The Beta Test Review: A Gripping Yet Smarmy Hollywood Perspective

Thanks to Fetch Publicity we had a new film to check out this evening as we bring you our thoughts. Welcome to The Beta Test review.

The Beta Test is set in the cut-throat world of Hollywood agents – but forget Entourage – our hero is stressed out at work, his agency is in a rut, and his marriage plans are a massive distraction to signing a big new client.

Then, an anonymous invitation drops into his letterbox, the agent is lured into a mysterious world of anonymous infidelity, and all hell breaks loose.

Jim Cummings is no stranger to the writer-director-actor scene and his latest film The Beta Test dives into the satire of Hollywood agents but whilst this unique perspective does hold you in its grip from start to finish you can’t help but be distracted at a rather outlandish and awkward Cummings display as Jordan.

Focusing on greed, temptation and unfaithfulness from start to finish Jordan, this Tinseltown agent is driven by lust, desire, pride and the incessant need to be the best, to look the best, to act the best in a very outlandish performance akin to Ari Gold in HBO’s Entourage.

With a performance that looks like it could have been stripped straight out of that TV show and into this movie, I found that Cummings portrayal took it up a few notches into almost intolerable levels at times with ridiculous actions and almost this cartoon-like character depiction of Hollywood agents.

In one scene reassuring a potential client that agents aren’t what you’d see in TV shows such as Entourage and then a few scenes later re-enacting some of the more outlandish agent meltdown moments in true condescending agent bullshit style. 

Jordan is set to be married but this one letter of temptation becomes his sole focus and his obsession with not only this mysterious encounter but the after-effects that start to consume his entire life.

Jordan has very little interest in this marriage and that’s how the film comes across. Focusing on his wife to be Caroline’s obsession with planning the wedding rather than Jordan’s interest in it. His mind is elsewhere from the off as we as an audience meet him at a point where he’s not too interested in the upcoming nuptials and is quickly looking for an escape, any escape from his day to day life of trying to be the best when he’s clearly failing.

What this film portrayed though however was just how quickly a spouse could kill the other after finding out they’ve been cheating. The murder count rises as more and more of these purple letters circulate the city and Jordan’s fate hangs in the balance as the tension is palpable. 

That’s a very unnerving outcome to these infidelity situations but a reflection on the fragile egos of Hollywood inhabitants seems to be the angle the filmmakers are taking here. Well, I certainly hope so or I’ll be staying away from Los Angeles for quite some time that’s for sure with all these crazy partner killing ladies out there!

With numerous industry references to agents, agencies and the system we’re given a surface-level account of the ‘business’ but a deep dive into the people that are within it and their rather fragile egos and mental stability. 

It’s no wonder Hollywood occupants have more therapy sessions than vegetables if that’s what is happening on a day to day basis.

It’s a black comedy with a smarmy layer that never relents. Cummings portrayal does borderline annoying but thankfully the film doesn’t drag on too much and it eventually reaches a conclusion that somewhat feels underwhelming.

Even when you think everything is wrapped up the film leaves you with that sour taste in your mouth during the final scene.

Some people just never learn.

Pretending to be this fake persona is Jordan from start to finish. From fake laughing at jokes to sign a client, faking to be a happy husband to be, faking to be a good friend and a good person but slowly as the film goes on all that pretending unravels as we are shown the real Jordan.

Whilst Cummings delivers this rather hard to witness the performance of a man completely falling apart in this fake hard-faced business it’s hard to say how exactly I felt watching it but the performance itself, despite intolerable (as it should be) was rather quite brilliant.

The Beta Test Review by Sean Evans