A reality star finds her world turned upside down in this ridiculous mockumentary that is a message about what in God’s name we are watching today.
London Logo is the number one reality star on television today. The daughter of some rich folks, she has become an icon, even making a controversial tape before the launch of her television show. She becomes the focus of a report by TV show host Diana Smelt-Marlin, who wants to learn more about the star. As London’s entourage revels in her fame, London is about to get the biggest shock of her life.
Kristi Kim, a Korean-born former reality show contestant, has unseated London as the new reality queen. Really annoyed and angry, London attempts to do whatever it takes to get her stardom back. While she still gets some recognition, it doesn’t compare to Kristi’s overgrowing popularity. As her attempts become more futile, London soon finds herself losing those who supported her in the past, forcing her to take desperate measures, all to get her popularity back.
Mockumentaries are quite an interesting genre to work with. To this day, the best still include the iconic 80’s hit This is Spinal Tap and basically anything Christopher Guest has directed. There are some fun indie mockumentaries, such as James Lew’s 18 Fingers of Death, his take on the martial arts film genre. Then comes this film, which is meant to mock the likes of series such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Rich Kids of Beverly Hills to name a few. It’s a pretty good idea on paper, but the issue lies in some ridiculous over the top performances.
It’s one thing to spoof a Kardashian, maybe in a few scenes here and there, that’s understandable. However, for a whole film, it can prove to be too much. Star and executive producer Julia Faye West is not exactly bad as the titular “reality queen”, London Logo. However, there are times throughout the film that she could have dialed it down a few notches. Such as finding out her gerbil is stuck in the toilet and in the film’s climactic scene where we see her most desperate attempt to get her fame back. It’s a bit much particularly in these scenes, but other than that, it’s not completely bad at all.
West is joined by some familiar faces. Denise Richards plays veteran actress Angelina Streisand, who was forced to dye her hair dark in order to shy away from London’s “thunder”. However, she does attempt to serve as a mentor to the reality star, only to be met with constant disdain, which is amped up from the now rivalry between London and Kristi, played by Candace Kita. Mike Tyson appears as himself in the film, who is the mystery man behind London’s ahem, “tape”. Then, there’s Charles Fleischer, who does his best Larry King impersonation while in one of his final film roles, the great John Witherspoon makes a cameo as the plumber who must help get London’s gerbil out of the toilet.
Reality Queen tries really hard and seems like a good idea on paper, but there’s just too much over the top performances that become more annoying as the film goes on. At least they get an A for effort.
WFG RATING: C-
High Octane Pictures presents a London Film production in association with Tanner Gordon Productions. Director: Steven Jay Bernheim. Producers: Tanner Gordon, Nicolas Hurt, and Greg Lindsay. Writers: Steven Jay Bernheim, Schyuler Brumley, Chris Cobb, Gabby Gruen, Greg Lindsey, Allan Murray, John-Paul Panelli, and Chandler Patton. Cinematography: Cody Stauffer. Editing: Bryan Bigler.
Cast: Julia Faye West, Denise Richards, Mike Tyson, John Witherspoon, Kate Orsini, Charles Fleischer, Loren Lester, Candace Kita, Greg Lindsay, Shelli Boone, John R. Colley, Ben Begley, Steve Brock, Yves Bright.
The film will be released on January 10 in select theaters, DVD, and On Demand.
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