When It Rains in LA

The production design of When It Rains in LA has issues, too. For no clear reason, all the beers are just brown bottles with zero labeling, which sticks out like a sore thumb. It soon feels like there is no consideration for discernment within the audience. Before long, the tone settles into a kind of jaundiced and relentless narcissism, with the cast navigating dull dialogue and messy blocking while the audience traverses a mean and pointless story to do with revenge.

It’s not all bad, though. The cast is quite winning. Cline is both sexy and handy with deadpan lines. Felix Merback plays roommate Mark as a kind of live-action Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He has an agreeable energy and range, which really exposes how bad his lines are. Their lesbian roommates, as played by Natasha Stricklin and Taylor Brianna, are tender and believable. But Tom Gipson as Harry, an airline pilot, just doesn’t land (ba-dum – tish), not even necessarily because his performance isn’t good but more because of the very heavy designer stubble he wears, which works against audience expectations of what his career dictates about his appearance.

“…the cast are quite winning…”

“Friends. LA. God…” is a nice line voiced by Sasha as she is making her way from Europe back to her roommates. But the friends are written in disappointing ways. Mark jokingly apologizes to himself for having “f****d a fat girl in college.” This joke feels intended for the character to break the fourth wall with a caddish high-five being extended to us, the audience. 

When It Rains in LA is a weak effort across the board. The soundtrack is a mumble rap from Holland. You could throw a rock anywhere and hit a better movie. This actually has a number of reviews already on IMDB, with dozens of tens from countries where life is cheap and Fiverr is a main employer. I’m not saying what to make of that, but it is hard to read in a positive way.