The first thing you need to know about Carter (Nick Darnell) is that he has the anxiety, to the point that he has a fanny pack worn across his chest, full of cotton candy bubble gum, which he chews when he feels a panic attack coming on.
The second thing you need to know about Carter is that he lives with his beloved mom, a seemingly cushy arrangement until a new potential stepdad (Rodney J. Hobbs) says he has to move out. Carter has an internship with an obnoxious photographer named Jason (Ben Scattone) that Carter needs to convert to paying work. Jason gives him a laundry list of tasks, including babysitting his Jeep and his son and planning his birthday party. When Carter’s extremely chaotic drug dealer pal Angel (Morgan Jay) shows up, things go off the rails quickly and Carter and his pals tear around L.A.
J Pinder – a Los Angeles writer, director, and editor originally from Philadelphia – put this (sometimes too) frenetic comedy together on credit cards and a prayer, only to lose his DP a few days before a 12-day(!!) shoot, so he also lensed the thing. And there is a lot here, from a hyper, joke-dense script to a lot of stuffed animals to a sex tape subplot involving an aging rapper named Capital Gainz (R. Marcus Taylor).
As Carter, Darnell is a very energetic presence, channeling a Chris Tucker-like, go-for-broke vibe in a movie that cannot quite decide if it is an absurd comedy in the Anchorman/Pootie Tang vein or something deeper or somehow both. And Morgan Jay is a welcome foil.
Cotton Candy Bubble Gum is a messy, enjoyable ride (with a thoughtful center) but one longs to see what Pinder can do with a longer shoot and a bigger team of collaborators.
Screens again Friday, March 14.
Cotton Candy Bubble Gum
Narrative Spotlight, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 7 • 2025.