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5 Indie Movies This Week: Mouse, Club Kid, The Daytrippers, & More · Indie Film Weekly

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly for the week of November 6, 2026.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Glenn Reynolds.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: This week in theaters, a teenager gets a little too attached to her best friend's mother.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: A New York club promoter discovers he has a 10-year-old son, and a group of disability rights activists occupies a government building and refuses to leave.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get into the films, a quick reminder to get to a theater this weekend.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Take someone who will want to talk about the movie afterward, preferably afterward.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: We all know someone who needs that clarified.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: On demand, Charles Groden gives us plenty to laugh about and a few reasons to admire him more.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: And our classic turns 30 with a suspicious love letter and an entire family volunteering to investigate.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: What the written version of these picks each week?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I also publish the indie film weekly newsletter.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same five films in a quick read.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sign up at newsletter.com.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dive in.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Our first indie film in theaters this week is Mouse.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sophie Akinedo is a big reason to see this one.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: She plays Helen, a woman whose attention can make a shy teenager feel like the most interesting person in the room.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: You understand immediately why Minnie, played by Catherine Mullen Kapfur, wants to be around her.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're also watching closely for what Helen gets out of it.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Directed by Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson, who made Ghost Light, the film follows Minnie through a terrible loss and into a complicated friendship with her best friend's mother.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds like a setup for a very solemn movie.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fortunately, these filmmakers are interested in the embarrassing, funny things people do too.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Minnie's impressed by Helen's house, her sophistication, the way she lives, and Kapfer makes that eagerness recognizable.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Remember being young and meeting an adult who treated you as though you had something worth saying?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: You'd find reasons to keep the conversation going, possibly reasons to move in.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The pleasure here is watching these two actresses together.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Minnie is trying to seem older, Helen seems to know so much more, but she's making questionable choices of her own.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: You keep reconsidering who needs whom.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Tara Mullen, as Minnie's mother, gives the film another relationship to care about.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy to be impressed by someone else's parent when your own is the one dealing with the laundry and the bad moods.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: El Sullivan and Thompson are good at letting affection and resentment exist in the same scene.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody can be trying to help and still say exactly the wrong thing.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: You laugh, then notice the other person hasn't.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes Mouse involving.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: The performances give you plenty to argue about afterward.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Was Helen helping?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Was Minnie being unfair to her mother?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: At what point would you have stepped in?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'd much rather leave a movie having that conversation than simply agree that everyone learned something.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Our second indie film in theaters this week is Club Kid.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Jordan Firstman plays a New York club promoter who discovers he has a 10-year-old son.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're already picturing the familiar comedy where an irresponsible man learns to pack a lunch, the world around this particular man makes a big difference.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Firstman writes and directs too, and he gives the clubs the music, the people, and the energy that would make you want to stay out longer than you should.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: These scenes are fun.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: You understand the attraction before the film asks what all these nights are costing him.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: His character Peter has made himself very available for a party and considerably less available for anything difficult.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then Arlo arrives.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Reggie Obsalom is a real asset as the boy.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Arlo likes music.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: He's interested in the people around him.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: He brings something into Peter's life beyond a list of responsibilities, and that makes their scenes together much more enjoyable.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Their shared enthusiasm gives the relationship somewhere to go.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Peter actually has something to offer this child.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: He just needs to become reliable enough to offer it more than occasionally.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a welcome generosity toward Peter's friends.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: A conventional parenting movie might have the whole group disappear once the hero grows up.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here you want some of these people around.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: They have affection to give, and Arlo responds to them.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Firstman is willing to let Peter look selfish and ridiculous.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: That helps enormously.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need a movie to assure you Isle's character is a good person every five minutes.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let him make a mess.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Give him somebody worth making an effort for.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why the emotion works.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: The comedy gets you comfortable with these people, then the father-son relationship gives you a reason to worry.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: You start rooting for Peter to get it together because you become attached to the kid too.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Our last indie film in theaters this week is Being Human.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: A government office might not sound like the most promising place to spend a movie.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Fill it with people who've had enough, give them a demand nobody wants to answer, and refuse to let anybody go home.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now you have something.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sean Hayter, who directed Coda, takes on the 1977 Disability Rights Sit-In in San Francisco.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Ruth Madeley plays Judy Human, with Mark Ruffalo as Joseph Califorano, the government official, the protesters need to act.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Madeley gives the film its drive.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Her Judy is persuasive, impatient, and prepared to make things uncomfortable.