Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”  It seems that time of ubiquitous celebrity has arrived. In the comedy “Hits,” David Cross’ directorial debut, fame is hyper-accessible. Anyone can be famous — well, anyone except for Katelyn Stubin of Liberty, New York.

This offbeat comedy tries its best to portray the inherent dark side of fame, creating neurotic characters to small town regulars. Set in upstate New York, “Hits” follows the lives of fame-craving Katelyn, wannabe rapper Cory, eccentric father Dave and hipster activist Donovan. These characters try to get the attention they think they deserve from their respective peers and outlets.

Talentless Katelyn dedicates her time to giving faux “Ellen Show” interviews in the confines of her car. Meanwhile, her father Dave seems threatening at community council meetings with his overbearing requests for change, which eventually provide him with all of the attention in the world. News reporters and activists flock to Liberty to support Dave’s causes. Donovan and his gang of Brooklynite friends are the first to take interest in Dave’s concerns. Shouting names like “HuffPo,” “Reddit,” and “Tumblr,” Donovan is clearly the satirized epitome of the average millennial. Meanwhile, Cory strives to obtain Katelyn’s naive attention at any opportunity presented to him. On a much lower scale, all of these characters want to be noticed.

As angst-inducing music pulses throughout most of the film, it is clear that something ominous is bubbling under the surface of these lighthearted interactions. Cross’s satirical commentary is witty and comical to a degree, but lacks the compelling quality of most successful comedies. The tone is very scattered — as there are sporadic instances of humor — but never fully delivers hearty laughs. The bare-minimum plot is punctuated with dry one-liners delivered by underdeveloped characters, making “Hits” more of a star-studded messy ensemble rather than a coherent narrative.

The desire for fame
eventually ruins the small town of Liberty. Each of these characters, in their desire for attention, ends up embarrassing themselves.

In “Hits,” everyone seeks attention, and this eventually leads to a convoluted and chaotic mess. Toward the end of the film, Katelyn shouts “This is insanity” to a room of news reporters, ironically expressing the nature of the comedy. “Hits” eventually goes off the rails, but if any lesson is to be taken away from this idiosyncratic satire, it is that eventually everyone gets their 15 minutes.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Feb. 12 print edition. Email Sidney Butler at [email protected].