“Don’t Trip” is Nepo-Baby Horror
Everyone who moves to Los Angeles is somewhat delusional. They have to be in order to succeed there. A person must have a base layer of delusion to even take a plane, train, or automobile to move out West, let alone believe they can make it there. Alex Kugelman’s Don’t Trip is about one person who left everything behind in the hope of making it in Hollywood, but this isn’t a feel-good story of lifelong dreams coming true…at least not in the way one might expect.
Dev (Matthew Sato) is a struggling writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Monica (Olivia Rouyre). He had a job as an assistant to a public relations agent, but was fired when he sent his script around to other agents behind his boss’ back. That decision came after months of promises from his boss to share it with her contacts, but never following through. Frustrated and jobless, Dev decides he’s going to take matters into his own hands. Trip Lefkowitz (Will Sennett) is the son of one of the most prominent producers in the city. Dev figures that if he can befriend Trip, he can get his script read by someone who could change his life. What Dev doesn’t consider is that Trip may have a few secrets of his own.
courtesy of Don’t Trip
Tales of Hollywood horrors are nothing new, but social media does add an edge to them. Ingrid Goes West was released in 2017. It’s a film about a woman who stalks an LA-based influencer and becomes her friend. In many ways, Don’t Trip feels like Ingrid Goes West but for the boys. For the guys who dare each other to deep-throat a hot dog or go camping on the spur of the moment instead of taking Instagram-perfect photos. In a surprising turn of events, Don’t Trip isn’t just about the tough reality of making it in Hollywood. The film also speaks to the loneliness epidemic that is plaguing men. Even though Dev comes into the relationship with Trip with ulterior motives, there are moments between them that transcend Dev’s goal. They’re two young men who have a passion for writing but don’t know how to get people to listen to their words. The film does twist and turn to a darker place, but Don’t Trip has sweet moments as it shows two young men finding a connection.
courtesy of Don’t Trip
Anyone who has moved to LA will tell you that it’s simultaneously horrible and wonderful. It’s one of the few places you can live, especially in your twenties, where you can wreak utter havoc during the day and then go to an A-List event at night, invited or not. Don’t Trip captures the almost manic desperation that can overcome someone who has moved to the city with very specific goals and the lengths they will go to reach them. One of the problems with the movie industry is that there’s no set path to reaching a goal. Sometimes all it takes is crashing the party of the son of a famous producer. You never know until you try, but when do you know you’ve crossed a line? Don’t Trip lives in that in-between world of almost and certain. It’s a limbo that can drive anyone insane, and history proves that it has.
Kugelman has something really special with Don’t Trip. There’s a youthful, indie roughness around the edges, but nothing that actively distracts from the film. He discovered quite the marvelous talent in Sennett, who utterly commands the screen, oscillating between vulnerable and unsettlingly in control. What seals the deal, though, is the ending. After all the madness Dev endures at the hand of Trip, it’s the final moments that confirm a basic truth of Hollywood. Some people really will do anything for a chance at fame, and Don’t Trip is a rollercoaster of an exploration of what it takes to make dreams come true.
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