‘Ingrid Goes West’ skewers social-media stereotypes
In her richest performance so far, bad-girl comedian Aubrey Plaza takes on the tricky title role of a social-media fanatic. After some court- ordered time in locked- down therapy back East, Ingrid Thorburn makes her way to Venice Beach so she can get close to the appealing social-media role model Taylor Sloane ( Elizabeth Olsen), who makes some kind of living documenting her restaurant meals and shopping sprees online.
After doing some awful things to meet Taylor in the flesh, Ingrid does even worse things to ensure that their budding friendship blossoms — and gets nasty when outside forces threaten that in any way. Kind of an evil genius, Ingrid unabashedly goes to uproarious, often dis- comfiting and even tragic lengths.
“Ingrid Goes West” threatens, for the longest time, to be just an outrageous comedy, and, as is her habit, Plaza walks that edge right up to the wall. But the film sneakily manages to put us right inside Ingrid’s head. In fact, I don’t recall another movie that made me understand what it’s like to be irrationally needy as well as this one does. There certainly never has been anything like it with this many laughs.
Many of those laughs aren’t Ingrid- centric. Director Matt Spicer and his co-writer David Branson Smith, both first-timers in the feature-film game, go after the cellphone generation, celebrity culture and L. A. airhead stereotypes with unerring cleverness and an accuracy that make their satire seem fresh.
They even turn what seem like comic caricatures into people we care about, such as Ingrid’s Batman-ob- sessed landlord, lover- ofconvenience and aspiring screenwriter, Dan (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), and Taylor’s husband, Ezra ( Wyatt Russell). Taylor herself turns out to be a woman of surprising complexity and insight.
“Ingrid Goes West,” however, is Plaza’s show, and it’s through her cocked eyes that we take this mirthful tour of Southern California, from Hollywood Hills highs to the lowest of Joshua Tree burnouts.