Leighton Meester’s Basic Focuses On The Emotional Reality Of Scrolling

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This new comedy focuses on social media, but it shows it in a unique way. Instead of displaying text messages or posts on the screen, the film delves into the feelings that social media creates – things like insecurity, comparing yourself to others, and the challenges of relationships today. It feels very real and relatable, rather than like people are just showing off.

The film centers on Gloria, who becomes consumed by her boyfriend’s exes, constantly comparing herself to them and struggling with jealousy. When she finds Kaylinn, who seems to be the epitome of a typical ‘Instagram girlfriend,’ Gloria feels completely lost and starts to lose control of her own narrative. Drawing from director Chelsea Devantez’s personal experiences with her husband, the film realistically portrays how social media can worsen insecurities and create problems even in strong relationships.

Last week, Ash Crossan from ScreenRant interviewed Devantez and the cast of Basic in Austin, Texas. They discussed why the movie deliberately avoids a typical trope found in stories about social media, and how the characters realistically portray the complicated relationships people have online and in real life.

Chelsea Devantez explained that when social media is shown in movies or TV, it’s often presented as text on the screen, which she feels misses the real issue. She believes the problem isn’t seeing the notifications, but how social media makes us feel. Her film aims to portray this emotional impact in a more visually engaging way, avoiding on-screen pop-ups and focusing on the internal experience, even though the story revolves around social media.

Devantez said that the characters Gloria and Kaylinn reflect different sides of her own personality. Gloria represents the more mature and responsible side, while Kaylinn embodies a more flawed, even negative, side – a part of herself she believes everyone secretly possesses.

Chelsea Devantez explains that the characters Ashley and Leighton both represent different aspects of her personality. Ashley portrays Gloria, who fixates on the women her boyfriend previously showed interest in, despite Chelsea being happily married to him. Leighton plays Kaylinn, the unforgettable ex-girlfriend who makes someone question their current relationship. It’s a dynamic similar to what you often see on shows like The Bachelor, where contestants question how someone could choose them over another potential partner.

Kaylinn embodies a more mature version of myself, particularly in her understanding of feminism – she prioritizes supporting other women instead of competing with them. In the story, Taylor plays Nick, a character loosely inspired by my husband. He previously hurt someone by abruptly ending a relationship – something I initially didn’t like. However, it happened seven years ago, and he’s now a wonderful husband. But from the perspective of the woman he hurt, he’s still the one who wronged her. I wanted to portray Nick as someone who starts off making bad choices and behaving poorly, even though he has the potential to be a great partner. The story follows his journey from being a problematic guy to becoming someone you genuinely want to see succeed, while also acknowledging the pain he caused someone else.

Park explained to ScreenRant that the show’s core conflict—internal negativity—is something many viewers will understand. Whether you recognize those harmful traits in yourself or in someone you know, and hope they can improve, the story will likely resonate.

What everyone loves about the script, I think, is how relatable it is. You see bits of yourself, and of characters like Gloria, Kaylinn, and Nick, in pretty much everyone. We all know someone – or have been – that flawed person who seems like they could turn things around.

How Chelsea Devantez Turned A Simple Doomscroll Into A Major Film

You know, it’s a really cool story actually. It all began as a short film – a little project we did just to see if the idea would work. From there, it just kind of snowballed! We got such a positive response that we started thinking bigger, and eventually, it grew into the full-length film you see now. It’s been an incredible journey, honestly, from that tiny short to where we are today.

About seven years ago, I was scrolling through my phone and noticed someone my boyfriend had dated briefly – seven years before that – had liked a very old tweet of mine. It was so surprising! I knew she’d gone on dates with him because, honestly, I’d already looked her up online.

I had a big fight with my boyfriend, and during that time, I decided to turn the experience into a film. The fight lasted three weeks, but the film has lasted much longer. I made a short film that was selected to premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest festival – though the festival was ultimately cancelled. Through that process, I met our producer, Katie McNicol, at Marc Platt Productions, and we decided to develop the idea into a feature-length film. We worked on it for six years, and my goal was always to bring the finished film back to South by Southwest, which we finally achieved – we wrapped filming four months ago.

ScreenRant: Oh my gosh.

I was really determined to premiere my film at SXSW, so I worked hard to make it happen. And now, here it is – I’m so excited to finally be showing it!

ScreenRant: Are you still with this person?

Chelsea Devantez: He’s my husband.

Ashley Park: Good job. You’re the first person to ask.

Chelsea Devantez jokingly acknowledged a generally negative opinion of her husband, saying people often express dislike for him. She then playfully revealed he was actually with her at their Airbnb.

ScreenRant: I just want to hear from each of you: what attracted you to the story?

I hadn’t read a script that good in ages. I was really eager to see the movie and meet the director. Her vision was so strong, and now, watching the film feels like a comforting reward for all her hard work – which she absolutely deserves. It’s a joy to be part of this project, and things are really in a good place now. [Laughs]

I’ve known Chelsea for a long time, and she’s truly one of my closest and most beloved friends. She’s just an amazing person.

Chelsea Devantez: She knows the husband.

