Sarah Rotella’s second feature is a biting satire that hangs out with five actors who have left the grind of audition and rejection in Los Angeles for a weekend getaway at a lakeside cabin. They’re all the worst: Grace (Winny Clarke) will only speak in a British accent; Stefano (Justin Gerhard) is obsessed with his abs; Ricky (Evan Giovanni) is documenting his every move for social media and Valerie (Gráinne O’Flynn) is constantly comparing herself and her career to everyone else. Only Dani (Justin Nelson) is not trying so hard, and of course it’s her who’s cast as the lead in the major film they’ve all auditioned for.
There are horror-movie overtones—the opening shot of a car travelling a wooded road evokes The Shining; the single-location log cabin is out of Baghead; the score is operatic and dramatic—that set up the mid-movie twist and how these narcissistic idiots handle it, but there are no scares here, just ever-darker comedy. The accents and Tatiana Maslany references give away that this is a Canadian movie, but it feels like an American comedy—or horror—out of the ’80s, and that’s a compliment. Rotella has assembled an excellent cast, especially Giovanni as the thirsty fame whore and Nelson as the Jennifer Lawrence-in-waiting.
Nobody Famous is available on all VOD platforms May 29.
