozone-depleting chemicals including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). At the time, these were found in spray cans, refrigerants and air-conditioning units.
u201cGood climate news: The ozone layer is on track to recover within 4 decades.nnThe healing of the Earth’s invisible shield is an inspirational example of how the world can come together to address global challenges like the climate crisis.nnMore from @WMO: https://t.co/Dh0h8kkPnYu201d
Although much of the world has stopped using CFCs, they can linger in the atmosphere for a century.
“The protocol marks an important milestone for the future quality of the global environment and for the health and well-being of all peoples of the world,” former President Ronald Reagan said after the agreement was signed in 1988. “Unanimous approval of the protocol by the Senate on March 14th demonstrated to the world community this country’s willingness to act promptly and decisively in carrying out its commitments to protect the stratospheric ozone layer from the damaging effects of chlorofluorocarbons and halons, but our action alone is not enough.”
“It’s a bit like waiting for paint to dry, you just have to wait for nature to do its thing and flush out these chemicals,” David Fahey, a scientist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said according to The Guardian.
u201cGood news from #AMS2023: The ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades.nnPress release u27a1ufe0f https://t.co/htPbNDJ9VUnnExecutive summary u27a1ufe0f https://t.co/yO6o2dVOd3nnPartners ud83eudd1dud83cudffd @UNEP, @NOAA, @NASA, @EU_Commissionu201d
— World Meteorological Organization (@World Meteorological Organization) 1673276414
If political leaders hadn’t taken action back in the ’80s, we would be having some serious problems in 2023. World leaders should take the positive lessons learned by the fight against ozone depletion and use them toward fixing climate change before it becomes irreversible.
Unfortunately, the fight against climate change is more difficult because greenhouse gasses stay in the atmosphere much longer than CFCs and asking people to change their refrigerants is a lot easier than asking them to stop driving cars.
“CO2 is another order of magnitude when it comes to its longevity, which is sobering,” Fahey said. “Getting every person on the planet to stop burning fossil fuels is a vastly different challenge.”
Much has been written about The Menu (our review). Its cultural impact has truly been deep as food lovers (like me) recreate the iconic cheeseburger from the film while others note the possible influence it has had on the industry, with globally renowned chef René Redzepi deciding to close NOMA (again). Plus, it’s one of those films that seems to have made most critics’ “best of 2022” lists — means the discourse is just ramping up as we head into awards season. But one thing that feels like it’s been missed by most critics and the public discourse is the deeper meaning and theme of the film.
PLEASE NOTE: This post will 100% spoil the film. Head over to HBO Max and watch it first if you don’t want it spoiled.
While there are a lot of folks calling The Menua remake of Ratatouille, that comparison is a bit flimsy. Yes, Ratatouille’s Remy has to let go of all his “training” and cult-like adherence to the dictates of a master chef and cook what he loves to be a truly great chef — the theme being “be yourself to succeed” which is true Disney fare. But The Menu’s Chef Slowik — the exec chef at the island-located restaurant Hawthrone — is already miles beyond that when we meet him. He feels victimized by the world of fine dining to such a degree that he’s going to burn it all down and take all the people around with him — not even Anton Ego in Ratatouille is that far off the deep end.
At the climax of The Menu, Margot — the sex worker who’s brought along at the last minute by one of Chef Slowik’s fanboys named Tyler (whom he actually loathes) — gets Slowik to cook him something he loves before he finishes his “masterpiece” of destruction. But cooking a beloved dish doesn’t change Slowik the way it changes Remy or Ego in Ratatouille. Instead, the theme that drives the The Menu is actually about re-finding pleasure through an act of service. The “Ratatouille” scene — if you want to call it that in the way the sense memory evoked when Chef Slowik cooks the cheeseburger echoes the sense memory evoked when critic Anton Ego tastes Remy’s ratatouille — is not a return to a childhood love of food for Slowik. Instead, it’s a return to the joys of pleasuring a customer.
