@Zola (Janicza Bravo, 2020)

This winning and irrepressibly inventive film is based on David Kushner's Rolling Stone article "Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted," itself based on a viral Tweetstorm from Aziah "Zola" King. A straightforward account of King's tale, about two strippers taking a gig in Florida with equal parts comedic and nightmarish consequences, would have been wild and unpredictable enough. But Bravo has embellished the story with all sorts of trills that lend the film a lived-in texture: a boy rhythmically bouncing a basketball as musical counterpoint to one transitional shot; the creepy hum of florescent lights in a liquor store; Tweet notification sounds firing off at various points in the film; and a score of memorable cameos including the always welcome Ts Madison. Taylour Paige plays Zola with an eye on revealing the thin line between toughness and vulnerability. But Riley Keough (Elvis Presley's granddaughter and thank gawd, the King is not around to see this) walks off with the film in her slangy drawl and Nomi-Malone-in-Goddess hair and makeup. With dozens of lines ripe for endless quoting, @Zola awaits your obsession.

Grade: A