Pussybaby
2023 · 20m · USA
Directed by Derek Milton
Genres: comedy, dark comedy, satire
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic, tense
A man named Shaliek is caught on a hidden-camera reality show failing to intervene in a grocery store confrontation; when the footage goes viral and spawns a TikTok challenge, his personal and professional life completely unravels within a single day.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Viral-shaming satire that escalates in real time, structured as a fake hidden-camera show — finally a How To with John Wilson comp that isn't just a vibes-grab. I'm cautiously into it, even if 20 minutes is a lot of rope.
A film-within-a-film hidden-camera structure satirizing viral humiliation is a sturdy idea, but twenty minutes is a long runway for what reads as a How To with John Wilson sketch stretched thin. Curious about the execution, skeptical of the duration.
Film-within-a-film built on a fake hidden-camera show, escalating from one viral moment to total collapse in real time — the structural conceit matches what it's satirizing, which is rarer than it should be in viral-culture commentary. 20 minutes and 17K views.
Reviews
An exceedingly well-directed and performed farce whose editing modulates this descent into chaos and madness perfectly.
Pussybaby is a clever film that gives the vibes of a modern comedy made by the likes of Judd Apatow... funny, provocative, and having a message.