The Beta Test

Last updated
The Beta Test
The Beta Test teaser poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Jim Cummings
  • PJ McCabe
Produced by
  • Natalie Metzger
  • Matt Miller
  • Benjamin Wiessner
Starring
  • Jim Cummings
  • PJ McCabe
  • Virginia Newcomb
  • Jessie Barr
CinematographyKenneth Wales
Edited byJim Cummings
Music by Ben Lovett
Production
companies
  • Vanishing Angle
  • DiffeRant Productions
  • Sons of Rigor Films
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • March 1, 2021 (2021-03-01)(Berlinale)
  • November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)(United States)
Running time
93 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$250,000 [1]
Box office$37,539 [2] [3]

The Beta Test is a 2021 dark comedy thriller film written and directed by Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe. [4] It follows a talent agent whose life is turned upside-down after taking part in a secret sex pact; Cummings and McCabe star alongside Virginia Newcomb and Jessie Barr.

Contents

The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on March 1, 2021 and was released in the United States on November 5, 2021. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

A distressed woman calls 911 to report a domestic dispute before confessing to her husband that she recently received a letter inviting her to an anonymous sexual encounter; she accepted the offer and realized she's not happy in her marriage; she wants to leave him and asks for only $5,000 instead of half of his money. The husband murders her with a knife.

Jordan Hines is a smooth talking Hollywood agent who is under constant work stress and five years sober. Although six weeks away from his planned marriage to his fiancée, Caroline Gaines, he constantly finds himself distracted by attractive women. He receives a purple envelope with an invitation from an anonymous admirer to a no-strings-attached intimate encounter at a hotel and a form to fill out his sexual interests. He dumps the letter in the trash, but later raids the dumpster and finds it, fills out the invitation and sends it off. After meeting with a potential, high profile Chinese client, Raymond, who later berates him for his agency's practices being obsolete and phony, Jordan receives a second purple envelope with a hotel room keycard. He goes to the hotel room, puts on a blindfold, and has fabulous sex with an anonymous woman who is also blindfolded.

Jordan obsessively investigates the source of the anonymous invitation and the identity of the woman. His new Chinese client had also accepted a similar invitation with another man, and the client's wife shoots and kills him, and the wife of the man he slept with poisons him and herself. Jordan tracks down the delivery person whose bag is filled with anonymous letters in purple envelopes. He investigates one of the addresses and finds the recipient is dead. Jordan's friend PJ theorizes that someone with access to people's social media data, such as recent engagements, websites visited, and liked photos of people they're attracted to, could then have found the addresses of wealthy people who fit the right demographic and sent them letters to connect them for anonymous sex. He suggests it would be inexpensive and very lucrative to set up.

Jordan and his fiancée, having drifted apart as he becomes obsessed with his secret, go to a cabin for a weekend to reconnect. But he continues to rejects her suggestions that there is something going on with him. That night, she leads him into passionate sex.

Jordan and his fiancée stop at a coffee shop, where he recognizes the woman he slept with. She seems to recognize him at first but claims not to under Jordan's onslaught of embarrassing questions. Jordan resumes his investigation and impersonating a federal agent, investigating the printing press that printed the purple envelopes.

Jordan tracks down and with a hammer attacks the man behind the letters, Johnny Paypal, who confesses to sending them based on addresses from the Sony Hacks and further social media scrubbing in order to match people with their perfect sexual partner. Johnny realizes that Jordan never received the third letter, which would have asked for $5,000 in an anonymous wire transfer in exchange for the identity of the woman he had sex with. He mocks the now-shaken Jordan for being a nobody, initiates his computer program to send out tens of thousands of new letters, and states he will never reveal Jordan's perfect match. Unnerved, Jordan flees.

In their garage, Caroline catches Jordan burning the evidence of his hotel encounter. Jordan breaks down and confesses not only to infidelity, but drinking, smoking, living a lie and being a fraud. He accepts that Caroline is going to kill him with the scissors she's holding, but she forgives him, as she also received the anonymous letters.

Jordan and Caroline escape together and drive towards the border. At a diner, Caroline holds her belly and reads news that eight more people have been killed. She explains that other people are going to do everything they can to trip the two of them up. The attractive waitress writes her name and number on the bill she hands to Jordan.

