The discourse around the power dynamics between a fan and a celebrity has been going on ever since books, art, sports, or any profession that has the capability to amass a following has existed. Some people say that fans can make or break the career of a star, especially with the ever-increasing influence of social media on real life. People have become so reactionary that they easily rush to “cancel” anyone and everyone without checking the veracity of the claims being made against them. And it works the other way around as well, where people gobble up any well-thought-out PR campaign and turn nobodies into overnight stars. But what’s the relevance of these fandoms if celebrities reject them or hone their skills to such a level that they don’t have to depend on the “support” of their followers to have a career? What if they go back to the “old ways,” just focus on their work, and forget about everything else? There are no right answers to these questions, and that’s why it’s great to think about it. Does The Biggest Fan have anything interesting to add to this discourse? Nope.
Maria Torres’ The Biggest Fan, which she has co-written with Enrique Vazquez, tells the story of TV star Lana Cruz, whose show Special Crimes has been running successfully for seven seasons. But, after a particularly difficult day of shooting, when she goes out amongst her fans, Lana ends up hitting one of them. She profusely apologizes to the fan and tries to explain that the woman startled her and she instinctively swung her hand in a way that it struck her even though she had no intention of hurting her. However, the damage has been done as the video of Lana slapping a fan has spread all across social media and news channels like wildfire. Special Crimes gets canceled, and Lana becomes unemployed. Almost a year later, Lana’s agent, Carmen, comes to her with a script for a film by famed director Aristoteles, a period spy drama that will be shot in a small village in Mexico for 40 days. Left with no real option, Lana signs on the dotted line and flies off to save her career. There she encounters a superfan, Polly, who seems to be dedicated to supporting Lana even when the whole world is against her. That said, as Polly sees what Lana is truly like when the cameras are off, she begins to question her love for her favorite star.
Torres and Vazquez’s screenplay of The Biggest Fan is full of… stuff. For starters, there’s the importance that the entertainment industry gives to social media. Lana has mommy issues since she had put the girl “in the biz” at a very young age. Lana and Greta have an estranged relationship due to the former’s professional and personal issues. Lana finds herself while making this low-budget film, because stardom sometimes makes you forget if you are being true to yourself or playing into the image that the fans have in their heads. And then there’s the titular character, Polly, who ironically both makes and breaks the movie. While her love for Lana is genuine, she knows that she is taking advantage of an actor who can’t really say “no” to what a fan is asking of her, because she wants to earn back the goodwill she has lost. After Polly sees how Lana works, she thinks she can replace Lana easily because acting is not all that difficult. And, truth be told, these are pretty heady topics that could’ve been explored in a nuanced fashion. However, for some reason, the writers discard all that in an attempt to make a general statement about how it’s the duty of a fan to unequivocally defend their star, and a star’s duty is to unquestioningly accept that adoration, because that’ll solve every issue in the world (even mommy issues).
In addition to the aforementioned blunder, The Biggest Fan is guilty of being a bad movie about making movies. Yes, we love to watch movies about filmmaking. Honorary organizations like the AMPAS or the BAFTAs love to award movies about filmmaking. But if you really think about it, there are way more bad movies about filmmaking than good ones. And this phenomenon has always perplexed me. Because why is a director who is directing a movie struggling to showcase why it’s a struggle to direct a movie? Well, Maria Torres has sort of answered that question: most of the directors who are making movies about the art of making movies are bad at making movies. You’ll always see them show the principal photography in this very vague and chaotic manner and then cut straight to the premiere because, in my opinion, people like Torres probably don’t know what happens after shooting is over. Also, why should they? In the age of online releases, it’s not like they have to listen to the boos and jeers of the viewers for basically assembling a series of skits that have been strung together without any semblance of narrative flow or visual storytelling. All they need to care about is getting a certain number of views, and off they go to the next project. It’s quite ironic that the in-movie director keeps fretting about the filming process ending with some kind of tragedy while the actual director is okay making a mess out of this intriguing premise.
Coming to the cast of The Biggest Fan, Diana Bovio is the one who keeps the film from being a total tragedy. She is delivering a performance that this movie clearly doesn’t deserve, but needs in order to be even slightly watchable. The way Bovio has disappeared into this role is fantastic. In the hands of a better director and writers, Polly would’ve been a great reflection of the type of fans that have hijacked or are trying to hijack discourse around pop culture all the time. Unfortunately, after building the foundations of Polly, Bovio is restricted to doing silly hijinks, which prevents the character from being truly memorable. Kate del Castillo is just fine. She doesn’t get to destroy or rebuild the character of Lana. She stays stagnant as things just happen around her. Gabriel Nuncio is funny, but his whole gimmick of being a “sensitive” director gets stale very quickly. Hugo Catalan is pretty good. Ana Gonzalez Bello manages to be impactful despite her limited screen time. Emma Ramos is decent. Dariana Delbouis is alright. Ricardo Esquerra is quietly hilarious. Amaranta Ruiz is so brilliant that it made me want to watch a movie about a costume designer who has all the gossip on the set. The rest of the supporting cast and the stunt team are competent; their talent deserved a better platform than this.
The Biggest Fan is here to add to Netflix’s ever-growing roster of films and TV shows that can be played in the background while you do your chores. After watching it, you can claim that you have watched a movie about the complex relationship between fans and celebrities. But don’t try to think about how the film has enriched your opinions about said complex relationship because you’ll end up drawing a blank; that’s how meaningless and pointless this movie is. Now, if you want to watch a movie on this very topic that has substance and style, here are some recommendations: Rob Reiner’s Misery is a classic. It has great performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, a bone-chilling setting, and some solid criticism of fans who think they should dictate an artist’s creative choices. Shah Rukh Khan playing both the crazy fan and the megalomaniacal star in Fan is undoubtedly jaw-dropping. Lal Jr.’s Driving License shows what can happen if a star’s biggest fan turns out to be a representative of the law. Although Ingrid Goes West is about social media influencers, it is scarily relevant. AK vs AK and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent are also some top-tier choices. So, yeah, go ahead and give these a try, or make the most of your Netflix subscription by wasting your time on The Biggest Fan.
