movie review
THE MOMENT
Running time: 103 minutes. Rated R (language throughout and some drug material). In theaters Jan. 30.
PARK CITY, Utah — With a snap of the fingers, Charli xcx has gone from pop star to Richard Kind.
The “brat” singer is suddenly ubiquitous at the movies, appearing in a whopping three at this year’s Sundance Film Festival alone. Lazy Olivia Colman managed just one.
Two of those roles are supporting. She’s a member of the Art Basel scene in “The Gallerist” with Natalie Portman, and Cooper Hoffman’s icy, prudish girlfriend in the filthy “I Want Your Sex.”
But in the festival’s hottest ticket, “The Moment,” Charli xcx gets top billing as she takes on the daunting role of… Charli xcx.
The Brit plays a fictional version of herself in the fake documentary about the tail end of the “brat” tour of summer 2024. She’s basically a songstress on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
If the words “I’m so Julia” mean nothing to you, from the start you’ll be singing a different Charli tune: “I Don’t Care!”
If you like Charli xcx’s songs and find her to be a unique and uncompromising presence in the often airbrushed world of pop, you’ll appreciate moments of “The Moment.”
But that’s it. This is not a fully formed movie. At best, it’s a moderately intriguing pitch.
Much like transitioning from musician to movie star, director Aidan Zamiri’s disjointed film, which premiered Friday, depicts the challenges and absurdities of a connoisseur’s dance musician turning into a global superstar overnight.
All the usual showbiz satire elements pop up: The sycophants, leeches and soulless execs pushing her to sacrifice art for money.
“How do we keep this ‘brat’ thing going?,” dismissively asks a suit named Tammy played by Rosanna Arquette.
The more pressing question faced by writer-director Zamiri is: How do I keep this rather thin premise going?
The main thrust of the plot is that, with only a month till her final “brat” concert in London, Charli’s label hires an eccentric jackass of a director named Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård) to film it for Amazon.
But he’s a self-absorbed hack who wants to shift her grungy nightclub vibe into a colorful, girl-power, pyrotechnic Taylor Swift-type show for clicks. A k a, not so brat.
Skarsgård, speaking of ubiquity, aims for the humor and misses as Johannes vies for creative control with Charli’s friend and collaborator Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates). Their extended tussle gets yawns.
Charli, meanwhile, goes through familiar fame rigmarole: Coke-fueled parties with celeb friends, Vogue photoshoots, late-night TV interviews and a spontaneous trip to Ibiza where she has a run-in with Kyle Jenner.
Same old, same old. And yet these commonplace limelight tropes add up to bewilderment.
In trying to be too many things — a pulsing music video, mockumentary, psychological drama, an insider’s peek at the industry and a half-baked Capitalism critique — “The Moment” winds up reminiscent of its main character: sleep-deprived, unfocused and confused.
The movie is best during throwaway funny bits. Charli’s quirky traveling team brings to mind “The Office” and Dunder Mifflin. There’s her nosy makeup technician Molly (Kate Berlant), eye-rolling social-media guy Lloyd (Isaac Powell) and bumbling manager Tim (Jamie Demetriou). They’re all fab.
It’s especially hilarious when they attempt to convince the star to endorse a “brat”-themed credit card “for young queer people.”
However, humorous though it very occasionally is, comparisons to “This is Spinal Tap” or “A Mighty Wind” don’t really work because Charli herself isn’t sent up much.
She collapses under enormous pressure and endures a serious identity crisis. At her worst, while she’s hiding out in Ibiza, a stressed Charli crushes a wine glass in her hand and scrubs the blood off in the sink like Lady Macbrat. Don’t remember that part in “Best in Show.”
The jokes taper off midway through — Zamiri comes from the world of music videos, not dry comedy — and by the end it’s neither silly nor affecting.
The climax, by the way, in which Carli’s canceled for a social-media snafu that actually brings down a bank, is a mess of messes.
So, does this week portend a permanent switch to acting for Charli xcx? Maybe. She’s appealing, natural and undoubtedly distinctive here. Of course, she’s playing Charli xcx.
As far as her freshman foray into movies goes, though, I’m afraid “The Moment” is not her moment.
