IFC Films
There is a genre I like to call ‘Oh, that Hollywood!’ which is about the high rises and shallow falls of the Hollywood elite, of which examples in film and TV can be great or mediocre or Entourage. There’s a sort of ‘let’s show ‘em’ how things really are’ and also present a kind of self-awareness that demonstrates you’re actually secretly better than the people you’re portraying. But it’s understandable, as we’ve been fascinated by the world of Hollywood since it first began.
The Beta Test comes from writer/director pair Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe, who also star in the movie. Jim Cummings (not the well known voice over artist Jim Cummings but someone else with the same first and last name) stars as hotshot Hollywood agent Jordan at a second-tier agency. PJ McCabe is more the supportive friend and coworker PJ (Hey, I think that’s his real name too!) and steps back to give his co-writer the real story of the movie.
Jordan is ostensibly the protagonist, but he’s also kind of terrible. He has a lovely wife, Caroline (Virginia Newcomb), whom he frequently ignores, and he has sort of that desperate, try-hard energy that becomes off-putting. He also is desperately trying to perform the dance of the ‘newly woke’, jokingly complaining about how he can’t do anything anymore as a white man, but also definitely yearning for something more.
Jordan’s overly aggressive approach is called out by a potential client, and it seems to set something off in him. But the real twist happens when he receives a mysterious purple envelope in the mail, inviting him to an anonymous, free of charge sexual encounter with a willing partner. It takes less than a minute for the decision to be made — but after that, things start to go wrong, as Jordan struggles to track down the woman that he felt changed his life.
We never see her face, as the two wear blindfolds, but there are hints to us that could be something or nothing at all. Jordan spirals further and further down into his obsession, as the lines of reality blur in subtle ways around him. And we begin to get the feeling that Jordan will never truly be satisfied.
The movie is a breezy, fast paced affair, getting us involved quickly with the mostly realistic world and Jordan’s frenetic, out of control personality coupled with his clear, empty desperation helps us root for him even though he’s entirely not a good person. Jim Cummings imbues Jordan with a sense of manic urgency that carries us through scenes that might be dull otherwise, and he’s never afraid to look ridiculous.
Of course, the actual “puncturing” of Hollywood isn’t exactly the most severe, but it does give us some insight into the sort of overly aggressive white guy personality that was once lionized, like in Entourage, and now has shades of people the world has left behind yet they are desperate to stay relevant.
The movie also has a pretty streamlined, interesting visual appeal, demonstrative without being showy, and the supporting players are pretty well handled too. There are hints of other things going on, and some bits that don’t work as well, but this is a pretty fun one-off movie that takes on the mediocre Hollywood agent with a decent twist.
Want to see The Beta Test and judge for yourself? Click below to see the movie, and be sure to come back and tell us what you thought!
The Beta Test has a run time of 1 hour 33 minutes and is unrated.
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