PLUS ONE

Filmmakers in attendance.

Wedding season is afoot! College BFFs Alice and Ben (PEN15’s Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid) make a pact to survive together as each other’s go-to date in this millennial WEDDING CRASHERS meets REALITY BITES (courtesy of executive producer Ben Stiller) dark comedy, which premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

It’s that time of year that strikes both exuberance (mainly for the free rivers of alcohol) and dread (sitting through lame speeches) in a young adult’s life. This particular season for jaded college chums Alice and Ben (PEN15’s Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid) will turn out to be truly hectic, amounting to roughly one wedding per weekend. As each other’s wingperson, they brave the onslaught together as they sit through one cringe-inducing toast after toast to swaths of newlyweds and their families, including Ben’s own father played by the always affable Ed Begley, Jr. The two haters saunter through singles tables in search of lonely-hearts that might as well be gazelles in the savanna—-big game for the hunt as temporary distractions during the miasma of wedding season.

Co-directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, who have tested their acerbic comedic chops directing cult shows like ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING and the groundbreaking PEN15, have crafted an acerbic concoction that, at times, allows sincere affection and real feelings to shine through. The sparkling chemistry and witty banter between Erskine and Quaid anchors what would be just another slight comedy if in the hands of others. PLUS ONE is a fresh romcom for anyone who has ever been banished to the singles table.

And as we pray at the feet of budding comedic genius Maya Erskine for her no-holds barred work in Hulu’s PEN15, PLUS ONE embodies yet another benchmark in the upward career trend of one of the most exciting comedic voices, a mashup of Maria Bamford, Janeane Garofalo, and Margaret Cho. —Anderson Le

Co-presented with Community Partners: Asian Creatives Network of LA, East West Players, Kollaboration

CREDITS:
Director, Writer: Jeff Chan, Andrew Rhymer
Cast: Maya Erskine, Jack Quaid, Beck Bennett, Rosalind Chao, Jr. Ed Begley