Best known for her work on the Daily Show as a regular correspondent, Jessica Williams somehow came to symbolise all that is great about her generation’s worldview and aspirations. She’s smart, funny, politically engaged and above all, oozes effortless cool and raw talent. So it was no surprised to find out that writer/director Jim Strouse was so taken by her energy, that he decided to base a whole movie on a version of the actress herself. Playing as part of Sundance London, The Incredible Jessica James is a curious little movie which is not only charming and laugh-out-loud funny, but it also tells a deeply touching story about relationship break-ups and how to get over them.
Playwright Jessica (Williams) lives in Bushwick, New York, one of those rundown, yet trendy neighbourhoods where everyone is either an aspiring artist, a hipster or both. Having been left heart-broken by a recent break up, Jessica choses to deal with it the best way she can. First, by pining for her ex boyfriend (Lakeith Stanfield), and then by going on a string of dates with men who have no idea how to handle her honesty and forward approach to dating. With a gloriously funny and knowing dialogue, which is peppered with references to gender politics and feminist theory, Strouse hits the right note by cleverly avoiding the usual “woke millennial” bashing jokes. Not only that, but he also manages to make some of his heroine’s most hilariously PC musings seems like something you would rather hop on board with, than make fun of.
Williams not only delivers the goods on the acting stakes, but also manages to be likeable, relatable and above all simply awe-inspiring. Chris O’Dowd as hapless newly divorced Boon puts in a performance that is not too dissimilar to his usual Irish Guy in New York shtick, but that is not to say that he isn’t effortlessly funny and charming at the same time. As Boon, who is still in love with his ex wife, is instantly taken by Jessica’s honesty and outlook on life, their casual dating soon culminate into a passionate yet messy courtship.
Strouse offers a fairly conventional narrative arc, but he also manages to bring something new to the proceedings by adding some really interesting touches of magic realism, especially during the episodic dream sequences. The film is by no means a perfect one, as it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a rom-com or a female empowerment movie, but the director does ultimately manage to strike the right balance between the two.
The Incredible Jessica James is wonderfully complex and lighthearted at the same time. Williams and Strouse appear to play off each other’s talent by managing to offer something truly new and wonderful to audiences who will surely will lap-up every last drop of this truly charming tale.
