‘Beatriz At Dinner’ Trailer: Miguel Arteta, Mike White, And Salma Hayek Go To Dinner
DirectorMiguel Artetaand screenwriterMike Whitesounds like a dynamite combo. TheGood Girldirector andEnlightenedcreator linked up forBeatrizat the Dinner, which starsSalma HayekandJon Lithgow. Arteta and White tend to make heartfelt and sincere comedies, so their sensibilities should align nicely withBeatriz at Dinner.
Below, watch theBeatriz at Dinnertrailer.
Arteta, who directed four episodes ofEnlightened, last made Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which didn’t quite have the appeal of his previous films, such asCedar RapidsandYouth in Revolt. He knows how to make an audience cringe, laugh, and maybe even tear up a little. Arteta’s latest film looks to have the cringe part down pat.
The comedy stars Hayek as Beatriz, who isn’t surrounded by the best or most enlightened company during an insufferable dinner party. The health practitioner and a billionaire philanthropist’s (Lithgow) world views clash over the course of what appears to be an 83-minute long cringe fest.
Here’s the trailer forBeatriz at Dinner, which co-starsChloë Sevigny,Connie Britton, andTransparentstarsJay DuplassandAmy Landecker.
Most of the reviews out of the Sundance Film Festival were positive, with plenty of praise for Hayek. Our own Angie Hanthought itwas distancing but relevant:
I couldn’t quite get into the rhythm ofBeatriz at Dinner, which mixes drama, satire, and sociopolitical commentary. But it’s hard to ignore how depressingly relevant it is. Salma Hayek plays an odd but idealistic healer who grows increasingly agitated over the course of a dinner party, with particular fury directed at a Trumpish developer played by John Lithgow.
Even Lithgow’s smile is menacing as the billionaire. He’s usually a marvel as villains, but then again, this national treasure rarely leaves us unimpressed. The trailer already leaves you feeling sorry for Beatriz, stuck at the dinner party from hell. Whether she’ll manage to heal a single one of the fellow guests could make for some good laughs and tension.
Here’s the synopsis:
Beatriz (Salma Hayek), an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a spiritual health practitioner in Los Angeles. Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) is a cutthroat, self-satisfied billionaire real estate developer. When these two opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same.
