“Things are getting BAD again, should I kill myself on Instagram live or TikTok live?” – Maia, I Love L.A. S1E2

I adore Rachel Sennott’s work. Her deadpan humor and delivery is not for everyone. It’s about time her flowers are given. Sennott is a comic and creator I’ve followed from her humble lil beginning to taking over thee masses with I love L.A. .

One of the first memories I have of her content is this L.A girl skit while she was a NYU girlie. Set to “212” by Azealia Banks: “If you don’t have an eating disorder, get one, bitch!”

Two days after the 2020 Covid lockdown started, it was my freshman year of college. I was in L.A. celebrating my 19th birthday with my twin and family. I had just touched down on campus when shit started going haywire. Then kicked out the dorms and back to my teenage bed room. I scrolled away and I remember the names “Emma Seligman” and “Rachel Sennott” floating around film twitter. Sprinkle in Diana Agron too (ahem Quinn Fabray to me). During this period, Shiva Baby (2020) dir. Emma Seligman was released. I desperately scrambled searching for links, leaks, and anything I knew that would get my hands on this. Nothing!!! Fortunately film festivals opted to sell online tickets for movies premiering and I snagged one with only 48 hours to watch, oh I watched. Immediately needing someone to share this with, I recommended it to my sister. I offered my 48 hour time pass to lend to her. I don’t think I ended up sharing it because after my first watch logged, the next day I watched it again. Expired. At the time of being active on this side of twitter, it was beaming with praise. Such a adrenaline ridden movie that we might as well call it horror. What is scarier than being pestered with family you don’t even know like that asking you what your plans are after college as a baby is just bawling in the background. Throw in your ex-girlfriend and sugar daddy you just saw, in the morning, into this jewish funeral setting. Oh and your mother is lying to people about your pursuits out of shame about you. THAT IS HORROR.

Sennott’s acting entranced me. I was #RootingForHerSuccess. Needed to know what other works she was in prior to this and it was none. Shiva baby was her first lead role. Youtube did have her and Ayo Edebiri’s stand up sets from that year. These two were undeniably fucking funny.

After running the Oscars campaign for that movie, her newest project was releasing. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)!!!! Just thinking about the movie right now is making me giggle. Even better for bitches like me, Charli XCX had a play in this movie. She made a single:

BAD BITCHES RISE UP, WISE UP! I always said that not everyone needs to understand Charli at that time since she released Crash (some say it flopped but it went absolute platinum in my earbuds). RIGHTFULLY a Bad Bitch because around that girl was the 3 B’s; Bodies x3, Barbie, and Bottoms.

Sennott’s lines were iconic. Pete Davidson jump scare. Amandla as a messy lesbian. THE GAME. Don’t fall asleep first at this sleep over man. At the scene of the crime — Hi It’s me you’re all in danger — of Shelly recommending a movie that nobody will watch and recite lines until someone else talks about it. Ugh there I go again running da Oscars campaign for this movie .

I was back in my college’s small town and watched this when it released at the downtown theater. I was surrounded by a bunch of high schoolers out on a Friday night. The opening shot is two women getting intimate and everyone was hooting and wooing. Made me so uncomfortable because WLW being sexualized makes me feel icky – but that’s a can of worms I can unleash another day. I tuned out the crowd at that point and was in awe of the songs used while seeing familiar faces. People trashed this movie hard. Me? I obviously enjoyed it so much. It is such a fun movie and the initial crowd when it was rolling out didn’t get that. And that’s OK. The thing about some projects that are targeted for queer crowds is having general audiences not really appreciate it until it drowns then floats back up maybe some months or years later. Do you think these people can appreciate Daddy AF By Slayyyter blasting? Not at the time. It also just happened so that Miss Sennott was the starring role in these kind of movies. She was for thee gays even though she is straight (idk, idc, oops).

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH – Ran the campaign for the movie, flopped. Now I was definitely keeping up with Fatima and Seligman’s work. That is when the trailer for Bottoms (2023) was out. Plastered were hella familiar names once more. I was sooooooooo excited for this because they were saying it’s a lesbian fight club. Ummm what not to love about lesbians and the movie Fight Club. I was sat. It was the summer of 2023 and I was living in my college’s town for 3 years. Traveled from the Central Valley to the Bay area frequently so I knew of events happening. This was the summer I met the person who impacted my life so profoundly. That is a topic very tender to the touch right now – but she is important to note. I knew Bottoms was releasing at the SF Frameline 47 Fest. I was so impulsive that I just bought 2 tickets and asked her to join me as a date. I knew it would be fun and great exposure to introduce her into more spaces of people who were like us, queer. No need to worry about holding hands or stared at. It was fucking Castro in San Fransisco. I know and understand how daunting it can be freshly out and discovering your queer identity. Kinda made her go blind into this but I did watch Bodies x3 with her so she was familiar with Fatima’s game. We struggled to find parking as usual and missed the first minutes of the film. Who cares though because we were there and found our seats to already laughing along with the crowds. The movie ends and claps erupt.

Seligman and Sennott were doing their first Q&A for this movie. I was there for herstory…. like… herstory was being made yall… not to exaggerate………

Here are the haphazard notes I took:

OMG I never realized how bad it was til now

If you can decipher it, amazing! If you can’t, sorryyyyy. The perverts part was Sennott describing PJ. I swear and my review from my letterboxd probs sums up my notes

This movie changed something in my brain brah:

I stand by this. I, for thee third time was campaigning for the mf Oscars press junket for this movie. I talked so much about it and told people to watch it when it releases. Again, when something brings me genuine joy, I’m not stfu. I’ll stfu some day but mmm maybe not this lifetime.

I watched the hell out of this movie. I had a movie pass for Regal since I often took myself out to watch movies. This was my peace. Bringing a whole meal with some sides, a bev-y, and just myself to the theater seats.

Unfort, all great, amazing, sexy, genius things must come to a end I guess or whatever people say.

Watched this movie one last time in theaters and I’m fortunate to say that.

I also watched I Used to Be Funny at the Loz Feliz theater with the same girl and it is a role that we are not used to seeing her in. I went in blind too. It’s not bad just frustrating with the way it is shot, story, and pacing.

With I Love L.A. season 1 ending soon and my following of Sennott’s work, I wrote this to genuinely say I am glad she is getting her recognition. Bottoms being one of the recent forms of media I could think of being monumental for lesbian specific media is what I appreciate a lot. Not creepy or plain out odd on portraying lesbians. With both autuers, I hope it openly paved the path for movies on lesbian specific topics to float on down. I’m eager to run the next campaigns for what is to come out for her work. Also have yet to catch up on the show.

So for now

[over intercom] Could the ugly, untalented gays please report to the principal’s office?

Fa- I mean Rachel Sennott

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