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: She's the person you want to argue in your case, even if you might need a break from her by the end of the day.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And Haider gives her people to push against inside the protest as well as outside it.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: They agree about the injustice.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: They don't automatically agree about what they can endure to change it.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: That keeps the group scenes interesting.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Judy needs them to stay.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else needs care or rest or a convincing answer about how much longer this can go on.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can understand both sides without wanting the protest to stop.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's humor in the building too, along with friendships and arguments that make you want to spend time with the group.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're allowed to enjoy themselves.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: A movie about a serious fight gets much more engaging when the people finding it can also make each other laugh.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: What makes this a good film to see with an audience is how easily you get caught up in their frustration, another delay, another official explanation, and you're ready to join them.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know the broad direction of the history.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: The film still gives you something to root for from scene to scene.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Keep these people together, get someone to listen, make the next move count.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And Madeleine makes Judy someone you want to follow.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's a considerable part of the battle, both for a protest and for a movie.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: So in theaters this week, that's Mouse, Club Kid, and Being Human.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Our spotlight indie film on demand this week is Charles Groden, Rebel with a Cause.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's a particular pleasure in watching Charles Groden annoy somebody who used to being in charge.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: In Midnight Run, Robert De Niro can threaten him, shout at him, and drive him across the country.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Groden still has another question.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: He can make a perfectly ordinary response sound like the most aggravating thing anyone has ever said.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: James L.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Freeman's documentary gives us that Groden, along with the talk show guest who could make a host wonder whether the interview was going beautifully or falling apart.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: He was so good at withholding the usual signals.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: No big grin to tell you he was joking, no rush to make everybody comfortable.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: He'd let the awkwardness sit there until it became funny, then leave it a little longer.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: The film brings in people, including Robert De Niro, Steve Martin, and Elaine May.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hearing about Groden from people who understand comedy is a pleasure, but the clips are the temptation.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: You may finish this and immediately put on one of his movies.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's the work he did for people in prison, particularly women serving harsh drug sentences.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: He visited, followed cases, and kept advocating.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: This took up a substantial part of his life.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: That gives the documentary more to offer than fond memories.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: You get to see where his stubbornness could be useful, and how much effort he put into people whose names weren't familiar to an audience.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: The funny material gets you in.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Learning more about the man makes you glad you stayed.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Charles Groden Rebel with the Cause is available to rent or download on Amazon, Apple, or Google Play.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Our indie film classic this week is The Day Trippers, celebrating its 30th anniversary.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Hope Davis, Parker Posey, Anmira and Leah Schreiber in a station wagon, getting on each other's nerves.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's already a pretty persuasive reason to watch.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Greg Matola's 1996 debut gives them a mission.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Eliza, played by Davis, finds a love letter that suggests her husband, played by Stanley Tucci, may be having an affair.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: She turns to her family, and they all decide to accompany her into Manhattan to find out.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: She needed advice, she got a field trip.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: The movie is so funny about the way families talk.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Someone asks a question, someone else answers a different one, and the person with the actual problem waits for an opening.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Amira is wonderful as the mother.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: She can take over a situation while remaining completely convinced she's helping.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Watch how much authority she brings to an opinion that nobody requested.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Schreiber plays the sister's boyfriend, an aspiring novelist with a great deal to say about his own work.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: He's painfully earnest.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Every explanation seems to require another explanation, and Schreiber makes his desire to impress almost sweet.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Almost.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Parker Posey as the sister has to listen to him.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Watching her assess a conversation can be as funny as anything being said.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's Hope Davis holding the whole thing together.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Eliza's distress is real, even when the expedition becomes absurd.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Davis keeps you concerned about what she might discover while everyone else is busy making the day about themselves.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Motola takes them through encounters and detours that give the cast new people to react to.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's the kind of ensemble comedy where your attention keeps shifting.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: You want to catch the response at the edge of the conversation as much as the person speaking.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's only 87 minutes.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: You get this cast, a trip through New York, and an increasingly uncomfortable family outing all before some movies have finished explaining the premise.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: With Thanksgiving coming up, the timing is great.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Watch it now.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: By the holiday, you may have a few casting suggestions of your own.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out on HBO Max.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that wraps it for the November 6, 2026 edition of Indie Film Weekly.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to support the show, do the simple stuff.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe so you don't miss next week.
• 11:22
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• 11:25
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• 11:29
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• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Until next week, keep it awkward, keep it nosy, and keep it indie.