People You May Know

Director: Sherwin Shilati
Year Released: 2017
Rating: 2.0

Self-employed graphic designer Jed (Nick Thune), who is skilled at cropping and altering photos, gets recruited by social media analyst Tasha (Halston Sage) to be an online superstar - while pretending to be an international businessman with celebrity ties (Usher!), he reunites with a high school classmate (Kaily Smith Westbrook), a struggling actress in a troubled marriage. While I agree with the large amount of cynicism directed towards apps like Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat and the huge effect they have on people's lives, structurally this is a bit off: Thune, I guess, is supposed to be some pathetic 'introvert' but he's actually a cool guy who doesn't seem sad or depressed and doesn't need the attention (the only actual drama in this is between Westbrook's character and her teacher husband), and the ending is rushed and incomplete. Tired of Zuckerberg's data mining operations? Delete your accounts. Don't want to photograph everything? Just eat your avocado toast and keep the phone in your pocket. Can't appreciate the lovely sounds from Kings of Leon? I wouldn't date you either.