Bridgette Lundy-Paine delivered their lines like they were being fed to her through an ear piece. The terrible acting completely took me out of the universe the director was trying to convey. There were too many boring, drawn out monologues delivered monotonously without emotion, it almost became comical. It's really hard to connect to characters who show no resolve whatsoever. There were interesting themes but they were poorly executed, wish there was more emotional depth. There are so few actors with lines that these poor performances stick out like a sore thumb. Film has the vibe of a CW show written by an angsty teen who loves LED lighting.

Rating: 5.1 Overall, a fever dream that is a profound allegory for transgender identity, but its poor plot construction, bland dialogue, and monotonous performances do a poor job at being a vehicle for this message.

Direction: Pretty Bad The direction on a macroscale is pretty good because they do a pretty good job setting the aesthetic for the movie and building the world; the direction on a microscale is pretty bad because most of the interpersonal scenes feel very boring; the direction of actors is pretty bad because the performances feel bland and monotonous (with no chemistry between the two leads); the storytelling is not that good, but this is mainly because the story is poorly constructed; they build tension decently well

Story: Pretty Bad The concept is interesting and is built decently well; the plot structure is a mess because it feels like the exposition is too long and the conflict is introduced too late and the movie just ends very abruptly (it could have really benefited from 20 minutes of extra time); the character writing is not the best, but still prevalent as you see how the television show is an extension of their identity

Screenplay: Pretty Bad The dialogue is incredibly bland and monotonous (except for in the climax); the humor is pretty dry; the symbolism is incredibly profound as the movie is an allegory for transgender identity, and they do a good job finding the right balance of being overt/subtle about it; the movie does not really build towards anything, even though there is some foreshadowing

Acting: Bad to Pretty Bad Justice Smith: Pretty Bad (Very monotonous performance and his levels just don't match where they should be, but his performance gets better towards the end) Brigette Lundy-Paine: Bad to Pretty Bad (An incredibly monotonous performance that does not develop chemistry with their lead, but their monologue towards the end is pretty powerful because you can feel how personal it is) Rest of the cast: Bad (The movie is really about the two leads, but the rest of the cast does not do a good job in supporting them or helping tell the story)

Soundtrack: Pretty Good Enjoyed the soundtrack because it helped set the aesthetic for the movie

Cinematography: Good Enjoyed the framing and the wide-angle shots because it helped set the aesthetic for the movie; enjoyed the 90s television shots because it helped emulate that era

Editing: Pretty Good Used well with the cinematography to help set the aesthetic

Sound: Pretty Good Used well to help show the cheap nature of 1990s television

Visual Effects: Pretty Good I enjoyed how tacky it was because it helped make this movie feel like a fever dream or surreal

Makeup: Pretty Good It helped make this movie feel surreal, like a fever dream

Pacing Pacing is incredibly slow because the movie is mostly exposition; the overarching conflict is presented too late

Climax Climax feels more like the inciting incident because it really introduces the conflict, but it is profound in its message

Tone The tone is surreal, mixed with 1990s television.

I had no expectations initially because I actually went in blind with this movie but the build up was so slow I felt like I was over it once we actually started to get somewhere. Everybody walked and talked so slow, maybe that was the point but I almost left but I hate wasting money. I read that this was supposed to be an allegory for gender transitioning but it was not executed well imo... I get that in the show he was a girl but... what??? Like idk. I loved the acting & the animation was so weird and creepy but I loved it! The movie overall was not my cup of tea. I lowkey feel this is a movie I'll watch again to see if more jumps out at me but omg it was too slow!