Charli XCX’s Moment

Charli XCX had a big (brat) summer last year, and this year she’s been getting into acting with three films, Erupcja, Sacrifice, and 100 Nights of Hero. Next year, she’s getting into filmmaking with The Moment, a mockumentary about a pop star on her first headlining tour, inspired by her own life. The trailer dropped yesterday, and I don’t hate it.

(Warning for flashing lights)

 

Of course, my love for Spinal Tap and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping means I will always be willing to check out a music mockumentary, but one thing I like about the new generation of pop tartlets is their willingness to poke fun at themselves. (The theme of the day is “Friday funday”.) Sabrina Carpenter has her tongue glued to the inside of her cheek, and Charli XCX shows a willingness to poke holes in her own pop persona, which bodes well for this mockumentary, which is produced by Charli and “based on an original idea” of hers. Her life? Her idea is her life?

Also boding well is the cast, which includes Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, and Alexander Skarsgard. I would show up for any one of these people, let alone all three at once. And then you add Rosanna Arquette! Desperately Seeking Susan queen! If anyone knows about starring in movies with pop stars, it’s her! The film also stars Rachel Sennott, who I find to be one of the more charming Gen Z stars, thanks largely to her anti-charming persona. Just think of Rachel Sennott’s celebrity persona as a parody of Sydney Sweeney, and suddenly her flat, red carpet stare and forced poses become VERY funny. While I can’t say for sure Sennott’s persona is based on Sweeney, she IS Doing A Bit on red carpets, and, well, once you see it, it’s hard to unsee it. 

There’s a lot of comedy power in The Moment, and it’s backed by a pop star willing to have fun at her own expense, and one who also puts some thought into the basic premise of “pop star”. Charli recently wrote about life as a pop star, and while some might see this as solely solipsistic, I’m interested in her contrast between the fun stuff and the “liminal spaces” invited by stardom. Based on the casting, I expect The Moment to primarily be a comedy, but I think there's more to it than that.

This is a promising premise. And it’s backed by A24, the tastemaker studio, who sometimes back weird, off-putting, and outright terrible projects just to be in business with cool people. Will The Moment be weird, off-putting, and/or outright terrible? It’s always possible with any film. But maybe it will be fun, too. And I’m here for some fun, especially from someone who has seen inside the pop machine.