It’s, in impact, one among an actor’s jobs to inform us what to observe. However what will we be taught when stars inform us what they’re watching? The shiny curation of celeb e book golf equipment—with individuals like Dua Lipa, Emma Roberts, and Kaia Gerber turning into Gen Z’s solutions to Oprah and Reese Witherspoon—has recently given strategy to a distinct sort of cultural curation: the Wild West of celeb Letterboxd accounts.
In fact, no dialog about that movie-logging platform can be full with out a reference to The Bear and Bottoms star Ayo Edebiri. What started with a very relatable reaction to Gone Girl in 2018 (“I simply need Rosamund Pike to solely do that film now and eternally I assume”) quickly grew right into a full-fledged web phenomenon, with Buzzfeed rounding up 41 of Edebiri’s funniest movie reviews final 12 months. (High-ranked is her tackle Greta Gerwig’s Little Girls, which begins: “Florence Pugh and her deep ass voice can punch me within the neck. I’d die for her.”) In fact, Tina Fey was proper when she advised Bowen Yang that authenticity could be “dangerous and expensive” for a well-known particular person, and Edebiri largely stopped posting opinions as soon as she began profitable awards (sob), however there was one thing actually great about her unvarnished voice as a reviewer…to not point out her dad’s.
However Edebiri is in no way Letterboxd’s solely celeb fan: There’s a complete Reddit thread dedicated to tracking celebrities who track movies on the app, from Oscar-winning Anora director Sean Baker (he sees…all the things!), to pop star Charli XCX (her Nosferatu evaluation is poetry), and…British MP Jeremy Corbyn? (I’m notably obsessive about his entry in regards to the 1974 movie model of The Nice Gatsby: “Exhibits the barrenness of greed and wealth.” Effectively, sure!)
At a time when King Charles III is insisting that he listens to Beyoncé, seeing what a well-known particular person is watching and responding to, virtually in actual time, whether or not for enjoyable or analysis, is simply cool. Take Rachel Sennott on Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid: “Omg I consider myself as an anxious particular person however this film made me really feel French.” Humorous! Or Hari Nef on White Chicks: “final evening, i wept so violently that i vomited; my boyfriend held my hair again. then he was like, ‘ought to we watch white chicks?’ we did, and it made me really feel higher.” Candy! (Although he’s not on Letterboxd—publicly, anyway—Steven Soderbergh’s riveting and chaotic “Seen; Read” lists scratch the identical itch. Isn’t it good to know the way a lot he likes Hacks? And that he received actually into Jaws lore final 12 months?)
Even should you’re too cynical to take recommendation from celebrities on what denims to purchase or what high-protein weight-reduction plan to observe, it’s good to have the ability to let the celebs information you thru the always-expanding constellation of Hollywood blockbusters and indie sleeper hits on the market. Simply be certain that to maneuver quick, as a result of at this charge, Letterboxd is certain to turn out to be as cheugy as, properly, the phrase “cheugy” earlier than too lengthy.
