Movie Review: Don't Trip
SPOILER ALERT: This film is a new release. As such, I will avoid overt spoilers. It is available for streaming on Tubi. I encourage you to watch it before coming back to engage with this review.
Writer/director Alex Kugelman’s new film Don’t Trip jumps right out of the gate with an impressive opening scene utilizing the tried and true bomb under the table approach. We see a character in the corner of the frame, then the camera pans back and we don’t see them. Did our eyes play a trick on us? Is this really what we think it is?
That scene includes the film’s biggest star (Chloe Cherry of Euphoria fame). The rest of the film is populated with lesser known actors (save for the film’s similarly impressive ending). It gives the entire project a feeling of having taken place in the outskirts of L.A., with characters populating shadowy vistas while they eat taquitos from the place on the corner.
Our main storyline centers around Dev (Matthew Sato). We meet him as he is working for a film producer who - he believes - told him it was okay to send around his script. We feel for Dev as she explains that he overstepped and she is going to have to let him go. Her instructions seem to be vague, but this does also seem like a situation that Dev is using to his own devices. In any case, he now only has days before his chances of getting his script in front of someone important drop dramatically.
The plot works heavily on satirizing Hollywood power dynamics - maybe just power dynamics in general. At the risk of reading too much into the proceedings, I do think there is also an element here of capitalism satire. We scratch and claw to get in with executives and trust fund venture capitalists in the hopes that they might trickle down enough of the profits to us.
In Dev’s rush to find someone to send his script, he centers on Scott Lefkowitz (Fred Melamed). Dev knows this name. He is an Oscar-winning producer. If Dev can just get the script in front of him, he knows his life will change.
Now…pause for a second. If you had just been fired and you’d be out of a job on Monday, would you raid the contact list and start pitching your script? It certainly doesn’t look good. Yes, it shows pluck. So much of our society preys on dreams and asks that we go to incredible lengths for the chance at achieving them. At what point do we lose ourselves? Dev will be asking that question sooner rather than later.
Those in power always want to claim we live in a meritocracy, when there is so much more than merit at play. Those without power always want to claim merit is being overlooked, when maybe they see their own work through rose-colored glasses
Dev’s girlfriend, Monica (Olivia Rouyre) questions why he doesn’t just shoot the script himself - you know, make it? Dev expounds on the importance of the process…right after flouting the process by using a contact list of which he’ll no longer be privy to on Monday
But then - the big break.
Dev finds Scott’s son, Trip Lefkowitz (Will Sennett), on Instagram. Trip is a nepo baby who uses the watchwords of sobriety culture after doing cocaine. He’s the kind of guy you would expect to populate a film like this one. And when you hear his name, the film’s title starts taking you down a pre-ordained road you can see running out ahead of you as you watch the film.
Even though Dev has plans with Monica - who has shown legitimate interest in his work - he decides, instead, to ingratiate himself to a man whose car is literally filled with trash. Red flags abound.
Trip is manipulative from the get-go. As viewers, we see right through this schtick. Dev is debasing himself. Yet, don’t we often overlook similar red flags in others? When we step outside of it, the ruse is clear. But when you’re in it? Well, it’s easy to trip.
The script is funny, especially a camping scene when it becomes clear that there is only one sleeping bag between Dev and Trip. Trip never told Dev they were going camping, so why would Dev have a sleeping bag. But it is this inability (or refusal) to see through the false dichotomies that Trip continually sets up that takes Dev down a dangerous path.
Just when the screenplay realizes the audience would be completely checked out if Dev goes along with any more of Trip’s craziness - a twist ensues…
Yes, we still roll our eyes when Dev tells his girlfriend that this (including his face being drenched in fake blood) is all part of the plan. But we can at least realize why some person - maybe not us - would continue down this path.
The film mainly suffers from Dev just simply not being a compelling character. We’re told to care about his exploits, but we never quite feel for him. His blatant usage of Trip - as much as we, as the audience dislike Trip - makes him a difficult sell as the main driver of the story. Other great stories about dreamers show us the spark or the kernel in their character’s desire to succeed. We meet Dev as he is blatantly cutting corners to try to secure his next step before getting fired.
Don’t Trip becomes a cautionary tale about how, once we start using other people, we lose a bit of our humanity.
From an acting standpoint, the best work is by Rouyre as Monica. She has a fantastic monologue about two-thirds of the way through the film. She makes that character to be more than just a foil for Dev. She is the only one seeing clearly.
Sennett is game as Trip. He really goes for it - you have to give him credit for that!
A key scene near the end of the film mirrors one that came before it. Writer and Director Alex Kugelman shows skill here. Don’t overlook this film - it has more to it than meets the eye.
While the film has a lot going for it, it ultimately falters. However, it would not surprise me if it gains a cult status. It has certainly sparked my interest for future work from Kugelman.
NOTE ON CONTENT: This film is not yet rated. It has a great deal of violence, language, and sexual dialogue. I think it will start worthwhile discussion, but it is certainly not one for younger audiences.