Beyond the theme of hating particular customers to the point of wanting to murder them vs. a return to actually pleasing the customer, Slowik doesn’t have an arc in The Menu. Margot does, however — it’s her movie after all since she’s who we see first, last, and follow through the whole narrative. And it’s in Margot’s arc that the true crux of the movie lies. It’s about finally choosing to truly be part of the service industry (in this case, as a sex worker) and using her skills to help a broken-down old chef find one moment of true pleasure before he dies.
Like the old creep who wanted to be told he was “good” while he masturbated (more on him later), Chef Slowik just wants to be told he’s “good” not at cooking but at pleasing the customer.
PART I — THE SETUP
Searchlight
The film sets this up via the two exchanges that Margot and Slowik have on their own in the film (before the finale). The first one comes at about the 37-minute mark when Margot is in the restroom and Slowik accosts her. He bluntly asks her “I’d like to know specifically what you don’t like about the food. You’ve barely eaten any. Why? I need to know. Why don’t you eat?”
Margot replies, “Why do you care?”
Slowik comes back with, “I take my work very seriously and you’re not eating. That wounds me.”
This is setting up the finale in that it is teaching Margot (and us) that Slowik does actually want to bring people the joy of a good bite of food for real, not just show off his elite kitchen skills. It also draws Margot closer to Slowik with her literally opening a door that was between them and addressing him face to face (though still in a stand-off-ish manner — shouts to her for not being afraid of him for a second).
Slowik continues to interrogate Margot by asking “who” she really is and where she’s from for which Margot offers her escort cover story. Slowik senses this is a cover and straight up tells her “No, not who you want me to think you are. Who are you?” Margot holds to her story and there’s a moment of true concern on his face when Slowik says, “You shouldn’t be here tonight.”
Margot says, “Please, get the fuck out of my way” and the scene ends.
This whole ordeal sets up a ticking clock wherein Margot has to decide if she’s with the staff or the diners, i.e. a giver or a taker. More violence ensues. And finally, the ticking clock ends and Margot and Slowik take refuge from the chaos in his office so she can make her decision.
This scene, which is around the 55-minute mark (basically the mid-point of the film), is where Margot and Slowik connect in a way that demonstrates — or “foreshadows” if you want to get all screenwriter-y about it — the finale. Glass Onion does the same thing around the 33-minute mark when Ed Norton’s Miles literally lays out beat-by-beat how Janelle Monae’s Helen “disrupts” everything in the finale. (It’s a common trope, is the point.)
Margot starts off by telling Slowik what she thinks he wants to hear about her not belonging there and him being “brilliant.” Slowik asks her to cut the shit immediately with, “You’re not sure I’m brilliant so don’t say it. It’s false.”
Margot rolls her eyes and says, “Fine, you’re not brilliant.” To which Slowik almost hisses, “Oh, I expected more of you…” before softening with, “You belong here, with your own breed.” Margot asks what he means and he plainly says, “With the shit shovelers. Oh, you think I couldn’t tell? I know a fellow service industry worker when I see one.”
Searchlight
This starts to melt Margot’s facade and she sits down next to Slowik when he asks about another patron at the restaurant, “Mr. Leebrand.” Then Margot tells Slowik about her time as an escort for the billionaire (which sets up the “pleasure” of it all). Margo first tells him he liked to “jerk off” in front of her while holding eye contact. Then she goes into more detail about what he wanted her to say while “servicing” him as a sex worker. This is where Margot and Slowik connect in a “we’ve all been there” sort of way.
Slowik asks Margot, “Do you enjoy providing your services?” She takes a beat and replies, very honestly, “Yes. Or… I used to.” Then asks, “Do you enjoy providing yours?”
The openness between the two in this half of the scene is palpable as Slowik says, “Oh, I used to but…I haven’t desired to cook for someone in ages. And one does miss that feeling.” Again, the brilliant acting — little flourishes of half grins and even the tearing up of Ralph Fiennes’ eyes — helps this scene land as something real between two providers of a service.
