I'm not a big fan of the "caught-on-camera" genre. It may be the lingering-like-a-stale-fart influence of "The Blair Witch Project," or more likely the pernicious influence on-going "reality" TV craze, but most of these films, where everything is supposedly being captured on video by characters in the movie, fail miserably, even when the characters are actually INTENDING to document their entire lives on video like the protagonist, "King Kelly", is here. The problem is people don't act the least bit "real" when they know a camera is on them, but often take on the exaggerated persona of a bad actor in very bad and very annoying soap opera. I also think few realize that these "unscripted" or "reality" TV shows are actually filmed with many cameras and heavily edited to capture all of the alleged drama and none of the boring parts. That wouldn't realistically happen with someone spontaneously filming their every moment. Some stuff captured here would end up off camera and there would no doubt be a lot of other boring stuff in between.
On the plus side, I was impressed with lead actress Louisa Krause who creates perhaps the sexiest AND most annoyingly stupid young female character I've seen in recent memory. "Kelly" is a budding internet porn star trying to create her own "King Kelly" website. She goes around crapping all over her family and friends and generally acting like spoiled, overly obnoxious middle-class princess well on her way into the world of prostitution. The main "drama" here involves her ex-boyfriend stealing her car, which happens to have $20,000 of heroin in the trunk that she didn't know about. (What idiot drug dealer would entrust a shipment to a total moron like this?). That part reminded of an interview I once saw with "celebrity" porn star Katie Morgan where she claimed she got into porn to hide out from her associates after a drug smuggling arrest (I'm sure they'll never figure out she's a porn star now). I suspect Morgan is putting on an act because no one is that stupid in real life, but "Kelly" in this movie manages to be even more stupid and obnoxious than any real-life porn or "reality" (or "reality" porn) star could ever be.
She is also sexier than any real porn star (none of whom have Krause's degree of acting talent). She starts out the movie doing her solo act on-line (although since this is NOT a porn movie, the director chooses to pan over to the lewd comments of the guys watching her when the action heats up). She then has her friend film a memorable wet t-shirt scene. The most amazing scene though (for several reasons) might be where she films herself rubbing her American-flag-panty-clad ass all over her father's birthday cake! (I think the American flag panties and the fact the whole film takes place on the Fourth of July might be some kind of statement on America, but I'm not sure). Interestingly, Krause's most notable previous role was playing an underage amateur prostitute in the satirical black comedy "The Babysitters". Here she has moved to playing a "barely legal" amateur prostitute in another satirical black comedy. She has an undeniable talent, but I think she may be getting a little bit typecast. . .
