“You sound like you’re bragging.” “That’s because I am bragging. And you’re doing a really hurtful job of sounding unphased.”
An eviscerating, tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the ego, self involvement, and fetishization of The Great Creative™️. Alex Ross Perry’s version of The Social Network. One of the most deadpan hilarious movies I’ve ever seen.
To say anything about the genius of this movie feels painfully ironic. ARP’s ear for dialogue is as profound as ever, but the script for this movie is just above and beyond. Which is also to say that it’s the perfect marriage of format and material. The 70’s, almost home movie-ish look both works and is stupidly perfect for the story in every sense. As with Her Smell, you’re with the main character the whole time (even when you’re not.) It’s a hilariously spot on choice that only lends toward the feeling of this movie feeling like a big cosmic joke.
Jason Schwartzman will never have a better part. Philip is everything he is as an actor, distilled into its purest form. Both dramatically and comedically, he utilizes everything he does well on screen and turns it all up to 11. From the getgo, it’s absolutely clear that Philip not only isn’t present with others, he’s not even present in the world he’s in. He’s elsewhere, grinding some axe for someone he’s not with or thinking about what he wants to say next. Credit again to Perry for his direction and tuning of this performance. It would be so easy to go overboard with Philip, but Perry reigns it in when necessary.
Elizabeth Moss is her typically great self, and does great work with a character who largely exists as a tether. She has her own life here, she just hasn’t been able to lead it, and when she’s finally able to, she has some excellent moments on her own. Meanwhile, Krysten Ritter is solid and even Josephine de la Baumé gets some nice work in. All mostly fall by the wayside in the end, but they all give great work in their moments. It helps that it’s hard not to feel bad for every woman in this movie. Not because they’re underwritten, but because the men they all have to contend with are just so fucking horrible all the goddamn time. Hilariously horrible, but horrible all the same.
If I do have a gripe, it’s that the movie does feel flat when it tries to dig into why these characters act like such absolute assholes at all points in the day. Philip is interesting, yes, but I wanted just a glimmer of insight into him. Then again, to explain would be to give empathy, and this movie has no desire for that. Interest yes, empathy no.
There is just so much to love about this movie. From the weird static set design to the visual style to the (ironically) novelistic detours. It’s also insanely quotable. There’s approximately one million great lines in this movie, each one better than the last. It’s an incredible film from top to bottom, and one that threatens to prove the point the movie is attempting to deconstruct.
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