This is also clearly setting up the finale, in that both Margot and Slowik are true-born service industry folks — providing their own brand of pleasure — who’ve lost their love for their game. It’s clear she’s barely putting up with Tyler’s shit during the first half of the movie (playing into her loss of enjoyment in her life). This is their connection and this is what Margot will give Slowik to allow her to escape later in the film. It’s the door she’s tasked with opening but she doesn’t have the key to open it just yet.
PART II — THE PAYOFF
Searchlight
The next sequence between Slowik and Margot isn’t private but lays the groundwork for the finale. Slowik tasks Margot with fetching a barrel from the smokehouse. The stern host, Elsa, disagrees with Slowik’s seeming trust in Margot and follows her as she breaks into Slowik’s cottage. After a struggle, Margot ends up killing her with a boning knife before returning bloodied and rolling the barrel into the kitchen.
In between all of that, Margot spies an old photo of Slowik when he was very young. In the photo, he’s truly happy and flipping hamburgers at Hamburger Howie’s back in the late 1980s. This lovely little plant is paid off later and is the key that Margot needs to open up that lock and set herself free in the finale — though Margot doesn’t realize this just yet. In fact, she finds a radio and calls for help. Which is, of course, thwarted by Slowik’s well-constructed plan.
Still, that photo plays into the key theme of pleasure derived from serving people. A thing we know Slowik feels has been stolen from him. Even though each set of characters at the dinner seems unique as individuals (good writing!), to the chef they represent archetypes who have stolen his joy and love of the kitchen in one way or another:
Slowik’s mother introduced him to cooking, which led him to his demise, essentially showing him joy/pleasure but leading to this all-encompassing pain.
Lillian (the critic) and Ted (the publisher) suck the pleasure of cooking by making it for their own gain and bringing pain to so many who just want to nourish people.
The finance bros funnel money into their own pockets instead of helping to create a system where the staff is paid a fair wage in the industry, creating the illusion of constant famine that rules the service industry.
The “angel investor” uses money as a carrot and stick to commodify any pleasure of the people who love(d) cooking in the first place. And also trojan horse’s his “angel investing” into a more intrusive sort of partnership.
The billionaire patrons only dine at Hawthorne to boast about their status.
The food blogger/influencer who knows nothing about food but thinks he does because he’s watched Chef’s Table and performs pleasure when eating. Freaking Tyler.
Chef hates them all. Which comes out, either via tortillas (seriously) or Slowik flat-out saying it.
Then there’s John Leguizamo’s “Movie Star” who made a bad movie that wasted one of Chef Slowik’s only days off with a terrible comedy called “Calling Dr. Sunshine” (hilarious). Slowik wanted a moment of pleasure away from work but was instead assaulted with a terrible film that wasted his time and chance at having a moment of pleasure. So John’s gotta die — he represents an artist who doesn’t care, which chef can’t abide either.
The point of all of these characters/villains (in Slowik’s eyes) is that they’ve taken pleasure from him, and he’s had enough. This is all supported by a staff who’ve seen the same ringer destroy their dreams and pleasure and are ready to burn it all down too. Even the stabbing between Katherine (the female chef who stabs Slowik) and Slowik plays into all pleasure being drained from life via an awkward flirtation and rebuke. Every single turn in the script is about pleasure being destroyed or denied in one way or another. All of these side characters are simple window-dressing for that running theme.
At this point in the story, Margot has realized that calling for help is futile. So she starts to think of how to get out of the final course of this dinner from hell. You see her thinking, her wheel’s turning in her head as the camera inches toward her, and, finally, it hits her. The “I know a fellow service industry worker when I see one”; the “I haven’t desired to cook for someone in ages”; and the image of Slowik truly happy flipping burgers all lock into place.
She’s a service worker, a shit shoveler, so she jumps to work. Serving Slowik.
Margot stands up, claps like Slowik to get everyone’s attention, and tells Slowik the “truth” about his food and that he’s an obsessive. Slowik insists they/he always cooks with “love” and Margot calls his bullshit out. Both Slowik and we, the audience, know this to be untrue because he told Margot (and us) that he lost his love for cooking a long time ago.
