Reality Queen!

Kristy Kim’s interactions with her fans say a lot about what is expected of both her and them. It is a biting commentary of society’s adoration of people who are famous solely for being famous. When this moment is juxtaposed with knowledge of Kristy Kim’s love of her family, and the reason she and London are rivals, the audience remembers that these vapid people are humans as well.

The actors are a significant reason why Reality Queen! becomes so engaging. As London Logo, Julia Faye West is both obnoxiously stupid and insufferably charming. That is a tall order, especially considering her talent is evident even during the confusing first seven minutes, but she is up to the task. When describing to the reporter some of the fragrances she’s created, the double entendre meanings behind their names seem to be utterly lost on London. It is a very funny bit that West plays perfectly.

Later in the film, London meets up with Rochelle, it is revealed that London never actually harbored animosity towards her friend. She was just playing up the drama for better TV, which highlights forethought and intelligence hidden in the character until this moment. Again, West really owns the part, so the more absurdly idiotic things she says are just as believable as the more tender-hearted and smart moments.

“…thanks to a committed cast and an amusing screenplay that works more often than not.”

Denise Richards has a small role as Angelina Streisand, and she pretty funny. When Diana calls out Angelina’s awful wig, Richards is very concerned about how obvious it must be. She generates a few laughs from her reaction. London’s agent/ crisis manager Winston is portrayed by Loren Lester, who has a droll delivery that kills just about every time he speaks. Candace Kita is hysterical as Kristy Kim, with every appearance by her generating a good number of laughs.

Of course, if the audience does not buy London’s relationship with both the BBS1 reporter Diana and Rochelle, then a lot of the film would fall flat. Happily, the chemistry amongst these actors works. Kate Orsini mixes the professionalism of her job and the empathy she gains for London nicely, so her journey- thusly, the audience’s- feels natural. Shelli Boone’s best friend character has long been over this lifestyle, and she sells her irritation at London dropping by unannounced entirely believable. She also generates a considerable amount of laughs from her lumbersexual fantasies.

Look, I don’t know what went wrong in those first seven minutes. It is an aggressively lousy opening with jokes that would have been dated a decade ago, much less now. But, thanks to a committed cast and an amusing screenplay that works more often than not. Reality Queen! proves to be a charming affair. Mix in the surprising amount of depth mined from the brilliant ending, and despite its issues, this mockumentary proves worth a watch.