I've been hearing great things about INGRID GOES WEST for a while now, even since it debuted at Sundance and has been slowly building up buzz ahead of its release. Starring Aubrey Plaza as a social media obsessed fanatic who becomes enamored with a new social-celeb played by Elizabeth Olsen, prompting her to move to the west coast where she can properly stalk her. If it weren't for the comedic elements, this could make for a proper real-life horror flick and certainly this has some dark edges around the laughs, which makes it all the more intriguing. Check out the trailer below and we'll talk some more about this…
Here's the synopsis:
Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is an unhinged social media stalker with a history of confusing “likes” for meaningful relationships. Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen) is an Instagram-famous “influencer” whose perfectly curated, boho-chic lifestyle becomes Ingrid’s latest obsession. When Ingrid moves to LA and manages to insinuate herself into the social media star’s life, their relationship quickly goes from #BFF to #WTF. Built around a brilliantly disarming performance from Aubrey Plaza, Ingrid Goes West (winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance) is a savagely hilarious dark comedy that satirizes the modern world of social media and proves that being #perfect isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
I've been a big fan of Plaza's ever since Parks and Rec. She's got a great, dry sense of humor and I love that she continues to chase projects that suit her skills. Really, these types of indie comedies are the sweet spot for her. Still, she's shown that she's got more to offer in projects like Legion and MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (which is actually pretty good, believe it or not). Elizabeth Olsen looks perfectly suited for her role as the Instaceleb as well and it's been great watching her grow, dipping her toe in the Marvel pool, while still switching it up with projects like the upcoming WIND RIVER (super stoked for that one). The pairing of the two in this SPRING BREAKERS style dramedy looks to be a blast, so I'll follow. Also, it's cool to see O'Shea Jackson Jr. branching out in a role like this after showing such great promise with STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON. If nothing else, INGRID GOES WEST is promoting some great talent.
INGRID GOES WEST to theaters this August.