Eye On…Bad Actress

The director of the cult classic Psycho Beach Party, Robert Lee King delivers a delightfully quirky and off-beat black comedy titled Bad Actress. As part of the New Jersey Film Festival, Bad Actress will be screening at the University in Voorhees Hall on the College Avenue campus on Sept. 17th.  

Set in Los Angeles, Calif., this film focuses on Alyssa — a gorgeous, middle-aged actress who was once the queen of primetime television but now is old news and must resort to starring in her husband Bernie's appliance store commercials. But when their daughter Topanga accidentally dies, the grief-stricken Bernie falls into a depression and eventually turns to spirituality: He eventually decides to sell off his companies and donate the entire franchise fortune to charity. Alyssa will have none of this and conspires with Bernie's jealous cousin to take her husband out of commission. What follows is a wacky ride of twists and turns with Alyssa as the conductor.     

Bad Actressdoes a fine job of poking fun at American consumerism, as many of the characters are rich and materialistic. Even more so, this film explores how one can stoop to ridiculous acts out of necessity to fulfill personal agendas. The character interaction is constantly imbued with hilarity since each individual has their own attention-grabbing personality. The film satirizes the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle as the characters plot against each other in a soap opera-esque fashion. In the end, however, it is Alyssa's character that steals the show. She is the glorified epitome of a drama queen and conducts her deeds accordingly.

Bad Actress is the type of movie that should not be taken too seriously. It is never overly dramatic as it maintains a light air of absurdity. This film is an edgy, quick paced bag-o'-fun with a hyper-real plotline and high-octane characters that are as ludicrously satisfying as the city they inhabit.