micheyns

I suppose in a sense this film was successful in a post-modern sort of way: it made us feel sorry for a bunch of mediocre actors trapped in an excruciating movie about a bunch of mediocre actors trapped in ab excruciating movie. By any other measure, though, this must be Apatow's worst and most unfunny movie. The first five minutes are funny, after which things get ever more desperate. I must confess that I only watched half the movie; had I watched all of it, I might have cut one of its two stars.

Why would one waste 40 minutes (X8) watching a bunch of self-absorbed and self-adoring late adolescents bitching each other and indulging in sanctimonious ego trips? Well, I guess because, without being in the least bit witty, it is very funny. There is a kind of innocence in the way the characters un-self-consciously display their superficiality trying for spirituality, the sham professions of friendship and admiration, the back-biting posing as moral concern. It is the kind of thing we did in high school, except we outgrew it. To see these vapid creatures taking themselves seriously is ... well, yes, funny, although it is also a bit disturbing that these people are aiming to 'influence' thousands of social media followers and apparently succeeding in it. There is apparently some disagreement as to whether it's all scripted or not. If it is, it is wonderfully done; if it's not, it's stomach-turning. Either way, I have now watched four episodes, and will probably watch the next four. But please, not another season. These people need to be put out of their misery. Find them a real job, please.