#Blessed
Doom Scroll • Reality, Drama, Comedy, 20-Mar-2019
Dallas Mapleshade, a delusional actress, hires a filmmaker to make a feature documentary about her life to propel her into the spotlight. “#Blessed,” co-directed by Rich Costales and Kailee McGee, is a bonkers ‘fine line between real and fake’ romp through the life of a wannabe star, carried by a highly entertaining performance by McGee, chock-full of desperation, embarrassment and failure. To start, Dallas is just another aspiring nobody. That all changes when she decides to take her career into her own hands by making a documentary about herself. She sets out to find a director for said project, and a series of interviews reveals only one filmmaker who bothered to check out her website beforehand. His name is Rich, and he’s hired. Dallas’ roommate, Saskia, isn’t so sure about this new doc or the director, especially as Dallas lets him immediately infiltrate every aspect of her life. Things begin to look up for her, though, when she scores a role in an indie web pilot called “Quantum Entanglement,” and starts a relationship with a musician she meets after seeing perform on the subway with his 5-piece country band. And with all that, we’re just getting started. Filmed in 2014 but never released, the film is a wild ride through all the awkwardness, self-deception, and humiliation one can expect to endure as a struggler performer. A film that, at first, doesn’t seem to warrant an 82 minute runtime, gets more fascinating as it goes, doubling down on absurd developments and hilariously painful conflicts (see: her mom calling her obese), and yet somehow still remaining #blessed. Directed by Rich Costales & Kailee McGee. Written by Kailee McGee. Edited by Rich Costales. Starring: Kailee McGee, Saskia Maarleveld, Gabe Miner, Rich Costales, Dez’Mon Omega Fair, Charmaine Reedy.
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