Cora Bora

The humor of its first half feels forced and muddled, only for the film to settle into itself, embracing drama and, with that embrace, earning even more laughs.

“Cora Bora” plays like a funny, fleshed-out character portrait of a flailing young woman trying to understand why her equally abrasive and aloof demeanor are doing her no favors.

Cora never becomes more than a sketch of a person. Another character that might have worked in a short video aimed to be consumed on social media but remains largely one-note when stretched out for the length of a feature film.

The moments in which Cora’s self-assured facade slips bring richness and depth to the film; Stalter seamlessly weaves humor and sincerity, never softening her distinct comedic voice but grounding the character in reality...

On its own, Cora Bora doesn’t offer anything new. But as an audition tape for Stalter’s future, it’s one of the more exciting things to come out of the comedy world this year.

Stalter delivers in a warm, if slightly flimsy, indie.

A hilarious movie that will hopefully propel Megan Stalter to the stardom she deserves.

Although the eventual reveal of past traumas is certainly sad and relatable, it’s not enough to make up for the lack of narrative ingenuity throughout Cora Bora or to redeem the character in any way.

If you know Stalter from HBO's Hacks, you know the general territory of this indie comedy about a hopeless musician trying to somehow pull her life together. But while her bizarre charm is formidable, it’s not quite enough here to carry everything.

Statler, in a turn that lends a darker... is at once monstrous and endearing, a ridiculously broad yet shrewdly drawn caricature of modern bourgeois boorishness that serves as a fragile cover for something deeper and profoundly traumatic.