Ingrid Goes West is a fabulous movie. Totally fucked up and completely of the moment, this down and dirty comedy-thriller gets a ton of mileage out of its superb cast, with a beyond-dedicated Aubrey Plaza bringing “the crazy” as a social media obsessed whack-a-do who stalks a vapid Instagram celebrity (brilliantly played by Elizabeth Olsen, who seemingly can do no wrong) with rather drastic consequences.
The hilarious O’Shea Jackson Jr. (excellent in Straight Outta Compton) steals every scene as Plaza’s constantly blazed and infatuated landlord (seriously, the hits he takes off of his G-Pen are beyond epic), I wanted to strangle actor Billy Magnussen because of how painfully great he was at playing a total douche-bag (I hope it was all an act…), and the low-key stylish cinematography by Bryce Fortner kept every single moment visually interesting.
Director Matt Spicer co-wrote the unpredictable and dangerous script with David Branson Smith, and to their big-time credit, at the two-thirds mark, I said to myself, “Where is this all going?” And instead of doing the obvious, they subverted my expectations, and delivered a nearly perfect finale after such an intriguing set-up. This was Spicer’s directorial debut; I hope to see more from him very soon.
Plaza can be both sexy and totally frazzled and she clearly had a blast with the role, which carried big time whiffs of Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy.
After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, newbie distributor Neon (I, Tonya) picked up Ingrid Goes West, and released it to $3 million in theatrical ticket sales last summer; it’s now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and via various streaming providers.
Review by Nick Clement
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Ingrid Goes West
Summary
A fabulous movie. Totally fucked up and completely of the moment
