Similar to a cold cake having decorations on its surface next, Drugstore June has plenty of comedians. The author Esther Povitsky plays the leading role and makes her second appearance as the archetype of an influencer wannabe. Social networks are unavoidable and at present they are one of the most sought after professions for younger people, but on the nose execution diminishes any plausible critique. What is more, further worn out and convoluted and un developed scripts also make the story feel like a sure disappointment. A strong sense of style and good casting does not equal good comedy and the final product is eventually disappointing like a forgotten ice cream cone slumped on the pavement.
Also, to her acquaintances in the sphere of Internet another one of stardom seekers that didn’t achieve anything. She works as a cashier in a pharmacy attended by her supervisor Bill, played by Bobby Lee and is still living with her weird parents, Marla portrayed by Beverly D’Angelo and Arnold played by James Remar and her younger sibling Jonathan Brandon Wardell, who is obsessed with video games. June sands content but also observes her unnecessary feelings about food and her ex Davey played Can Kay Shay, a man who is now engaged to a new fiancée Kelly, portrayed by Miranda Cosgrove. One day, this June’s workplace becomes a scene of robbery and two detectives, Jackie Sandler and Al Madrigal, believe it might have been planned internally to get the insurance money. To clear the air and that of Bill, June swears to find the robbers and ends up focusing too much on a bizarre assortment of character, with too many snacks in between.
Nicholaus Goossen is both the writer and the director. I suppose the combination of his artistic vision and Wasp’s of bright colorful backgrounds and the amazing dream sequences was successful as it looks good on screen. Wasp’s casting choices allow for appealing and funny scenes thanks to comedians such as Bill Burr, Bobby Lee, Al Mardigal and Ms Pat. Joining in on the silliness are unanticipated guest appearances from infamous rapper Bhad Bhabie Danielle Bregoli and Tiktok character Trevor Wallace, who create skit like atmosphere for most parts of the movie. Surprising how well she performed, but Wallace’s typical stoner character would absolutely not be missed. Povitsky definitely has prior works that I have not seen before, but her excessive delivery and constant squinting started to annoy me soon after she appeared on screen. It’s quite alarming when multiple characters purposes were completely unfulfilled as there are no good clear dialogues after the protagonist steps in to speak. To give credit where it is due, there are a couple of moments when June’s character feels genuine and relatable, such as when she is being overly rude and disrespectful, and her mother spoiled her. However, much of June’s character, if one is to call it so, is far too self obsessed and manic to resonate. In fact, witless trivia associated with such a character overwhelms all traces of sympathy towards the viewer.
The film tackles three plot lines: one, a bank heist how original, right? how many movies have made this the center of their narrative and it still seems unthoughtful two, June’s former lover as if people are not getting bored of love triangles and their overdramatised depiction in films; and self promotion in this day and age, who doesn’t want to be an online influencer? Unfortunately, and this is where the film sinks even deeper, the collision of these plot lines is so bad that it is laughable and frustrating. If the heist would have been about an overzealous conspiracy theory from the coen brothers’ Fargo, or a modern take on TikTok sleuths, it could have been fun. The middle has come to parody itself more than it needed fan culture has turned into an echo chamber supporting retail therapy, unrealistic standards of beauty, and superficial numbers. But June’s goals are so out of place in the story and such a minor part in her wannabe investigation that they become irrelevant. Because of the popularity of the true crime genre which ranges from trashy to actual good crime solving, Drugstore June could have been an okay tale of an illustrative journey of an unoriginal follower of trends who uses her voice for her brand. If anything, it sounds like it is painfully tacked ons for the sake of making easy jabs at the kids these days.
There are several jokes that make fun of June’s craving for junk foods and nurtures her craving for male attention. Both are presented in a very awkward and unnatural way that leaves one asking exactly where poorly constructed satire ends and mindless offensiveness begins, and perhaps loses its original purpose. June’s relatives harass her, calling her a pig sometimes, yet she paradoxically goes from not giving a single crap to almost having a meltdown when people make comments about her weight. And her aversion to uncalled for insults and weird interactions makes June’s story a rather complicated one. One of her goals, that is supposed to go along with the robbery, is revenge for very destruction of the drugstore’s ice cream machine. Also, I don’t know why it’s so hard to make June a dessert critic focusing on how the pieces fit into the narrative. Almost none of the humor made me laugh, and most of them come across as taking unnecessary cheap shots at dieting and eating disorder.
June’s hot nature can be quite hard to miss, with a slew of men on standby interested in her overt flirting, particularly older men, even as she feigns being devoted to her ex. Discussing this kind of subject matter is not in itself objectionable however. June’s brash indiscretions raise questions about psychosocial factors that drive women to seek validation through sexual relations and femininity. But, in the hands of Drugstore June, it’s a blithe, offhand comment she makes for shock value along with unnecessary and crude lines, whose sole purpose is to cause embarrassing moments that make a person wish to leave. There is uniformity in her views, i.e., men cannot take their eyes off as maximum cords of her being entwine with non characters, she can redeem herself with sarcasm but it is never possible to know if she ever explored it. There emerges a luring sequence where June tricks her mother into believing that her doctor (Bill Burr) is divorced for being in love with her, although there is no real query or appropriate evaluation of her mental state. The more fundamental explanation behind the projection does seem to exist but it doesn’t help when the execution and premise are poor.
I’m only sad that there are only a few Standout moments that I can see, and those moments make me feel like the story has a hidden pot of gold. Sure an Unlikeable protagonist is compelling and offputting at the same time if there is a sense of self awareness to their actions. But for me everything else about June’s unbearably self centered personality makes almost every little bit of character development disappointing. We also have bathos which is the worst sort of script thing possible where people break comedy in between heavy dialogues which results in anticlimax. She has this near creepy borderline obsession with herself and every time a serious tone wheres put it is unbearable to witness how unoriginal her character interactions are. An unbelievable character this applies to June, says ‘I’ve learned a lot’ after many near useless events and apologies of her character’s actions wouldn’t advocate so much. I love detailed environments, but the tone deaf humour to the directionless dialogues only hampers the already inconsistent narrative.
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