Rating: D+
Dir: Benjamin Cappelletti
Star: Evan Marsh, Olivia Scriven, Trevor Hayes, Darren Eisenhauer
This is a well-made, if highly annoying, movie. Indeed, at times it felt as if it had been deliberately constructed in order to push all my negative buttons. The main culprit is lead character Arthur (Marsh), a social media creator who is throwing a party to celebrate having hit three million subscribers, in a well-appointed apartment, funded by product placement in his videos. He is exactly the kind of person I stay off the Tic-Tacs to avoid: smug, egocentric and in possession of a thoroughly punchable face, to an almost Michael Cera level. I kept asking myself, “Why would three million people care what this person had to say?”, and the film never bothers to explain.
His party is rudely interrupted by the apocalypse, which involves the power going out, communications being cut off and, most weirdly, all open water vanishing from the planet. All that’s left is the bottled variety, as Arthur finds when he goes to a convenience store and ends up helping cop Franck (Hayes), who has a van full of cased H2O. Needless to say, people are very keen to separate it from them. However, Arthur appears more concerned about the fact his house-mate Darren (Eisenhauer) has hooked up with Emma (Scriven), for whom Arthur has long held a candle, only to be ruthlessly friend-zoned. Newsflash: I don’t care. Adding to the metaness of it all, we chop back and forth to an apparent script meeting, planning out what’s going to happen.
It is a misstep, because once you’ve realized that what happens can be re-written e.g. who gets shot by people trying to steal Franck’s water, nothing thereafter has any impact. Death no longer has any sting. It also factors into the film’s other major problem: an inability to settle on a tone, or even a particular genre. At some points, it’s a teen drama. At others, it’s apocalyptic SF. Or a comedy. There are times when these work, occasionally very well, on their own terms. For example, there are some striking visuals, such as the island of Manhattan, no longer encircled by water, being enveloped in a giant cloud of dust (top). However, all too soon, we’re back to the far less interesting topic of Arthur agonizing about Darren and Emma. Newsflash: we still don’t care.
There is something of a character arc for Arthur. By the end (albeit one obviously hoping for a Skal 2), he has learned that there’s more to life than likes, shares and subscribes. But his life growth remains less interesting than what’s going on outside the confines of his apartment building. We only see enough of that, to make me want to tap Arthur on the shoulder and remind him of his priorities. I do happily admit that I am likely not the target audience, this being aimed more at those who do spend their spare time scrolling through the Tacky-Tic. On that basis, I’d probably be more concerned for my mental well-being if I had liked it.