Mainstream

It's honestly impressive how a movie can be so weird, yet very predictable. It all started of so simple and honestly pretty interesting. Garfield plays an outsider who is just so fascinating and entertaining to look and listen to. He is by far the best thing to come out of this as he gives more than 110%. He shows the light and fun side, but also the dark places that an internet star can go to. On the other hand, the rest of this movie is just not on his level at all. I know Maya Hawke is a very good actress, but this just wasn't it for her. Her chemistry with Garfield just wasn't there and in general her character was just very of to me. But the main problem with this movie is definitely the story. I like the message that it's trying to tell us that we should all just put our phones down and be ourselves, but it's just the execution of that message that is so wrong. The exaggeration and unrealistic moments are so bad in this movie. This is not how the internet works, and we all know that. It's kinda like are writer went on YouTube for the first time, clicked on a couple of channels, and made a movie about it. It's just too much for me. It kept me entertained enough all the way through, but it's just not that good.

Mainstream is an interesting and strange film. Also, I understand why there are so many negative reviews, However, is it possible something has been overlooked? In my opinion, the simple fact that they created such stupid(and I say that with peace and love) content, adds to the overall message. In some ways it's actually pretty genius. After considering new sides and upon rewatching, people are famous for nothing. The pressure of that is so misunderstood.

"Are you prepared to let the world see the real you?"

In this cautionary tale by Gia Coppola, a young woman finds a path to internet stardom when she starts making videos with a charismatic stranger. While bathing in their success, they struggle to preserve their identities as they form an eccentric love triangle within the fast-moving internet age. Undoubtedly, Mainstream has so much potential. When exploring the internet and how culture reacts to it these days, so much can be said and create meaningful messages. And that's what the movie tries to do. Unfortunately, that's where it loses potential. It would be fine if there was something greater to be said, but all that is said has been known for years now and we get nothing new out of the story. With its introduction, the movie isn't bad. Most of the beginning is just built on a promising setup. Our three main characters are all interesting and could lead somewhere. Andrew Garfield is electric in his overly obnoxious role. Honestly, it might be one of his best performances. Sometimes he goes a little too off the rails, but that is the point. Maya Hawke is good and so is Nat Wolff. I will say Nat Wolff is incredibly underutilized. He is one of the better characters and has a powerful voice in the story. Of course, the focus is more on Garfield.

Gia Coppola has a visual voice rather than story. The movie is shot incredibly well and has some very good visuals. That might be the best part of the movie. And the score is good as well. Other technicals fall flat. The editing has some really bad moments. On film Twitter, a clip of the movie was going around of an atrocious mistake left in the movie where the audio and video doesn't lineup and it randomly restarts. Other times, the editing just doesn't serve it well. But mainly, the story is just disappointing. You can watch it and be entertained, but it takes a certain person. Plot lines are dropped when they should be important. The whole third act just doesn't work well at all because of this. It wants to say how sometimes people can get extreme and it affects the lives of others detrimentally. That mainly falls with a short cameo from Alexa Demie. But the end says something a little different about it from Garfield's point of view and I'm not sure it was supposed to be taken seriously. Like, what happens is serious but the movie doesn't take it seriously like it should. Mainstream just falls short with each chance it has. I can see this gaining a cult following in the future. There is a good chunk of people who did really like it, and it's a battle between them and those who just hate it. I'm more in the middle. I don't exactly hate it and I did find myself entertained, but it's just not that great. Gia Coppola has yet to find her voice, but there is potential with upcoming work.

First I gotta say Andrew Garfield is marvelous in this movie. His mimic and his movements are crazy and you're buying every part of his character. Maya Hawk is also good and Jason Schwartzman is solid as always. But now to the movie: the first 30 minutes started off great and I had very high expectations for the rest of the movie. It was funny, interesting and most importantly kind of making fun of influencers and social media. But then, the movie turned in another direction and was only filled with stereotypes like a 2000s high school movie. Suddenly there was only love and jealousy on the one hand, and on the other heartlessness and making big bucks. The movie could've definitely turned out better, but Andrew Garfield safed the day with his acting!

'Mainstream' was a very strange experience for me. It's one of the more unique films I've ever seen, however unique certainly doesn't always equal good. The main problem I found with the film were the characters. The type of people being portrayed - fame-seeking, do anything for money, selfish, entitled scum - aren't a lot of fun to watch, even when they are being portrayed by Andrew Garfield giving everything he has to a role.

Garfield is probably the one redeeming factor this movie has going for it. It was a strange performance to watch because I could tell he was putting it all out there and doing a great job of it, but his character was so strange and unlikeable that it almost all went to waste. Maya Hawke (daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) on the other hand didn't have to do a whole lot for her role, but because she was the one mildly likeable character her performance came across quite well. It was a weird dynamic.

I don't think I can recommend this one. There's a world where I could see people enjoying this here and there, but for the most part people just aren't going to have a good time with this one. If you like unique and bizarre movies though then this one could be right up your alley. Otherwise stay away.