TRIPPED UP

(director: Shruti Ganguly; screenwriters: Cristina Catanzaro, Carrie Shaw; cinematographer: Matthew Mendelson; editor: Hugh Chaloner; music: Tami Ari, Jonathan Benedict; cast: Leah Lewis (Lizzy), Ariel Winter (Kai), Sasha Fox (Taylor), Ashley Moore (Mary), Justin Guarini (Lotus), Danny Cornfeld (Tom), Judy Gold (Chef Missy), Gil Perez Abraham (Jose), Jo Ellen Pellman (Ashley), Vanessa Williams (Patricia Chamberlain); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Linda Evans, Nina Warren, Shruti Ganguly, Cristina Catanzaro, Carrie Shaw; Decal; 2023)

“Its happy ending left me happy.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

First time feature film director Shruti Ganguly is based in NYC and Oslo. Her Gen Z comedy about a wannabe chef in a bit of a stew is tasty fare. It marinates well as co-written by Cristina Catanzaro and Carrie Shaw. The indie road-trip foodie comedy was made on a low budget.

Lizzy (Leah Lewis) is an aspiring chef. While a contestant on a cooking TV show, she is humiliated as a loser when another contestant undermines her meal preparation.

Years later she has a bad kitchen job at a restaurant with a despotic boss who hates her. Lizzy one day talks three of her stoner girlfriends (Ariel Winter, Sasha Fox & Ashley Moore) to leave their jobs without telling anyone and drive with her to the prestigious outdoor Saucy Food Festival. Intending to be a competitor at the event is problematic since she never notified the festival reps she wanted to be a participant.

On the road trip we get introduced to the ditzy girls, and they impress us as they bond, talk candidly about their love lives and in telling vulgar jokes.

It’s a breezy flick that might be slight and predictable but is easy to take since the vulnerable girls are likeable, the directing is solid, and its happy ending left me happy.





REVIEWED ON 1/5/2024  GRADE: B-