The Misogynists might be the first (but probably not the last) movie on Donald Trump’s presidential election upset. The film is being unveiled in time for the festivals and the anniversary of that historic night last November. Onur Tukel, who is coming off the Sandra Oh-Anne Heche comedy Catfight, quietly shot the film this summer with Dylan Baker starring in a satirical dark comedy about two Trump supporters celebrating in a hotel room on election night. The film is produced by Gigi Graff and also stars Ivana Milicevic, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Jamie Block and Nana Mensah. The filmmakers are eyeing a berth in a fall film festival they wouldn’t name.
Baker plays Cameron, an angry, lonely businessman who recently separated from his wife after 35 years of marriage. Now living in a hotel room, he celebrates Trump’s victory with his protege Baxter (Block), who’s having marital woes of his own. As the night progresses, an ensemble of characters ventures in and out of the room, challenging each others’ beliefs, questioning what it means to be an American. Some are terrified at the prospect of Trump, some are thrilled, some could care less. Just when there can’t be any more testosterone in the room, enter a duo of plucky prostitutes (played by Milicevic and Dunn), having an existential crisis of their own. Baker starred in Catfight, released by MPI and streaming on Netflix. He has done such provocative pics as Happiness, and completed a compelling stint in FX’s The Americans.
If the depiction of the main Trump supporters has you wondering whether the embattled president is going to shine, a statement by the director indicates that is unlikely. “Needless to say, after Trump got elected, something inside of me was compelled to write this,” Tukel said. “I’m fascinated by hypocrisy and the contradictions of living in a free society. Plus, I’ve always been drawn to misanthropic sociopaths.”
Said Graff: “At first I was nervous about tackling the subject matter, it’s uncomfortable and controversial, but it’s also really funny and Dylan Baker’s performance is brilliant. It’s going to push people’s buttons, love it or hate it, and like Trump, it cannot be ignored, unless, of course, it is.”
Source: Deadline