SXSW '25: Idiotka

If 2025 is any indicator, comedies are coming back in a big way. Writer-director Nastasya Popov’s Idiotka, which debuted at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, is one of the funniest movies in years and still finds a way to balance its heart among the jokes. I had no idea what to expect going into Idiotka, but I was pleasantly surprised to get a comedy about familial drama and the struggle to make it in the fashion industry.

Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) is a fashion designer in West Hollywood who gets an opportunity to participate in a fashion reality show that could finally make her dreams of hitting the big time come true. But that dream might come at the cost of her home life, as she realizes she can mine her drama to give show producer Nicol Garcia (Camila Mendes) exactly what she wants. Her father is an ex-convict for medical malpractice; her brother is trying to figure out what his life looks like as a musician; her grandmother has fallen ill and is trying her best to keep everyone together. The film does a fantastic job blending Margarita’s life at home and showcasing the struggles of an immigrant family with some truly laugh-out-loud moments primarily taking place during the film’s reality show sequences. Part Drag Race, part Project Runway, the film takes these popular shows and flips them on their head to lampoon the fashion industry and some of the more ridiculous things that get labeled as “high fashion.”

Credit: Kristen Correll.

Anna Baryshnikov gives some real depth to Margarita and her struggle to make her family proud while also trying to make ends meet. When she realizes she can capitalize on her family’s struggle to make it further ahead in the competition, she quickly uses that to her advantage. The reality show is predatory, mining the trauma of its contestants to make the viewers and host feel better about themselves. None of the outfits can just shine on their own. They all have to come with some sort of statement or story to them. The designs aren't the thing that matters: the fake pain put into the stitches is. Through each of the challenges, the judges criticize the contestants for now having enough of “their story” in their pieces, but the reality is that they just aren’t exploiting themselves to the extent that the producers would like. They go on not-so-innocent home tours to try to really get a feel of how messed up the contestants’ lives are, and make them give the producers tax documents to prove that they’re actually poor to participate. 

Baryshnikov isn’t the only one bringing her character to life. Her grandmother, Gita (Galina Jovovich), is a big personality trying her best to be supportive and keep her family together. Jovovich shines on screen and embodies this character up until the very last scene. She plays up the physical comedy and leans into the loud bombastic humor in a way that only a real professional can, bobbing in and out of the emotional beats and even finding her way onto the set of the show, where she allows herself to play alongside its over-the-top world. 

The rest of the cast is absolutely stacked—to the point where every time a new cameo popped onscreen or a new character got introduced, it was even more bewildering that this movie flew so far under the radar at the festival. Julia Fox is just one of the many standouts, playing one of the three judges of the reality show. Just as funny as she is beautiful, she blends her real-life experiences with the fashion industry into the satire of the film.

Iditoka is a true labor of love. The cast seem to be having a great time on screen and it’s clear the director had a great time leading the charge, with the sense that everyone in the film knew they had one shot to make a strong comedy in a genre that unfortunately seems to be dying. Instead of making the easy jokes and taking shortcuts, the film leans into what it means to be a child of immigrants and wanting to achieve success in a world that’s actively working against your history and heritage. It finds ways to effortlessly get its point across while still remaining true to itself. 

Clocking in at 82 minutes, Idiotka never overstays its welcome. It’s balanced, well-adjusted and bold in its delivery—and in her feature debut as a director, Popov delivers one hell of a calling card. Idiotka proves that you don’t need massive names to make things funny, and you don’t need massive dollars to make things feel genuine. Comedies with a real story and message still exist, and they’re doing it far better than their fast-fashion, straight-to-streaming equivalents. 

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