Michael Ward on Friday, May 18

★★★

Amusing and full of mumblecore energy, however not as funny as it thinks it is, Australian micro-budget comedy Hot Mess feels like a movie Amy Schumer would have made before she became a big star.

Sarah Gaul stars as Loz, a woman, down-on-her-luck, unable to get out of her own way, who stumbles upon a single divorcee at a party and begins a new relationship. Along with her friends, who only contribute to her awkward and uncomfortable interactions in life, Loz starts to see things improve for the first-time in a long time, as she begins dating Dave (Marshall Campbell).

Writer/director Lucy Coleman maximizes her pennies here and paces her film well. While never boring, Hot Mess resembles its title, throwing lots of humor at the screen and some of the jokes failing to land. Gaul is a natural in the role and, even if the movie never finds consistency, I could not help but smile and chuckle quite a bit.