This movie’s buzzy origin story is the least interesting thing about Zola, and it’s still pretty interesting. In 2015, Aziah “Zola” King unleashed 148 tweets about a lost weekend that went viral, resulting in an unheard-of Hollywood deal.
Director Janicza Bravo’s hilarious adaptation of Zola’s Twitter thread is a grimy fairy tale about a waitress sweet-talked into heading to Florida to strip for easy money but her journey almost immediately turns dark, betrayed by a new friend, her doofus boyfriend, and a terrifying pimp.
The movie is clever, gritty, and surprisingly compassionate. There is nudity and it is… human.
As the title character Taylor Paige rules, a woman who is fierce and forgiving. The moment she realizes the fun road trip is actually a trap is chilling. Her shady pal, Riley Keough’s Stefani, is a vulnerable dingbat, and Colman Domingo, juggling moods and accents, is a fantastic screen villain. Heart.