Movie Reviews

‘Bigfoot Famous’ review: Breezy comedy about cryptid collab gets lost

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November 2, 2021

Bigfoot Famous firmly has its feet planted in two worlds. The plot is about a once popular social media influencer (Steph Barkley) who has figured out how to regain her status in the social media world. A new video of Bigfoot has gone viral and she realizes a collab between the two would be perfect. As with most Bigfoot hunters, this is easier said than done. But will Coley risk it all to get those likes?

Movies have become really good at skewering the social media world. This is partially because influencers have become something of a parody of themselves. Still, Bigfoot Famous injects some fun comedy and wit. Unlike platforms like YouTube that tend to take themselves seriously while talking tea, the film is lighthearted and fun. Initially, it plays to it strengths.

Bigfoot Famous is helped by the performances of Barkley and Sam Milman (who also co-wrote and co-directed the film). They are able to play off each other seamlessly. This is important since there is a heavy improvisational feel to the plot. The two are able to hold things together as the plot can get erratic at times and tends to lose its way.

Nowhere is this more evident than when the story becomes more serious. In an odd decision, things go from being goofy jokes to becoming serious commentary. This may be an intentional choice to mock what eventually happens on every social media platform, but that does not seem to be the case. There is tonal shift written into the movie that completely throws things off.

Bigfoot Famous loses its sense of fun at this point. At times, it seems like it has a real message it wants to get out. The problem is, it was already doing a good job of it by just being a lightweight comedy. Once it tasks viewers to go beyond that, the film becomes a chore to watch. Much like any Bigfoot hunter show, it becomes a case of “what am I supposed to be seeing”?