The Crystal Theatre will be screening “Idiotka” in June.
Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) is a 20-something Russian-American who lives in an apartment in West Hollywood — “not the fancy part, the Russian part” — together with her grandmother Gita, father Samuel, and brother Nerses. They are a disparate bunch; Samuel (Mark Ivanir), a doctor recently released from prison after serving eight years for Medicare fraud, struggles with alcoholism. Gita (Galina Jovovich) is a chain-smoking hypochondriac who taught Margarita to sew, or “make every stitch sing.” Proud and acerbic, she clings to memories of a better life in Russia before emigrating to America. Nerses is a lethargic dreamer and wannabe musician of questionable talent.
A skillful seamstress, Margarita dreams of becoming a successful fashion designer, though any ambition she has is diluted by the family dysfunction around her. Behind on the rent and struggling to make ends meet, Gita dreams up crackpot schemes to track down Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos in a desperate attempt to save themselves from penury, having already contemplated selling the family silver. Pressure on the family rises when they are served with an eviction notice from their uncompromising landlord. Margarita then takes it upon herself to enter an unscripted reality TV fashion competition seeking contestants who “want to pull the curtains back on their lives.” The show, “Stay, Serve and Survive,” promises salvation in the form of $100,000
prize money.
The producers (and presenters) of the show, Nicole and Oliver, are a comical delight and make no pretense of being more interested in the train wreck of Margarita’s personal life than her talent for making clothes. The show also features three hilarious judges, Emma, Jonathan and Candy (played by the rapper Saweetie), who look and sound as if they could have come straight from the set of Zoolander, spouting lines such as “overtly woke art is a no for me” and “New York hoodies are a basic human right.” Fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will enjoy the parody catwalk scenes and sassy exchanges between judges, presenters and contestants.
Nicole and Oliver quickly realize that Margarita’s family background makes for compelling television, and they do all they can to cast her as the emotional focal point of the show. Initially anxious, Margarita soon rises to the challenge and dishes the dirt on her family life, garnering sympathy along the way from the vacuous judges. Not to be outdone, Gita turns up on the set to remind her granddaughter that “they (the viewers) need a spectacle.” Seeing the show as an opportunity for Margarita to get ahead in life and maybe meet someone special, she urges her to “wear nice undies, just in case.” In an effort to dramatize the family’s life, the crew descends unannounced on their apartment and finds Gita resting in bed. A facetious cameraman remarks “Oo, how very Charlie Bucket,” a reference to the bedridden grandparents in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
As the show progresses, Margarita inevitably attracts the attention of strangers who begin to recognize her in public. Fashion brands seek to engage her as an influencer and the producers of “Stay, Serve and Survive” manipulate footage to portray her as guileless and unsophisticated. The title Idiotka (Russian for “female idiot”) could apply equally to Margarita, the show’s audience, and the exploitative nature of reality TV. Without giving the game away, her family reacts to all of this in increasingly humorous and conflicting ways, exploring the relationship between suffering and success in modern America.
A breakout feature from director Nastasya Popov, “Idiotka” is a highly enjoyable satirical family drama. In addition to being very funny, the film is a delightful parody of modern entertainment culture and offers a valuable window into the struggles of immigrants in today’s America. Above all it is a celebration of the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. The entire cast is superb, particularly Galina Jovovich (Galinka). It is noteworthy that Popov dedicated the movie to her own grandmother. Anna Baryshnikov (Margarita) impresses as she struggles to preserve her dignity while attempting to give the audience the spectacle they crave, and Mark Ivanir puts in an impressive comic turn as the hapless Samuel. “Idiotka” is a heartwarming, quirky family comedy which I thoroughly enjoyed. The final word goes to the presenter of “Stay, Serve and Survive,” Nicol (Camila Mendes). “That freak flag flew today, and that’s all the people want.”