Hill Hikers
2022 · 10m · USA
Directed by Elizabeth Godar, Mitch deQuilettes
An L.A. couple stages a hiking competition to salvage their relationship, drawing a parade of self-styled seekers and status-chasers up the trail. Mockumentary skewers California wellness culture and the people who can't decide if they're climbing for enlightenment or clout.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Finally, a film that understands the spiritual emptiness of recreational hiking. The fact that they cast NoHo Hank as a Goop refugee tells you everything.
Godar and deQuilettes apply Best in Show mockumentary scaffolding to a fake competitive hiking circuit — Carrigan and Eastwood lend it heat. The wellness-culture target is well-chosen; whether the satire deepens past concept is the question.
Mockumentary about a competitive-hiking circuit where the referees do choreographed flag routines from the hilltop — Anthony Carrigan and Francesca Eastwood lending real comedy heat to a no-budget conceit is the move. Best in Show via L.A. wellness culture is well-trod but the casting elevates it.
Reviews
Lighter and more broadly comic than their previous work, while maintaining sharp insights and character detail.