Though 2017 saw the release of exactly no movies starringMelissa McCarthy,it’s not like she was taking it easy. Indeed, 2018 will likely see the release of three movies with McCarthy at front-and-center, includingThe Happytime Murders, her long-awaited, adult-themed collaboration with directorBrian Henson. She’ll next be seen inLife of the Party, in which she will co-star withGillian Jacobsunder the direction of her off-screen husband and longtime creative partnerBen Falcone.
The most promising of the three, however, isCan You Ever Forgive Me?, her upcoming comedic melodrama centered on the infamous literary scam run by famed writer Lee Israel (McCarthy). Directed byMarielle Heller,the promising filmmaker behindThe Diary of a Teenage Girl, the film tells of Israel’s minor criminal enterprise of forging the words of dead celebrities on small notes and memos to raise prices on collectors to help her make a living in New York after her latest books fail to sell. The first trailer for the movie, which you can take a look at below, suggests that Heller isn’t scared to look at the darker corners of Israel’s impulses but it’s unclear if she can harness the fury and frustration that has driven McCarthy’s brilliant work inBridesmaids,Spy, and asSean SpiceronSNL. That being said, Heller and McCarthy are working with a script byNicole Holofcener, who has rarely faltered, either in film or TV. Fingers crossed, folks!
Here’s the trailer forCan You Ever Forgive Me?:
Here’s the official synopsis forCan You Ever Forgive Me?via Fox Searchlight:
Melissa McCarthy stars in the adaptation of the memoir CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?, the true story of best-selling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats) Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant).
