Cameron Edwin: Celebs Rumors

McKinley Franklin editor Jim Gaffigan will debut his next Amazon Original comedy special, “Dark Pale,” on Prime Video on July 25. “Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale” is Gaffigan’s 10th comedy special, which will be available to stream in over 240 countries and territories. “Sometimes when people find out I have five kids, they think I’m good at parenting,” Gaffigan quips in the trailer for “Dark Pale. “Which is kind of like assuming people with lots of cats are not crazy.” Gaffigan is a seven-time Grammy-nominated comedian, actor, writer and producer who is known for his stand-up specials and roles in movies such as “Chappaquiddick,” “American Dreamer” and “Troop Zero.” As recently announced, he is set to embark on a five-city arena tour with Jerry Seinfeld this fall ahead of his Barely Alive Tour, which kicks off on Aug. 25 in Las Vegas.

Joe Leydon Film Critic “Linoleum” starts out as one kind of movie, drops teasing hints that it might be another type of film and ultimately plot-twists into, well, something else. All of which makes it difficult to review, much less describe in detail, without spilling an economy size bag of beans. But wait, there’s more: It’s also a movie that, not unlike “The Usual Suspects” or “Jacob’s Ladder,” likely will drive some viewers to opt for an instant replay after closing credits roll by, to see if that final twist actually does a watertight job of answering and explaining. Why? To quote a line of dialogue repeated almost as a mantra throughout the proceedings: It’s not that simple. Jim Gaffigan impressively manages the tricky task of serving simultaneously as sympathetic protagonist and unreliable narrator while portraying Cameron Edwin, a once promising scientist and astronaut wannabe who’s nearing 50 while weighed down with a multitude of reasons for a full-blown midlife crisis. The “Bill Nye the Science Guy”-style children’s TV show he hosts for a Ohio station has been banished to a midnight timeslot; Erin (Rhea Seehorn), his wife and former co-host, wants a divorce before she moves away to accept an aerospace museum job in another city; Nora (Katelyn Nacon), his teenage daughter, has started addressing him by his first name as she’s caught up with her own identity issues; and Mac (Roger Hendricks Simon), his retired scientist father, is losing ground in his battle against dementia in an elderly care facility, despite the best efforts of his watchful doctor (Tony Shalhoub).

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Studios has acquired North American rights to the sci-fi dramedy Linoleum from Sub_Sequential Pictures, following a competitive bidding situation. The multi-platform entertainment distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory is planning a strategic launch of the movie across all major entertainment platforms, beginning with a theatrical launch later this year. Pic will be presented at the Cannes Film Market by Blue Fox Entertainment.

Linoleum is certainly something of a curiosity as it strives to use a simple premise to explore, however subtly, themes of loss, identity, and fulfilling a dream of a suburban husband and father who finds a space age satellite drop out of the sky and into his backyard fueling his lost ambition of becoming an astronaut and building a homemade rocket to do just that.

Colin West’s “Linoleum” is the kind of movie that’s all but impossible to review with any specificity, because so much of its achievement lies in its surprises – how it seems to be doing one thing while slyly doing another, without deception, and then revealing its ultimate intentions with grace and style. This is the writer/director’s second film, and he displays a confidence and storytelling acumen that’s frankly inspiring.