Los Angeles Times

‘Dirty 30’ enlists YouTube stars

- — Katie Walsh

YouTube stars Mamrie Hart, Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart stretch their talents to feature-film length in “Dirty 30,” directed by Andrew Bush and written by Mamrie Hart and Molly Prather. This is the second feature film collaborat­ion for the trio, after 2014’s “Camp Takota.” Each performer has individual­ly achieved a massive online following with her chatshow-style YouTube channel, and “Dirty 30” offers a loose story blueprint in which the three can showcase their rapid-fire, quippy personalit­ies.

The story takes place around the 30th birthday of Kate (Mamrie Hart), who is frustrated that her life hasn’t yet lived up to the high expectatio­ns of her high school self. To cheer her up, her best friends Evie (Helbig) and Charlie (Hannah Hart) throw her a wild birthday bash that helps change her perspectiv­e.

Many other YouTube stars make appearance­s, including Flula Borg, Mikey Murphy and Anna Akana, and there are a few times when a viewer less familiar with this world can feel a bit out of place, though it is possible for anyone to find amusement in this winsome if slight film.

The question of how the stars and creators of online media will integrate into the mainstream industries of film and television has yet to be answered, and “Dirty 30” doesn’t break new ground on that front, or in terms of its story. If anything, it proves that these content creators have the online clout to make and star in their own films, but it still feels targeted to their specific audiences, not necessaril­y the wider film-going population.

“Dirty 30.” MPAA rating: PG-13, for some sexual material, drug references, and partying. Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes. Playing: AMC 30, Orange; also on VOD.

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