Yeah, my husband and I met through this project, actually. I’d been hearing about the script and its development for years – all the challenges and stories behind it. When I finally read it, I immediately wanted to play that seemingly simple character you envisioned for the film – the one you might see on Instagram.

I really liked meeting Leighton. We all went on a double date – my husband Yassir, Leighton, and Adam Brody – and it was the first time I’d ever met her. After I stepped away for a moment, she told Yassir he absolutely had to marry me! He told me about it in the car, and I immediately thought, ‘I need to find a way to work with her in a movie someday.’

Leighton Meester: Both of those things are fantastic. We manifested it.

Taylor John Smith was immediately drawn to Chelsea’s incredible voice and the script’s humor. He knew he had to be involved after laughing out loud while reading it. After talking with Chelsea on Zoom, he was impressed by her leadership and felt she was the perfect person to tell this story. He believes no one else could portray the characters and the complexities of relationships with such honesty and vulnerability.

Ashley Park: Was it also attractive to you because you hadn’t been in comedy?

This was my first comedy role, so it was both exciting and a little scary to try something completely new.

It was hilarious meeting Taylor! He told me he was in Armenia, filming a movie where he played a character experiencing a mental breakdown while also rescuing a woman, and then casually asked if he could perform at my comedy show. I immediately realized he was the one! It’s such a different role for him, though, since his last movie, ‘Warfare,’ was completely different.

Ashley Park: This is a different kind of warfare in this movie.

The Singing — And Stand-Up — In the Film Are Very Real, And Not At All Basic

ScreenRant mentioned hearing about some interesting contributions the actors made to the movie, like singing and stand-up comedy. Could you share some details about those things?

Chelsea Devantez explained that Leighton performs stand-up in the movie, and she’s not a fan of how stand-up is often portrayed on film. It often doesn’t feel authentic. They put a lot of effort into making it believable, and Leighton actually wrote her own material for the performance—two of the jokes you hear are hers.

Ashley Park suggested filming a 30-minute bonus feature of the comedian’s full set, and believes they deserve their own Netflix special.

One of my favorite stories about Ashley is that she and Leighton actually wrote and performed an original song for the closing credits. Ashley took the lead on putting it all together, and it’s really good! I remember telling her I thought I had a feeling about it, and she confidently said she already had it covered.

I basically lured everyone into the studio under false pretenses. They’d been doing voiceovers all day, and we only had four hours. I told them it would just be a casual hangout where we’d write poetry, but then we surprised them with the finished song!

This song is amazing and really catchy! It’s perfect because it reflects the character’s experience in the movie – she was constantly facing setbacks. The artist poured her heart into this, and I think it’s going to be the song of the summer. You heard it here first!

ScreenRant: What was it like to get in there, sing together, make a bop?

Leighton Meester: It was just so organic. It just made sense. It was very easy.

I think what’s really amazing is that the song actually became the story of the movie itself! It’s like they perfectly captured the whole narrative within the music, which is just so clever and fun to see.

Chelsea Devantez: And Leighton’s daughter has been singing and making music videos too.

I have to say, we chose that song because I was so struck by a specific moment in the first draft of the script. There was a scene at the end that I immediately loved, and it made me think the whole project was worth it. We needed a song that included the word ‘obsessed,’ and this one felt perfect because it captured how I felt about the character Chelsea – she just had this amazing presence.

Chelsea Devantez was shocked to learn the cost of using Mariah Carey’s song ‘Obsessed’ in a project. She found out it would cost $800,000 for a short clip, and even five seconds of the song was quoted at that price. The full song license was reportedly around $2 million, which led her to jokingly ask if the licensing company could even write a song themselves.

The Role Drag Played In The Film’s Costuming

ScreenRant: I want to hear the story behind the costuming in the movie.

I actually started doing drag in Chicago, doing femme-to-femme performances for about four months. But my drag mentor, Kat Sass – she’s an incredibly creative visual artist and a professional drag performer – is the one who designed the costumes for this movie. We really wanted the costumes to be memorable, like the iconic looks from Clueless. Interestingly, Clueless also had a very limited budget for costumes. So, I thought, ‘Who could create amazing costumes with practically no money?’ Kat was the perfect person. Our costume department was fantastic, led by three drag queens: Discord [Addams], who you might know from RuPaul’s Drag Race, her partner Gidget [Von Addams], and Kat Sass herself.

ScreenRant: Oh my gosh. You know what needs to happen? Guest judges.

Chelsea Devantez: Please.

Ashley Park: Now that we have Kandy’s approval. Kandy’s like, “No, you guys can do it.”

Kandy Muse is also featured in the film. Drag is incredibly important to me and my work as an artist – I’m a huge fan of drag queens! So, drag plays a big role in the movie, and we’re hoping to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race, ideally following closely behind the contestants.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other SXSW coverage with:

  • The Sun Never Sets Review
  • The Fox Review
  • I Love Boosters Review
  • Dead Eyes Review
  • One Another Review
  • Kill Me Review
  • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Review
  • The Saviors Review
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2026-03-25 21:22