Worlds collide when Youtube stars move to the big screen but why won’t television properly embrace their comedy styling?
Leave the audience wanting more. A sure fire way to have fans coming back season and season again is the cliff hanger. It’s all well and good to give people closure but what professionals really want is long time viewership. Youtube and social media stars uphold this philosophy, sporadically uploading short, usually comedic, videos to give users just enough to have a chuckle but not enough to get sick of said personality. With the increased shift to internet platforms and short content for entertainment it’s no surprise that the film and television industry want to cash in on this epidemic.
The self titled and fan favourite ‘Holy Trinity’ compiled of Youtube sensations Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart are taking on the big screen in their second pursuit of cinematic genius. The trailer for their upcoming feature ‘Dirty 30’ premiered at this year’s VidCon and got an incredibly excited reception. The three women made names for themselves individually, though their collaborations and general shenanigans are equally if not more sought after by their fanbase. Having already taken the Hollywood plunge the trio released their first feature film in 2014 titled ‘Camp Takota’. Their latest film is set for release in September and is accompanying the recently released reboot of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl starring Grace and Hannah as the mains.
The film follows three childhood friends (No prizes for guessing who) who discover themselves in a rut just before the 30th birthday of Kate (Mamrie Hart) and find their way out through a comically large and inappropriate birthday party.
“Small and tasteful is how you describe an Olsen twin, not an awesome B-day blowout bash.”
It seems the ‘grown up party gone wrong’ premise is being fully utilised in recent months following the release of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s ‘Sisters’ and even Seth Rogan and James Franco’s ‘This is the end’. There is nothing quite as inspiring as comedians we admire reminding us there is no age restriction on fun.
The interesting part of these feature releases (apart from the actual hilarity that is these movies) is the ability of these films to work and create revenue while their television counterparts fail. In 2015 Helbig was given a talk show on the E! network. Set to be the new Chelsea Handler the series was the talk about town, a union between the internet and network that before then was unprecedented. Alas the two parted ways after a semi successful first season. The vlog-esque talk show was cancelled after the first season, main stream viewers not yet ready for the “Introvert’s talk show” in which Helbig interviewed Youtubers and celebrities while incorporating social media and fan responses with a game show vibe.
“People can ‘hang in’ with me on a Friday night, I can go online and ask for suggestions – make it feel like everyone is making it together.” – Helbig
It seemed the worlds would never again collide, Helbig returned to the world wide web and ironically Handler too made the move to an online platform.
Youtube personalities are once again being presented the opportunity to produce longer content. ‘Miranda Sings’ star Colleen Ballinger recently wrapped up filming a scripted series about her Youtube character set to debut on Netflix while the online streaming service also green lit an unscripted series about fellow social media star Cameron Dallas. Original content is not a new endeavour for the site however it is interesting that the media conglomerate is embracing their internet counterparts considering their main source of revenue has been mediating television content in a new arena.
Will the familiarity of the internet entice subscribers to make the move from Youtube or is the appeal of said personalities their micro content? It could be that the Grace Helbig Show didn’t hold E! back, rather television itself is becoming less and less appealing to hoards of people and her style of content works better when users have the ability to pick and choose from her catalogue of videos. It’s obvious that people crave more from these Youtube sensations, the popularity of their feature films evident of that.
Dirty 30 will be released in selected theatres (Probably in America) and available digitally mid September.
