Charli XCX’s mockumentary The Moment is constructed as a faux-behind-the-scenes look at the pop star’s upcoming headlining tour.VVS
The Moment
Directed by Aidan Zamiri
Written by Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes
Starring Charli XCX, Alexander Skarsgard and Hailey Benton Gates
Classification N/A; 103 minutes
Opens in theatres Feb. 6
If you’re looking for a sharp and hilarious mockumentary about a provocative pop star navigating their own creative desires with the competing needs of their fans, their corporate overlords and the headline-hungry media empires that make or break stars, then you’re in luck: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg’s 2016 excellent comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is available to rent digitally today. For everyone else, there’s The Moment, the new experiment in brand amplification-slash-self-deprecation from Charli XCX that is a version of Popstar sapped of its laughs, wry observations and even any especially memorable singles.
The Moment opens in theatres Feb. 6.VVS
Despite Charli (née Charlotte Emma Aitchison) being the most cinema-literate pop star climbing today’s charts – the prolific Letterboxd user (already logging up to 16 movies watched this year, which is almost one every other day) shouted out such decidedly non-blockbuster names as David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Joachim Trier and Celine Song during her most recent tour – The Moment proves that the musician doesn’t have as firm a grip on her own big-screen ambitions.
Constructed as a faux-behind-the-scenes look at Charli’s upcoming headlining tour, The Moment treats the woman who introduced “brat summer” into the pop-culture lexicon as a blazing talent bled dry by corporate America. No doubt that might be how Charli feels on any given day – just as there is no question that the musician is a true visionary, able to unleash fiery hyper-pop singles at the same time that she’s somehow able to make slime-lime green the colour of the moment – but the message isn’t exactly fresh nor uniquely delivered.
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In the midst of trying to find peace of mind while fulfilling myriad contractual obligations, Charli (playing herself with little regard for vanity) finds herself at odds with a pretentious tour producer (Alexander Skarsgard, chugging Red Bulls while proclaiming that he “doesn’t do e-mails”), a demanding music mogul (Rosanna Arquette) and pretty much everyone else in her orbit, whether they’re friend or foe. This includes cameos from a horde of such Instagram-friendly celebrities as Rachel Sennott and Kylie Jenner, who play loosely unflattering versions of themselves, their mere on-screen presence deemed enough of a sight gag to compensate for any real jokes.
Directed by celebrity photographer Aidan Zamiri as if he is channelling both the Lonely Island crew behind Popstar and This Is Spinal Tap’s Rob Reiner on a coke binge, The Moment feels alternately janky and staid, as if a late-stage Vice magazine photo spread came to life. Wisely, Zamiri keeps Charli in almost every frame of the film, allowing the audience to grip onto something real: a star with genuine presence. But not even the world’s biggest brat can save an experiment that falls flat.