This is Meg, starring Jill-Michele Meleán, offers us a a picture into the world of what it is like to be a working comedian who just want to make it in the showbiz industry.
Directed by Alex Ferrari from a screenplay by Meleán, This Is Meg stars Meleán, Joseph Reitman, Jenica Bergere, Carlos Alazraqui, Debra Wilson, Krista Allen, Holly Wortell, Lahna Turner, Shawn Pelofsky, Ruben Dario, Carlos Oscar, and Roarke Walker.
The film is inspired by true events as we get an inside look at Meg’s career. Meg is a comedian and actress but she’s not famous. Because of the YouTube video stars who are getting offers for network series, Meg is looking out on potential work even though she’s been getting her feet wet for years. It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or right but that’s the way it is–just look at how many people are getting network development deals on their Twitter feeds alone.
While working on her comedy reel, Meg (Meleán) is introduced to Angel (Turner), an internet sensation. Angel is using social media to her advantage and now has 2 million subscribers. This would be considered impressive if not for the fact that her gimmick is to perform on screen while being almost completely naked. Meg doesn’t want to be that person who makes short videos online to attract a following and get her name out there. Instead, she’s still using the rules from ten years ago much to her dismay.
Without a family, Meg has an emptiness because her career just isn’t filling the void. She meets with Suzanne Walker (Wortell), who works in casting, but the audition doesn’t go well well.
We’re later introduced to Sasha (Wilson), and this leads to a chat about Ayahuasca, a root that can lead to hallucinations. This scene played out for too long and honestly, it could have been a few minutes shorter. If you didn’t know better, you’d have assumed they’ve been hypnotized to act like animals.
Anyway, Meg later gets a call from her agent and is told to meet with Suzanne as fast as possible. It turns out that Angel is going to have a television series and has specifically asked for Meg to play her cousin. It’s an improvised scene but Meg kills it. Suzanne’s having a better day and tries to apologize but Meg’s like, it’s okay.
This Is Meg is a film that should be able to be successful with the comedy crowd, maybe even with those who are aspiring comedy writers, actors, etc. It might not attract a large following but with a running time of 85 minutes, it shouldn’t be too hard.
Following its world premiere at the Cinequest VR & Film Festival, This is Meg will be released on iTunes on August 4, 2017.
