“It’s all cringe”, pop superstar Charli XCX and her entourage agree about the continued phenomenon of Brat Summer in the mockumentary, The Moment. The Aidan Zamiri-helmed feature debuted last night at Sundance to a roaring crowd of her fans, but I’d be lying if I said I expected much from the film. Filled with worries about another Hurry Up Tomorrow-esque debacle in which a music star does little but stroke their own ego, I was pleasantly surprised at Charli XCS’s willingness to poke fun at her own phenomenal success, her worries, and creative foibles. No, this movie is pretty far from cringe.
Produced, naturally, by those hipsters over at A24, The Moment stars Charli XCX as a heightened version of herself. The whole Brat Summer thing has blown up to the point that it’s far out of her control, particularly the ridiculous amount of collaborative product place (the Brat credit card aimed at the LGBTQ community for instance), and now she just wants it to end. This flies in the face of what the record execs and others want, of course, who envision Brat Summer in perpetuity.
So the central question is whether Charli XCX gives up her integrity and lets the corprate suits milk this juggernaut for all its worth, or assert control and kill it the way she wants to. She has an assortment of hanger-ons who accompany her to parties, draining every ounce of her celebrity for themselves and enabling some of her worse instincts. On her side, though, is her longtime friend and creative director, Collette (Hailey Gates), but even their closeness gets caught in the shrapnel of this war for artistic freedom.
Naturally, there are loads of cool cameos, including Rachel Sennott, Kylie Jenner, Julia Fox, and Rosanna Arquette. But the best by far is Alexander Skarsgard as a douchebag movie director tasked with shooting a concert film about Brat Summer, a project that is guaranteed smash success but that Charli doesn’t want. The role is perfect for the towering Swedish actor, who plays passive aggressive toxic masculinity with the best of them.
Although it’s billed as a mockumentary, The Moment isn’t chock full of laughs. Charlie XCX has a cheeky side to her, though, and is surprisingly good at playing this version of herself who is in the grip of a ridiculous amount of fame, more than almost any person could handle. While pace can’t always keep up with the schizo editing and pulsing soundtrack of her discography, The Moment is a funny and perceptive peek at the roller coaster that is Charli XCX’s life, and her fans are going to love it. It might even create some new ones.
The Moment hits theaters on February 6th.
*NOTE: This review was part of our Sundance 2026 coverage.*
