As "The Beta Test" (2021 release; 93 min.) opens, a woman confesses to her Swedish boyfriend to having had a one night stand. The boyfriend promptly kills her. We are then introduced to Jordan, who is about to be married in 2 months, and his Hollywood talent agency partner PJ. Jordan receives an anonymous invite for a discreet no-strings sexual encounter, and he is very tempted... At this point we are 10 min into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the newest film from co-directors, co-writers, co-producers and co-stars Jim Cummings (as Jordan) and PJ McCabe (who didn't even bother changing his character's name). From the get-go I felt pulled in by this movie for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is impossible to predict how it's all going to play out (and the movie is very plot-heavy, by the way). Second, the script is tight, very tight, and balances drama with dark humor effortlessly. Third, the cast (the 2 guys with their significant others, and several side characters) are outstanding. Cummings reminds me of a young Jim Carrey. I was amazed how quickly this film flew by.
This film was shot in the Fall of 2019, yes over 2 years ago, but then of course a little thing called COVID-19 broke out and almost brought the movie theater business onto its knees. The film premiered at this summer's Tribeca film festival, to great buzz. The movie finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Tuesday early evening screening where I saw this at wat attended so-so (exactly 7 people including myself). IF you are in the mood for a movie with razor sharp observations on today's office and sex cultures, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (while you still can), on Amazon Instant Video and other streaming platforms, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the newest film from co-directors, co-writers, co-producers and co-stars Jim Cummings (as Jordan) and PJ McCabe (who didn't even bother changing his character's name). From the get-go I felt pulled in by this movie for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is impossible to predict how it's all going to play out (and the movie is very plot-heavy, by the way). Second, the script is tight, very tight, and balances drama with dark humor effortlessly. Third, the cast (the 2 guys with their significant others, and several side characters) are outstanding. Cummings reminds me of a young Jim Carrey. I was amazed how quickly this film flew by.
This film was shot in the Fall of 2019, yes over 2 years ago, but then of course a little thing called COVID-19 broke out and almost brought the movie theater business onto its knees. The film premiered at this summer's Tribeca film festival, to great buzz. The movie finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Tuesday early evening screening where I saw this at wat attended so-so (exactly 7 people including myself). IF you are in the mood for a movie with razor sharp observations on today's office and sex cultures, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (while you still can), on Amazon Instant Video and other streaming platforms, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.