Cast

Production

Filming wrapped in December 2019 and post-production was done remotely throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [5]

Release

The film premiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival. IFC Films acquired U.S. distribution rights in March 2021 and set it for a November 5, 2021 wide release in the United States. [6] It had its North American premiere at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021, in the Viewpoints section. [7]

It was invited to screen at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, in July 2021, competing in Bucheon Choice Features section. [8]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "A darkly amusing thriller that discomfits as it entertains, The Beta Test satirizes Hollywood with savage flair." [9] According to Metacritic, which sampled 18 critics and calculated a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews". [10]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that "The film's elements don't mesh as seamlessly as they should have", and added that the film "is almost too ambitious, tucking a surfeit of ideas into its heightened surrealist mindscape. Yet the movie, at its best, can hold you in its grip." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Parallax View</i> 1974 US political thriller film by Alan J. Pakula

The Parallax View is a 1974 American political thriller film starring Warren Beatty, with Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss in support. Produced and directed by Alan J. Pakula, its screenplay is by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr., based on the 1970 novel by Loren Singer. The story concerns a reporter's investigation into a secretive organization, the Parallax Corporation, whose business is political assassination.

<i>S.W.A.T.</i> (film) 2003 film directed by Clark Johnson

S.W.A.T. is a 2003 American action crime thriller film directed by Clark Johnson and written by David Ayer and David McKenna, with the story credited to Ron Mita and Jim McClain. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, it is based on the 1975 television series of the same name and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt and Olivier Martinez. The plot follows Hondo (Jackson) and his SWAT team as they are tasked to escort an imprisoned drug kingpin/international fugitive to prison after he offers a $100 million reward to anyone who can break him out of police custody.

<i>The Rules of Attraction</i> (film) 2002 film by Roger Avary

The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roger Avary and based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1987 novel of the same title. The film was distributed by Lions Gate Films. The story follows three Camden College students who become entangled in a love triangle; a drug dealer, a virgin, and a bisexual classmate. It stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth, Kip Pardue, and Joel Michaely.

<i>The Witches</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Nicolas Roeg

The Witches is a 1990 American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Nicolas Roeg from a screenplay by Allan Scott, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film stars Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling. The plot features evil witches who masquerade as ordinary women and follows a boy and his grandmother, who must find a way to foil their plans of turning children into mice.

<i>The Comfort of Strangers</i> (film) 1990 Italian film

The Comfort of Strangers is a 1990 psychological thriller film directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, Natasha Richardson, and Helen Mirren. The screenplay by Harold Pinter was adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan.

<i>The Manchurian Candidate</i> 1959 novel by Richard Condon

The Manchurian Candidate is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. The novel has twice been adapted into a feature film with the same title: the first was released in 1962 and the second in 2004.

<i>Sex and Death 101</i> 2007 dark comedy science fiction film by Daniel Waters

Sex and Death 101 is a 2007 dark comedy science fiction film written and directed by Daniel Waters, released in the United States on April 4, 2008. The film marks the reunion of writer/director Daniel Waters and Winona Ryder, who previously worked on the 1988 film Heathers, written by Waters.

<i>Private School</i> (film) 1983 film by Noel Black

Private School is a 1983 American teen sex comedy film, directed by Noel Black. Starring Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, and Matthew Modine, it follows a teenaged couple attempting to have sex for the first time, while their friends engage in sexually minded practical jokes.

<i>Breakfast on Pluto</i> (film) 2005 film by Neil Jordan

Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005 comedy-drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, as adapted by Jordan and McCabe. The film stars Cillian Murphy as a transgender woman foundling searching for love and her long-lost mother in small town Ireland and London in the 1970s.

<i>You Came Along</i> 1945 film by John Farrow

You Came Along is a 1945 romantic comedy-drama film set in World War II, directed by John Farrow. The original Robert Smith screenplay was rewritten by Ayn Rand. You Came Along stars Robert Cummings and in her film debut, Lizabeth Scott.

