The Beta Test (2021) | Film Review

Throughout the years, Hollywood satires have come and gone, many with plenty of critical raves but little fanfare. A primary reason for this is they are typically too “inside baseball”, rather than tailor-made for general audiences. Leave it to indie multi-hyphenate auteur Jim Cummings – along with co-writer and co-director PJ McCabe – to flip the script and deliver The Beta Test, an intensely ominous, riveting, and timely thriller for anyone willing to give it a chance, which just so happens to be a slap directly across the ass of every pretentious phony still traversing the Hollywood eco-system post-Weinstein.

Jordan (Jim Cummings) is a stereotypical Hollywood talent agent, a smug narcissist sociopath whose only vision is to keep pushing a sale until a client caves. No different than any corporate executive, and Jordan as a person is only a tinge more likeable than your standard midwestern used car salesman. He also happens to be engaged to Caroline (Virginia Newcomb), a sharp, nurturing woman seemingly blissfully unaware of Jordan’s utter self-absorption, nor his wandering eye.

Yes, Jordan has a fascination with every woman he stumbles across that is not his fiancée. His assistant, a random stranger seated across from them in a crowded restaurant, even his best friend’s wife. Jordan has an incessant need to be admired and adored, and his dreams come true with the appearance of a mysterious purple envelope.

Inside lies various selection criteria, a sexual preferences starter pack if you will. You check off what tickles your fancy down under, and later a hotel key card arrives with a date and time. Wear a blindfold, head on in as assigned, have the time of your life. Leave, and you never see each other again. Obviously, Jordan leaps at the opportunity and enjoys a heated lunch hour full of passion and debauchery.

What transpires next is the continued escalation of an exacerbated ego and manic obsession as Jorden becomes consumed with not only WHO was this mystery woman that just gave him the best sex he’s ever had, but WHOM was behind this entire scenario to begin with? Along the way, we meet other recipients of purple envelopes, and their outcomes run the gamut of possibilities. To say anything further would veer too far down a rabbit hole of spoilers, but there are twists and turns aplenty.

The Beta Test is a complicated beast, and that is its beauty. What you take out of this film will depend on your own personal perspective. Is it a raging satire on excessive Hollywood behavior? Yes. Is it a blistering reckoning for our own social media recklessness? Absolutely. Could it be a nutty erotic thriller sprinkled with laughs headed for a conclusion rife with sadism? Definitely. Much like Hollywood itself, the film is an amalgamation of concepts and ideas, and it just works.

At the head of it is Jim Cummings himself leading the charge. If you are not yet aware of Cummings’ work, get yourself acquainted. Thunder Road and The Wolf of Snow Hollow are two of the finest independent features to arrive in the past few years, and he is an actor who plays to his strengths in both. Like those two films, Cummings tackles the role of a deeply flawed lead, only Jordan is easily the most unlikable of the three. Yet, somehow, Jim Cummings has an indescribably innate ability to connect directly with his audience, while we continuously chastise his every infuriating decision.

There truly is little to like about Jordan, and he IS the movie. He’s a complete dick to his obviously doting fiancée, every conversation centers solely around himself, and he is a complete and utter fake to every single person he interacts with. He’s a resounding fraud. But somehow, miraculously, Jim Cummings finds a way to get me to root for this lunatic. Even as Cummings delivers yet another insanely tragic yet utterly hilarious mental breakdown in an open space – it’s his thing – I still found myself ever-so-minutely empathizing with Jordan. A credit solely placed at the feet of both the writing and Cummings’ nuanced performance.

As far as the production goes, Cummings, PJ McCabe, and company utilize every tool in their arsenal. This is an indie production through-and-through, but you would never know the lack of budget because it plays BIG. An engrossing narrative which plays off our own fears of social media intrusiveness, a taut vibe, tight editing, and a brisk pace combine for one of the most popcorn-worthy movies of the year. Grab a bucket, sit your ass down, and prepare for the rare 2021 film to leave you more paranoid about our data-driven world than you were when you started.

The results are in and The Beta Test confirms it: Jim Cummings is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. Thrice over, he and his team have delivered compelling, thoughtful, and clever films that deserve to be seen on a wider canvas. Let’s roll this Beta into its next production STAT.

The Beta Test is now playing in theaters and on video on demand
Starring Jim Cummings, Virginia Newcomb, PJ McCabe
Screenplay by Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe
Directed by Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe

Follow our further discussion on The Beta Test via this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: