Virginia DeBolt

Clean Slate stars Laverne Cox as a trans woman who returns to her Alabama family home and a father (George Wallace) who does not know his child is a woman. She’s been away and out of touch for 23 years. Clean Slate started off with a lightning fast first episode that skipped over details and moments of the reunion. It felt a little ragged. I almost gave up on the series after one episode, but I’m glad I didn’t.

In the past month or so, I’ve seen several outstanding movies and TV series that are written by or directed by women and that star women in roles where they either hold or take the power. I know I’m forgetting some or haven’t seen everything, so feel free to suggest more in the comments. In various ways, each of these movies or TV series is a must see. Great stories, great characters, inclusivity and representation in each case. Paper Girls Let’s start with Paper Girls.

Marry Me, the latest romcom starring Jennifer Lopez, makes fun of celebrity culture, makes math teachers look good, and includes some impressive singing and dancing. For a genre movie, it swings for the fences and does a good job of reaching them. Marry Me is one more example of the sad truth that Jennifer Lopez is underappreciated. She can do the gritty stuff, she can do the heartwarming stuff, she can dance, she can sing. She’s damn good at what she does. Here’s the plot.