'I'm a Stranger Here Myself'
One day in L.A., unreasonably boring.
Dear Moviegoers,
And Martin Scorsese says that Marvel movies aren't cinema...
No, I'm not calling out the independent flick I'm a Stranger Here Myself as beneath or poorer than big blockbuster slop counterparts, but there is some shaming in my words. You see, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, THINGS HAPPEN. There's conflict, there's action, there's resolution, and a whole universe to breathe in. Say what you will about quality, at least superhero films understand that maintaining attention and having a purpose is important.
Movies on smaller budgets have an uphill battle to fight against the behemoths of the industry, but they'll never break even or win, even a little, without having things occur on the big screen. I'm a Stranger Here Myself takes the cake as a frontrunner for the worst film of 2026 (I have yet to watch Melania). At what point does a critic stop trying to pull out their hair and actually go bald? I didn't hit that mark, but I certainly aged many years over the course of this anti-story.
Set on a single day in Los Angeles, a couple of unrelated things are followed, from lovers talking about who made a pot of coffee to two bystanders bickering about assisting an old man, to a woman who sells products she steals from porches. As in real life, some days don't have arcs, some days don't have lessons to be learned, and some days just struggle to move beyond meandering. Things can be boring, repetitive, and lackluster, happening over and over again. This is a movie about that.
And what a bad choice for a "plot."
Do things happen in between the non-things not happening? A moment when an elderly gentleman collapses from a panic attack, only to awaken with little to no bearings, comes near being something between somethings. Unfortunately, it doesn't count, neither in the grand scheme of the overall bore, nor contained to its own scene. The same with a man & woman chatting about dreams and pregnancies, where nothing moves forward. Words are said, the same ones, over and over, without ever reaching the next part of a conversation. I'm a Stranger Here Myself knows not what it does, but that doesn't mean it deserves any kind of grace.
Did the public school system fail a whole generation?
I feel like a stranger, but I'm all alone. 1/5 (by virtue of not being Human Centipede 3)
I'm a Stranger Here Myself will screen and stream (in-person and online) as part of the 2026 SF IndieFest, from 2/5 to 2/15.