Overview

• At its world premiere in TIFF’s Discovery program, the film drew big laughs, attentive quiet and cheers throughout the screening and Q&A.
• Early says the aim was not a statement on gender but a sincere ingenue performance, acknowledging the deliberate risk of tackling sensitive material.
• He frames the eating-disorder storyline as a metaphor and says he consulted friends with treatment experience while avoiding didactic realism.
• The independently produced feature was shot in Los Angeles in roughly four weeks with a comedy-forward ensemble including Kate Berlant, Conner O’Malley, Claudia O’Doherty, Eric Rahill, Kristen Johnston and Vanessa Bayer.
• Stylistically, reviewers note influences from John Waters, Douglas Sirk and ’80s–’90s telepics, and as of the festival premiere the film had not secured distribution; Early says he wrote the script “in a fury” and hopes to expand the character.