Under the Influencer review
A late 2023 arrival, Under the Influencer still emerges as one of the year’s most engaging and thoughtful releases.
Director/writer Alex Haughey (Prodigy) explores the life of Tori (a sensational Taylor Joree Scorse), an established and longtime YouTuber. Tori is experiencing an influencer downturn as she’s losing views and struggling to create content to keep up with peers like Becca (Eva Westcott), who once followed Tori and now has eclipsed her popularity.
While there’s intentionally funny moments having some fun with the subject matter, Haughey wisely casts a more respectful and nuanced light. Yes, influencer culture can be easy low-hanging fruit, but Haughey shows the hustle, drive and business savvy needed to be a successful influencer.
Tori has a small, but hard-working staff to keep her on track with appointments, production schedule, researching trending topics, etc. Producer Christopher (Zach Paul Brown nailing the quip-heavy dialogue) tries to keep Tori on task with his streaming is a business and should be treated as such approach. Tori’s assistant, Sara (a very likable Chandler Young), encourages her to stop burning herself out for her viewers and actually make videos for Tori.
Another savvy move from Haughey is avoiding the typical narrative of these rediscovering yourself films. Tori isn’t a jerk that needs to be knocked down several pegs or humbled before she understands how she’s treated people. She’s remarkably pleasant and likable. Tori doesn’t want to revel in manufactured drama just for the sake of clicks.
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This approach makes Tori easy to root for as she puts on her “streaming face” in her efforts to remain relevant in an honest way. Scorse is tremendous as she earnestly shows the multiple layers of Tori.
First there’s the on camera, incredibly perky if not somewhat over the top social media presence Tori. Then there’s the mid-stage Tori, a more grounded version of the YouTuber personality who’s far more low-key yet extremely personable when encountering her fans. Finally, at the film’s midway point, we meet the real Victoria, one who feels lost and unsure what she wants to do when she grows up.
The pacing helps bring viewers into Tori’s world. She wrestles with her insecurities over putting in all the work yet seeing her videos and efforts not resonating in the same way they did a decade ago. It’s relatable to anyone who’s had a goal or a dream and potentially achieved it but isn’t sure how to sustain it or figure out what’s next.
Avoiding theatrical drama aids Haughey in telling Tori’s story naturally. Sensing the need to try something different she legitimately wants to do instead of drying slop on her face and slowly peeling it off, Tori returns to her musical roots. With Sara and her boyfriend, Wyatt (Kelton White), Tori records a song and produces a video. It’s a special moment for Tori and Scorse, Young and White make it a magical scene.
Under the Influencer shows that these kinds of dramas don’t need some big, messy revelatory scene for the main character to get it. The confidence to avoid the cliche and patiently tell the story works wonders.
One area that doesn’t quite work as well is Haughey’s choice to have Scorse play a ghost(?), specter (?) or just the embodiment of Tori’s mother’s influence. Scorse does enough to give Tori’s mother a distinct presence yet with Tori having several layers to herself already these sequences aren’t as effective as Haughey intends.
Taking some overdue time for herself, Tori encounters Sayer (Spencer Vaughn Kelly), a genuinely happy guy trying to make the most of every moment. This scene could have played out horribly — introducing a potential love interest late in the film — might turn out cheesy, but Scorse and Kelly have a sweet chemistry that makes this encounter charming. It’s exactly the kind of pivot that was needed to convince Tori she’s on the right path.
Under the Influencer is an inspirational, good-natured film about a subject matter easy to depict as soulless and artificial. Instead, it’s such a heartfelt exploration of self-discovery in a modern setting that it was one of the more pleasant surprises of the past year.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
You can get the DVD of Under the Influencer now on Amazon.
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