<i>American Pie</i> (film series) Series of sex-comedy films

American Pie is a film series consisting of four sex comedy films. American Pie, the first film in the series, was released by Universal Pictures in 1999. The film became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon and gained a cult following among young people. Following American Pie, the second and third films in the series, American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003), were released; the fourth, American Reunion, was released in 2012. A spin-off film series entitled American Pie Presents consists of five direct-to-video films that were released from 2005 to 2020.

<i>The Bag Man</i> 2014 American neo-noir crime thriller film

The Bag Man is a 2014 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by David Grovic. It is based on an original screenplay by James Russo and a rewrite by David Grovic and Paul Conway and an inspiration of The Cat: A Tale of Feminine Redemption by Marie-Louise von Franz. The film stars John Cusack, Rebecca Da Costa, Crispin Glover, Dominic Purcell, Robert De Niro, and Sticky Fingaz. The film premiered on February 28, 2014, in New York and Los Angeles.

<i>All I See Is You</i> (film) 2016 film

All I See Is You is a 2016 psychological drama film directed by Marc Forster and written by Forster and Sean Conway. The film stars Blake Lively and Jason Clarke.

<i>Charming</i> (film) 2019 animated musical comedy film

Charming is a 2018 American animated musical comedy film written and directed by Ross Venokur. Produced by Vanguard Animation, 3QU Media, Cinesite and WV Enterprises, the film features the voices of Demi Lovato, Wilmer Valderrama, Sia, Ashley Tisdale, G.E.M. and Avril Lavigne. Lovato is responsible for the executive production of the soundtrack, with Sia, Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump, and Steve Aoki contributing songs. The film had its world premiere in Spain on 20 April 2018, and was met with generally negative reviews. Streaming service Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the film in the United States, and it was released on the platform on 8 January 2021.

<i>Unforgettable</i> (2017 film) 2017 film directed by Denise Di Novi

Unforgettable is a 2017 American drama thriller film directed by Denise Di Novi and written by Christina Hodson. The film stars Rosario Dawson, Katherine Heigl, Geoff Stults, Isabella Rice, and Cheryl Ladd, and follows a divorcée who begins to torment her ex-husband's new fiancée.

<i>The Wolf of Snow Hollow</i> 2020 American film

The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a 2020 American comedy horror film about a small Utah town that is seemingly terrorized by a werewolf. It was written and directed by Jim Cummings who also stars along with Riki Lindhome, Chloe East, Jimmy Tatro, and Robert Forster. The film is dedicated to Forster, as it was the last of his career, completed shortly before his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Cummings (filmmaker)</span> American filmmaker and actor

Jim Cummings is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. He is known for writing, directing and starring in the 2016 short film Thunder Road, which he extended into a 2018 feature film of the same name. He also wrote, directed and starred The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020), and The Beta Test (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival</span> Film festival in Bucheon South Korea

The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, an international film festival held in Bucheon, South Korea, took place from 8 to 18 July 2021, it featured 257 films from 47 countries. The film festival due to the impact of the COVID-19 is held in a 'hybrid' format at 5 different locations including Oul Madang and CGV Picnic from 8 to the 18 July.

Joy Sunday is an American actress. She has performed in television notably in Dear White People and Wednesday. In film, she is known for side roles in Bad Hair, Shithouse, and Dog.

References

  1. "The Beta Test (2021) – Review: Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe Have Crafted an Excellent Stress Comedy". October 23, 2021.
  2. "The Beta Test (2021)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  3. "The Beta Test (2021)". The Numbers . Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. Rubin, Rebecca (24 June 2020). "Vanishing Angle Sets Jim Cummings Thriller 'The Beta Test' as Next Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. Miska, Brad (24 June 2020). "Real-Life Hollywood Battle Turns to Horror in 'The Beta Test'". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  6. Lang, Brent (22 March 2021). "IFC Films Buys Jim Cummings Thriller 'The Beta Test' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. "The Beta Test | 2021 Tribeca Festival".
  8. "Bucheon Choice: Feature". Bifan. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  9. "The Beta Test (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  10. "The Beta Test Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  11. Gleiberman, Owen (6 March 2021). "'The Beta Test' Review: Jim Cummings Rivets as a Hollywood Agent in a Twilight Zone of Temptation". Variety . Retrieved 7 March 2021.