Once Slowik is put in his place, Margot pivots to the service part of it all with a cutting, “And the worst part is that I’m still fucking hungry.”
This “wounds” him, truly. Then Margot really starts “servicing” Slowik to bring him pleasure. Not by looking into his eyes while he jerks off and saying she’s his daughter and that she loves him as with the billionaire Leebrand but by looking into his eyes and asking him to feed her and to be a customer that he can nourish with his “love.”
The scene plays out like a mini-play of a john and escort negotiating their terms before the act.
Slowik: “You’re still hungry?”
Margot: “Starved.”
Slowik: “Well, what are you hungry for?”
Margot: “What do you have?”
Slowik: “Everything…”
Margot: “Do you know what I’d really like?”
Slowik: “Tell me…”
Margot: “A cheeseburger.”
The camera moves into a close-up, Ralph Feinnes cracks a crooked smile of desire and says with a raspy, anticipatory voice, “We can do a cheeseburger.” She’s getting him off. Slowik cooks the cheeseburger with ease, because of course. But more importantly, Slowik cooks — something we’ve yet to see him actually do. Something he’s told us/Margot he’s lost the desire for.
Now, the desire is back and he’s loving it. He’s experiencing pleasure. His sense memory is firing (just like Anton Ego!).
Margot acts the scene perfectly by really laying on the fake joy of eating. She even giggles and moans as she eats like she’s watching someone finish in front of her. Look at his face when she says his burger is good.
Searchlight
He’s happy. He found that moment of pleasure that has eluded him for so long thanks to Margot literally servicing him. This is the face of a happy customer.
Searchlight
Thanks to the “service” that Margot provided, Slowik lets her go. She is truly a shit shoveler. She’s not a taker. She’s a giver to her core. This earns her her freedom.
From the sex worker’s perspective, the fact that Slowik’s pleasure is via a cheeseburger is nothing more than Margot figuring out Slowik’s kink and letting him get off on it. He flat-out says as much with a sly smirk after she challenges him to make a real, no-bullshit cheeseburger and he says, “I’ll make you feel you’re eating the first cheeseburger you ever ate. The one your parents could barely afford.”
He may as well be a john telling a sex worker he’s actually going to make her climax while she services him. It’s that on the nose.
In the end, though Slowik still kills the patrons (his cooks all commit suicide, as does Tyler — thereby allowing him to be “one of them” in death), this film isn’t a tragedy, really. Margot gets a happy ending by giving Slowik one last moment of pleasure. She plays the role she needed to free her and save her life — a role she was not as willing to play with Tyler earlier in the film because Tyler sucked and we all know it.
She truly became a shit shoveler and she has a damn good burger to enjoy for all her hard work. Also, she’s not dead.
It’s always a trip to hear about bad pitches from the 1980s and ’90s. Ralph Macchio, for example, told us about a Karate Kid/Rocky pitch that he endured, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a little fun discussing a franchise from the same era. It’s a story that makes it seem like Kyle Reese’s “come with me if you want to live” line could have been seen in a different light once the mid 1990s hit. (Surely, I’m not the only one who would have felt that way.)
This discussion isn’t something that James Cameron appears to relish, however. Back in 2019, Arnold (the former Stallone frenemy) went and told The Independent that “it was actually O.J. Simpson who was the first-cast Terminator.” He continued while declaring that Cameron “felt that he was not as believable for a killing machine,” and that’s when Arnold got the gig. He added, “That’s really what happened.”
Fast forward to Cameron’s continuing Avatar: The Way Of Water tour, and Variety follows up with excerpts from HBO Max’s Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace, and Cameron admits that the pitch came his way, but it was an early one, and he shot it down.
“Very early on, a highly placed person at one of the two studios that funded that film had a brilliant idea and called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I said, ‘Well, no, I’m not.’ He said, ‘Are you sitting? O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’ I said, ‘I actually think that’s a bad idea.’ It didn’t go anywhere.”
