All About Nina (2018)

Indie dramedy All About Nina is not just about stand-up comics and their struggle – there’s a lot of emotional, real-life stuff going on here.

The cast is pretty sweet for an indie – big-screen actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, musician-actor Common, Chace Crawford, Jay Mohr, Camryn Manheim and Beau Bridges are just some of the stars you’ll know from somewhere.

Now down to the fun: Nina (Mary Elizabeth) moves to NYC and sees her career and life turned on their head. First, she’s got to make it in the notoriously difficult New York comedy scene and that’s nigh impossible on a good day. Then she meets divorcee Rafe (Common) and he really is a great guy, giving her the space and time she needs – and he’s not going anywhere, giving her a great foundation to work on her comedy without worrying about her home life, which has always been an emotional rollercoaster for Nina.

You may not be a comic, but you’ll recognise your own issues watching it, writes variety.com’s Peter Debruge: “A striking and at times uncomfortably personal feature debut from writer-director Eva Vives that makes good on its title by not shying away from the emotional damage that makes its protagonist so compelling.”