Misery for a Chelsea Popfan in a Funk
Ava Maclaine (Chelsea Kane) has grown up in the spotlight as a child star but after years of playing the nice girl she has decided to reinvent herself as a wild child pushing the limits, which doesn't sit too comfortably with either her mum or her boyfriend. After her latest exploits make the headlines Ava decides to get away for a few days to try and work out what she wants and who she is, not telling anyone where she is going in the hope of getting some peace and quiet. But after crashing her car she wakes up in a secluded lighthouse, the home of Xavier (Nolan Gerard Funk - Evidence), a garage attendant she had met earlier in the day. And it soon becomes clear to Ava that whilst Xavier may come across as nice he is in fact an unstable young man who is completely obsessed with her.
Can you believe it is over 20 years since Kathy Bates scared many an audience as the sledgehammer wielding Annie Wilkes in "Misery"? Of course I mention "Misery" because of the obvious similarities between it and "#PopFan" with an obsessed fan rescuing their idol from a crash and then keeping them prisoner. And of course I mention that it has been over 20 years because whilst I can appreciate "Misery" I wonder whether a new generation would be so blown away by it and its stars who might not be so familiar. Basically I am giving my usual spiel when it comes to remakes as basically ""#PopFan" is "Misery" for a new generation but with a cast a young audience may be more familiar with.
That leads me to the cast with fans of "Baby Daddy" probably watching "#PopFan" because of Chelsea Kane and then you have "Glee" fans who might be familiar with Nolan Gerard Funk. And the two deliver youthful performances and give both their characters a certain visual appeal which I would expect younger audiences will enjoy. But to be honest whilst both actors are attractive and do an okay job their characters are not the most consistently written and as a more mature viewer I found them forgettable, unlike Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes.
That brings me to the script and whilst "#PopFan" trots along at a nice pace with a decent chain of events as on one hand we have Ava realising she is in danger thanks to the obsessed Xavier we then have things back home as her family, manager and boyfriend fear that she has done something daft having disappeared without warning. Unfortunately whilst one thing leads to another and the danger increases there are various plot holes which the sharper eyed viewer will spot as well as twists which are pretty obvious. But then "#PopFan" is one of those movies which is less about the detail and more about the look and the gist of things.
What this all boils down to is that "#PopFan" is a pretty entertaining made for TV thriller with a nice cast and nice pacing. But not only will this always come off as a "Misery" knock off but for those who are beyond how a movie looks will find some plot holes a little too distracting.