So, is that the final word? Let’s hope, although Simpson has been known to weigh in on what he hears, so he may very well do some talking.
The 2023 Coachella lineup has been announced and among some truly historical moments — the lineup features both the first K-pop girl group and Latin music headliners, cementing both genres’ rising prominence in the American pop cultural landscape — one question hangs over everything else: Where are all the rap artists?
To be certain, rap has been a fixture at the festival, even though it started out as a rock-centric event, for the past few years. I’ve written about it a few times, including last year, when the festival returned after a two-year hiatus caused by COVID-19. Coachella added its first rap headliner with Jay-Z in 2010, and since then, Outkast, Eminem, Drake, Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg, and Outkast have all delivered iconic moments (Travis Scott, billed to perform in 2020, was removed from the 2022 lineup when the event returned in the wake of his disastrous Astroworld Festival in 2021).
In 2022 alone, rap music dominated the lineup, from stars like Doja Cat, Lil Baby, and Megan Thee Stallion in the second line, to up-and-coming acts City Girls, Denzel Curry, JID, and Vince Staples peppered throughout the three biggest stages. This year, hip-hop barely cracked the second line, limited to a handful of big-name acts like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (whose name was shortened for space), Pusha T, and hitmaker Metro Boomin. Hip-hop is technically still the most popular genre in the world, so what gives?
However, scratching the surface might actually present one of the more interesting opportunities for some lesser-known names to climb the marquees of other festivals throughout the year and gain the sort of recognition that can see their tour venue caps jump up a level if they play their cards right. For one thing, there are the underground and indie favorites, many of whom Uproxx has covered pretty extensively as they built a buzz just below radar level. Those would be your AG Clubs, IDKs, and Tobe Nwigwes, the artists whose fans won’t shut up about them, even as they have yet to truly gain a toehold on the pop charts.
It looks like Noname is making her return to the Coachella stage after threatening retirement, while Doechii, GloRilla, Flo Milli, and Latto’s presences are making this year’s hip-hop offerings at Coachella something a women’s empowerment forum — something the rap scene sorely needs after the latter half of 2022 devolved into a maelstrom of counterproductive bickering among the top names.
Meanwhile, with producers like Kaytranada and Metro Boomin near the top of the bill, surprises could abound. Metro Boomin is almost certain to bring along the usual assortment of collaborators, the possibilities of which range from Atlanta trap mainstays like 21 Savage and the surviving Migos members to a potential impromptu ASAP Rocky sub-headlining set fueled by their extensive collaboration on Don’t Be Dumb. Kaytranada’s work with everyone from Anderson .Paak to IDK to Phonte Coleman to his own brother Louie Phelps could see him joined on stage by a who’s-who of some of rap’s most respected. Kenny Beats is up there too, opening the doors for Rico Nasty, Zack Fox, and many, many more to shock fans with unannounced cameos.
Even the Gorillaz, whose work has defied categorization for nearly 20 years, has a Rolodex of rappers ranging from the newly liberated De La Soul and other ’90s mainstays like Bootie Brown, Del The Funky Homosapien, Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey), and Snoop Dogg, to British grime breakouts like Slowthai and Octavian (as well as contemporary faves Danny Brown, Little Simz, Schoolboy Q, Vince Staples, and more). So while the big names in hip-hop might well be taking a break from the desert this year, there will be just as many opportunities for discovery and the possiblity of more surprise appearances that might drop as many fans’ jaws as bars.
There’s just no stopping Latin superstar Bad Bunny. If fans thought they saw a lot of the rapper/singer in 2022, they might want to brace themselves for what’s coming in 2023. After weeks of speculation, it has finally been confirmed that the “Tití Me Preguntó” rapper will headline Coachella this year on Friday, April 14, and Friday, April 21. This makes the musician the first-ever Latin artist to do so.
This year’s festival is set for the weekends of April 14 to 16 and 21 to 23 at Indio, California’s Empire Polo Club. Pre-sale for tickets starts on Friday, January 13, at 11 a.m. PT. For more information about tickets, visit the Coachella website.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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