"AS OF YET" // TRIBECA 2021
Life became very challenging for all of us over the past year and it seemed like everything reverted to Zoom. Zoom meetings. Zoom hangouts and happy hours. Zoom rehearsals and performances. So much that there is definitely a Zoom fatigue currently happening. In Taylor Garron and Chanel James' new pandemic comedy as of yet, Garron herself stars as Naomi, a young black woman who's living by herself during the pandemic. She, like so many others, tries to keep herself occupied by dancing around by herself, dressing up just because and also keeps a video diary of her days for herself to look back on (and to help keep herself sane). The film starts on day 83 and we see her life almost entirely through video calls. We see her daily video diary, she talks to her white roommate Sara (Eva Victor) who fled the city to be with her family in Florida. She also chats with her loving parents, two close friends an a man named Reed (Amir Khan), someone she's been flirting with online but has yet to meet (as they've virtually met during the pandemic).
Sara has been Naomi's best friend for years, much to the chagrin of her Mother and all her friends. No one loves Sara like Naomi does and when we first meet her, we see why. She tells Naomi how open things are in Florida and almost no one wears a mask. Naomi has concerns after seeing Sara's Instagram feed, which is full of her roommate/best friend out with others at bars, mask-less, during the heart of the pandemic. Sara's response is that she's known those friends forever, so it's fine. However, Sara gives Naomi a hard time when she suggests a in-person socially distanced date with Reed, saying that it's irresponsible. She also tells Naomi that protests are great, but they should be more peaceful and that's how MLK did it. She's, in a word, problematic. Many of the conversations Naomi has throughout the film, whether to her parents, to her friends or to Reed center on her friendship with Sara, and how messed up it actually is. The question that remains is, "Does friendship need to continue in the present if it's no longer a healthy relationship, just because it's been important in the past?"
What works best about as of yet is the messiness of it all. No one is presented as perfect, instead they're shown as being very human - filled with good and bad choices. Even the main character of Naomi makes both good and bad choices, and it's refreshing to see characters written as that. The film also raises important topics like casual racism and how even the closest of friends can unknowingly make everything about them. This all sounds like somewhat "heavy" material, but writer/director Taylor Garron has crafted a truly funny film with the weight of serious issues. The dialogue zings exactly when it needs to and even though we are watching essentially a lot of back to back zoom calls, you never feel a fatigue. It's a refreshing and very smart film, one that is as relatable as it is hilarious.
GRADE: B+
WRITTEN BY Taylor Garron DIRECTED BY Chanel James, Taylor Garron STARRING Taylor Garron, Eva Victor, Amir Khan, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: AS OF YET