Kate del Castillo stars in The Biggest Fan (now on Netflix), playing a character she may know a little something about: an actress staring down the barrel of negative publicity. Granted, this lighthearted Mexican comedy about a TV star trying to rehab her career after a mishap with a fan isn’t quite as nutty as del Castillo’s stranger-than-fiction interactions with infamous Mexican cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman (chronicled in a bizarre Netflix documentary series The Day I Met El Chapo), but the core idea is in the same ballpark. And not nearly as compelling on any level, unfortunately.
The Gist: Lana Cruz (del Castillo) is a bit of a diva, demanding take after take while shooting a fight scene, riling her director. She’s the star of Special Crimes, a TV cop show that’s a big hit despite its miserable, generic title (so I bet it’s on Netflix rimshot!). She wraps for the day, walks outside the studio, signs some autographs for a throng of adoring fans and inadvertently clocks one with a backhand slap. Whoops. I mean, the girl was on the wrong side of the barricade and grabbed Lana from behind and Lana just reacted instinctively, and now she’s canceled as hell. She’s positively dumptrucked by an avalanche of shitty videos and hot takes on social media. It’s incredibly stupid but not at all implausible and it’ll have you shaking your fist and shouting BE REASONABLE, STUPID WORLD into the void.
A year later, Lana’s a total slumpo on the couch, surrounded by Cheeto bags. Special Crimes was axed by the network, and her daughter Greta (Dariana Delbouis) was bullied at school in the wake of the nontroversy – just another reason why she thinks her mom sucks. Lana’s career went bye-bye, which is ridiculous, because Mel Gibson just directed a piece of crap starring Mark Wahlberg, but we just have to go with it, my friends. Finally, some good news: Lana’s agent drops a script in front of her. It’s an art film. She’ll have to leave for Mexico tomorrow for a 40-day shoot. She’ll miss Greta’s graduation. But if all goes well it’ll defibrillate her career. So Lana apologizes to Greta and hops on a plane.
Upon her arrival at a remote villa where she’ll be staying, the first person Lana meets is a gregarious, well-meaning total dorkwad named Polly (Diana Bovio). She’s the poolgirl around here, but also a Lana superfan, and before you pass judgment, keep in mind, she’s reasonable enough to accept Lana’s mishap from a year ago as a mistake. Polly talks her way into a job as personal assistant to Lana, who’s a touch reticent but seems to believe Polly’s harmless. Besides, Polly has a way with social media – KIDS THESE DAYS, right?!?!? – and starts rehabbing Lana’s online image.
So this likeable goof of a lady is useful, and ends up providing some respite for Lana after long days on set. Long days dealing with a blowhard of a costar (Hugo Catalan) and a persnickety doof of a director (Gabriel Nuncio) whose direction consists of telling Lana to mimic animals and burning the script so she can’t prepare ahead of time. Meanwhile, Polly learns that the set is “a temple,” gets in good with the rest of the crew, and makes sure Lana has her preferred tea between takes. Something has to go wrong here eventually in this jalopy of a plot, and of course it does, because without it, there just isn’t enough there here to justify the movie’s existence. So it goes.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Snippets of Misery minus the sledgehammer come to mind, as does the “I’ve been hungry for a decade” speech from Notting Hill, when Polly tries to feed Lana some yummy homemade stew.
Performance Worth Watching: These characters are pretty hollow, but Bovio and del Castillo eventually piece together enough material to make themselves a likeable comedio-dramatic on-screen pair.
Memorable Dialogue: A rough mother-daughter exchange:
Lana: You can count on me.
Greta: To be the worst mom ever?
Lana: I could be worse.
Sex and Skin: A dim-lit undies-on skinnydip scene.
Our Take: The Biggest Fan is a car that looks nice but you pop the hood and it’s running on like, I dunno, a busted toy pinwheel. It just kinda flops around lifelessly, a descriptor that applies to this plot, which sometimes gets a bit of wind in its sails but can’t really get anywhere thanks to the haphazard structure of this screenplay. It establishes the protagonist’s conundrum, then clunks from one vaguely engaging episode to the next – a wacky interaction here, a misunderstanding there, a sliver of hope for Lana’s career over yonder, all tied together on the yo-yo string of public opinion-via-social media. Eventually, it wanders into a rom-com break-up-and-make-up arc and a bit where Lana gets lost on the last day of filming, which is about as shabby as a tossed-in third-act conflict gets.
Suffice to say, this is all rather underwhelming and insubstantial outside two or three thoughtful interactions between del Castillo and Bovio, suggesting that this movie could’ve been a poignant portrayal of an unusual friendship. But as it stands, it squanders talent willy-nilly, as well as the potential chemistry between its leads. You may find yourself sifting through its variety of pointless, comedy-adjacent scenes for insights about celebrity worship, being the offspring of a famous person or the creative process that drives filmmakers of all sorts – from stars to body doubles to PAs to directors – and finding very little grist for the intellectual mill. The veteran del Castillo seems either reluctant to channel the truth of her showbiz/public-eye experience into her character, or handcuffed by a screenplay that’s just not interested in being anything besides a bit of flighty escapism. Either way, The Biggest Fan isn’t pushing much air.
Our Call: Did somebody forget to plug the fan in? SKIP IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Read the full article here
