"PRETTY PROBLEMS" // SXSW 2022

BY MATEO MORENO

One of the best comedies this year at SXSW was an unexpected one for me. PRETTY PROBLEMS is not only hilarious but it's also a sharp commentary on wealth and the privilege of the rich. Lindsay and Jack (Britt Rentschler and Michael Tennant, who both co-wrote the script with Charlotte Ubben) are a simple couple with a simple life, one that Lindsay is growing bored with. One day at the clothing boutique that she works at, Cat Flex (JJ Nolan) walks in and changes her life overnight. Cat is ridiculously rich and connects with Lindsay. So much in fact that she invites Lindsay to a weekend away in the country. Lindsay is ecstatic, knowing that a weekend with Cat sounds fun and exciting, two things that her life is severely lacking. Jack is reluctant but eventually agrees to join and the two of them head into a wild, wild weekend that neither were prepared for.

PRETTY PROBLEMS explores at a frantic but steady pace the lives of the uber rich, the kind who buy bottles of wine that would each pay for someone else's monthly rent, and then completely forget that they bought it, let along bought several cases of it. It's a comedy that doesn't simply make the uber rich a joke: they also make them fully fleshed out humans. Cat is just as bored as Lindsay and both seem to be searching for something to flesh out their days. One has money and one doesn't, yet their lives seems oddly similar. JJ Nolan turns in a performance that is fiercely funny and tragically relatable. Yes she's ridiculous, but the filmmakers earn so much more by exploring everyone in this circle, not just the outsiders. Rentschler and Tennant are both great too, bridging the gap between the wealthy and us. They are our eyes and we share in their slow fascination with this wild lifestyle. The rest of the ensemble cast are each perfectly cast, and work incredibly well as a unit. In the end, money is of course not the answer, but by making the lifestyle and not the people the butt of the joke, PRETTY PROBLEMS rose far above my original expectations. And I think it'll knock you out as well.

GRADE: A

WRITTEN BY Michael Tennant, Britt Rentschler, Charlotte Ubben DIRECTED BY Kestrin Pantera STARRING Britt Rentschler, Michael Tennant, JJ Nolan, Graham Outerbridge, Charlotte Ubben, Alex Klein, Clayton Froning, Katarina Hughes, Vanessa Chester, Amy Maghera SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: PRETTY PROBLEMS