By Director Gia Coppola’s first feature film since 2013’s Palo Alto is Mainstream, a snarky and decidedly-modern Hollywood story peering into the behind-the-scenes machinations of an Internet celebrity and the house of cards empire he’s erected around his viral–and potentially-toxic–showman persona.
When Hollywood-aspirant Frankie (Maya Hawke) crosses paths with the enigmatic and sensational Link (Andrew Garfield) she’s swept into the underbelly of the overnight-sensation Internet age, where streamers and celebrities are born of excessive pranks, hollow performance, and maybe the occasional extralegal machination.
Co-starring Jason Schwartzman and Nat Wolff, Mainstream isn’t the first film to approach Hollywood’s 21st century allure, and the predicament of Internet fame, but the solid cast and always-biting satire available in taking a lens to the entertainment industry should turn some heads.
Though it premiered to a less-than-stellar reception at last year’s Venice Film Festival, I’m holding out some hope for Mainstream. If nothing else the new trailer has enough whacky, extradiegetic special effects and hints at Garfield going off his rocker to catch my attention. After Under the Silver Lake went by without much fanfare I’m a champion of more Andrew Garfield in weird-Hollywood stories.
Coming to VoD and theaters May 7 courtesy of IFC Films, Mainstream may or may not go viral in about a month.