Stasia

“I Saw The TV Glow” had a promising trailer. It conveyed a decent plot, sure, but the most promising idea was the visuals or “psychological” aspects. It seemed as though it would carry the total moral of the story into some portrayal of human consciousness, or even provide a genuine lesson/comparison for teenage life. This, of course, was a MASSIVE disappointment. The characters and character development were incredibly weak. The “promising visuals” barely made an appearance. The “horrifying depictions of the Pink Opaque” were lacking, and hardly qualified for a “FNAF vibe”. My main issue with it was the disgustingly weak attempt to relate the show (or the characters attachment to the show) to any form of teenage struggle or human trial. The creators obviously were trying to make it “deep” or “relatable” or “trippy”, and FAILED. It was evidently trying to make an analogy to mental health struggles. What it really did was convey stupidity, shit acting, and an even worse plot line. I gave it one star for two reasons - the first being that the cinematography was decent. Not the visuals- just the manner in which it was filmed. Very Tarentino-esque. The second being that, if they wanted to, they could have carried the plot so much farther, making it genuinely deep, and thus comparable to films like “Cloud Atlas” or “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”. But alas, the cringe-worthy attempt to relate any piece of plot or character behavior to real-world struggles absolutely killed any part of the film that had any potential to be good in any form. No amount of weed or LSD could make this movie enjoyable. It couldn’t even give you a “bad trip”. It’d just make you stare THROUGH the screen asking “why the fuck am I watching this utterly and disgustingly low-level, idiotic, NPC-targeted garbage”. The only people this film is entertaining is basic idiots who want a glimpse into troubled teens, but have never experienced it. Anyone who’s experienced the issues this film is trying to convey, would piss themselves laughing at how pitiful it really is. All in all, I was incredibly sad to leave the theatre having wasted two hours on the most angsty, dull, weak-minded, boring display of teenage life I’ve ever seen in my life. I hoped to leave with the amazing visuals and horrifying depictions forever imprinted in my memory. Sadly, the only thing imprinted was the rage I felt when I realized I’d wasted $20 and nearly 3 hours on one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.