14/11/2023 - Greek director Vasilis Christofilakis portrays in a humorous manner an insecure man living in the shadow of his popular parents – famous actors from the recent past

In his first feature, the catchily titled dark comedy Too Much Info Clouding Over My Head [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Vasilis Christofilakis focused on the hesitations and anxieties of a novice filmmaker — which he played himself — looking for success in the film industry. In Guest Star, screening in the Meet the Neighbours Competition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, he places the protagonist in the toxic environment of a TV show where, as one of the bosses says, stars are products and the truth is always the opposite of what it’s said to be. However, this otherwise relevant attempt to analyse the “dream factory” remains rather superficial, while the primary focus is on the struggle of a “nepo baby” to finally find a place in the world and eventually overcome his social awkwardness.

In the opening scene, the chubby Loukianos emerges from a bathtub as Venus emerges from the seashell, ready to face the day with a sad face against a backdrop of divine music. Such an ironic start promises the development of a hilarious plot about a sensitive man against a brutal world, and this hope is fulfilled, at least through the first third of the film. Desperate to earn a living, because he has never dedicated himself to anything in his life other than being a celebrities’ kid, Loukianos accepts a deal with the Devil: to be trained as a TV host for a late-night talk show while leaning on the fame of his odious parents. Meanwhile, he’s also supposed to fake a relationship with another fallen star, the completely forgotten Eurovision Junior ’99 participant Jenna (Elli Tringou), for the sake of creating some media fuss. Already traumatised by being the good-for-nothing son of two of Greece’s beloved actors who never listened to him and were rarely at home, poor Loukianos feels and behaves like a fish out of water in this starry world, despite the fact that he grew up in it. All of this is supposed to be funny, but following the protagonist’s predictable reversals of fortune and episodes of self-pity is rather tedious. Moreover, it is disappointing that rather than join forces with his loser-mate Jenna in an attempt to screw up the system, he makes an inhuman effort to adapt; when the system ultimately and expectedly expels them, this is perceived as another failure. 

Why cinema should embrace another indecisive and emotionally unavailable male character full of complexes who needs constant pampering from a beautiful woman, is another question that this film does not answer, of course. Jenna’s stubborn interest in Loukianos would have been justified if he had at least some deep inner world to be discovered or perhaps if he demonstrated an ironic approach to life, but neither the dialogue nor the overall lack of character development suggests that. The protagonist ends up almost as cowardly as when the story started, which could hardly be attractive to his object of desire or to the viewers of this film.

Guest Star was produced by Greece’s Atmosphere People in co-production with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation – ERT and the Greek Film Center.