movie review
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE
Running time: 103 minutes. Rated R (pervasive language, sexual content, drug use and some violent content). On Netflix.
Think of “It’s What’s Inside,” the dark science-fiction comedy film on Netflix, as a Freakier Friday, with more swapped bodies, and with sex, drugs and a boatload of millennial anxiety.
And the vibe is corrosive, not peppy. Instead of warmly bringing the participants closer together, this human switcheroo shatters their lives.
Writer-director Greg Jardin’s seductive — if occasionally difficult to follow — movie is a wicked spin on a familiar tale: a group of friends spending a dramatic drunken evening in a big, luxe house.
The host is Reuben (Devon Terrell), a lovable extrovert who’s getting married in the morning and wants to enjoy his final night of freedom with his best friends.
So, he’s invited Cyrus (James Morosini) and Shelby (Brittany O’Grady), a sexless couple who have been trying to spice up their relationship, to his mansion, which is half castle, half Pompidou museum.
Also on the unlucky list is Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a vapid Instagram influencer; Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), a man-child with parent money; Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), a free spirit who totes along sage to burn; and Brooke (Reina Hardesty), an artist.
But the fete really gets raging when Forbes (David Thompson) arrives. A nerd who fell out of touch with the group after an infamous party in college, the surprise guest reveals he’s brought along “a game” in his suitcase.
It’s not Chutes and Ladders or Apples to Apples, though. Forbes asks everybody to affix two electrodes to their temples — red flag! — and after they do, they find that their minds have been transferred into each others’ bodies.
The handoff of brains is due to the device, which, Forbes says, he spent five years developing with a mysterious “team.”
At first the friends are terrified — like lab rats in a dangerous experiment — yet they become quickly intoxicated by the strange sensation of inhabiting somebody’s skin. And thus begins a happy competition to discover who is who.
Yeah, right. With a snap of the fingers, it turns into a golden opportunity for the 30-somethings to lie, coerce and sleep with crushes.
Jardin’s concept is a devilishly clever one. The millennial generation has grown up obsessed with how they are perceived — online and in-person — and adopting totally new faces with anonymity unleashes their inner animals. Suddenly, they can do whatever they want without fear of repercussion … or so they think.
Insecurities, jealousies and resentment come up to a boil.
If only his satire included more memorable characters. Whereas the similarly eerie millennial send-up “Search Party” took vicious aim at recognizable tropes, this pack makes an impression as a tight ensemble rather than as compelling individuals.
This is partly why when one reveler ends up in the body of another, it can be confusing to keep track of who’s who at any given time.
Perhaps Jardin means for the viewer to be as mixed up as the participants, but the tension went slack whenever I had to piece a complex puzzle together.
There are plenty of tasty shocks, though, and well-earned twists. I should’ve anticipated the climax. Instead, my jaw hit the floor.
Netflix bought “It’s What’s Inside” at Sundance for $17 million, and it’s the most enjoyable flick the streamer has put on in quite a while. A welcome dose of shock therapy.
This post was originally published on here
