Review by C.J. Bunce
We sang the praises of Jim Cummings previously here at borg in our review of the atmospheric Orion Classics release The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Cummings is an indie movie triple threat, a writer, director, and actor who has been making his mark in all three roles (oddly enough he isn’t listed for his acting credits on IMDb). You may recognize Cummings as the brave Deputy Pete McCabe, who pursued Michael Myers in Halloween Kills, but he’s also a jack of all trades, making movies from the ground up as cinematographer and editor and even working on visual effects. Next month Cummings serves as executive producer and star of The Last Stop in Yuma County, a modern crime-thriller based in a desert town in the West. It’s streaming soon and we previewed it here. While you’re waiting for that to stream, you may want to check out another recent Cummings trifecta: The Beta Test.
Is it a dark comedy? Is it a strange romance? Is it a crime thriller?
The answer is yes. It’s also a murder mystery about a man trying to find himself in the modern world.
In the world of cyber crimes, The Beta Test delivers one absurdly believable yet possible scenario, and a reflection of society where hackers continue to scam people out of their life savings via unusual tactics. Here, the plot is hidden until the end. Who is behind the strange purple letter soliciting a man for a one-night stand? Cummings plays Jordan Hines, a talent agent, but he’s really every sales guy you ever met, full of dialogue stuffed with meaningless words and catch phrases but actually devoid of any substance or anything truly real. He’s done the drone-speak for so long he no longer has any personality outside of the superficial self he has created. His fiancé Caroline Gaines, played by Virginia Newcomb, is the only one who understands him (outside a life-long best buddy), and she’s marrying him despite his well-known flaws. But she’s almost fed up with his distraction and obsessions.
Cummings is the master at playing protagonists who are a mess, and a mess in a very real, very human way. Sometimes he knows enough to go to his pal PJ Pruitt, played by film co-writer and co-director PJ McCabe. PJ is that rare best friend in a movie about relationships, weddings, and sex, who gives Jordan good advice along the way. Why did Jordan accept and follow-up on the purple letter? That’s part of the mystery of the movie. Who he met with in a dark hotel room is also part of the mystery, which may or may not be part of who was behind the letter in the first place.
How many idiots like Jordan Hines have we all had to put up with in business and the neighborhood? Are they broken? Are they irredeemible? If you ever get defrauded or duped, how far are you willing to go to get your revenge? The send-up of Hollywood is really a reflection of all the bad that businesses do to their employees over time.
If you like character studies and aren’t a fan of typical rom-coms, Cummings’ performance of his craft is a thing to behold, and a fun way to spend ninety minutes if you’re tired of the same old thing. The Beta Test isn’t perfect–at times you might think the next scene is going to go into Total Recall territory with some kind of horror plot, science fiction plot, or who knows what else. It’s good enough that if it had been more of a genre film, it would have been equally good or better. Maybe Cummings needs to try venturing into new genres?
The Beta Test is an award-winning independent film from 2021. While you’re waiting for The Last Stop in Yuma County on a free streaming service, give it a try. The Beta Test is now streaming on Hulu.
