CHARITY TRICKETT IS NOT SO GLAMOROUS

At 26 years old, Charity Trickett is ready to chase her dreams. Already a relatively successful production assistant on film sets in Vancouver, she leaves for Los Angeles after finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Awaiting Charity in Hollywood is a job with Casper, an up-and-coming director at Canopy Studios; it’s the perfect stepping stone to ultimately becoming a screenwriter. Unfortunately, what is also waiting for her is Saffron, Casper’s associate producer, who is immediately envious of Charity and pulls every petty trick in the book in an attempt to sabotage her. In spite of Saffron’s tactics, however, Charity’s skills shine through. She befriends Vivy Parker, a famous actress; meets Kai, a sexy assistant who flirts with her at every opportunity; makes strides with her script; and even begins her own pitch for a film. Later, though, after a copy of Casper’s latest movie is stolen and the finger of blame is pointed straight at Charity (as well as an investigation by the FBI), Hollywood seems to turn its back on her, and Charity doesn’t know if her career will recover or if her dreams are dead for good. Stringer’s 1997-set story is mostly a nostalgia-lite romp, though it does suffer slightly from a couple of issues. The first act is cluttered with relatable self-deprecating humorous interior monologues from the endearing protagonist, who always has good intentions (“we don’t think about unbuttoning our coworker’s oxford shirt”); the trope works, but it’s a gambit used too often at the start of the story. Additionally, the narrative does not always seem know what it wants to be, beginning as a fun, fish-out-of-water tale before making a hard left into intellectual property theft, kidney infections, and verbal abuse. Though the ups and downs of Charity’s experiences in Los Angeles feel authentic, the changes in tone can be jarring.

Jun 10, 2025 - 05:52

At 26 years old, Charity Trickett is ready to chase her dreams. Already a relatively successful production assistant on film sets in Vancouver, she leaves for Los Angeles after finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Awaiting Charity in Hollywood is a job with Casper, an up-and-coming director at Canopy Studios; it’s the perfect stepping stone to ultimately becoming a screenwriter. Unfortunately, what is also waiting for her is Saffron, Casper’s associate producer, who is immediately envious of Charity and pulls every petty trick in the book in an attempt to sabotage her. In spite of Saffron’s tactics, however, Charity’s skills shine through. She befriends Vivy Parker, a famous actress; meets Kai, a sexy assistant who flirts with her at every opportunity; makes strides with her script; and even begins her own pitch for a film. Later, though, after a copy of Casper’s latest movie is stolen and the finger of blame is pointed straight at Charity (as well as an investigation by the FBI), Hollywood seems to turn its back on her, and Charity doesn’t know if her career will recover or if her dreams are dead for good. Stringer’s 1997-set story is mostly a nostalgia-lite romp, though it does suffer slightly from a couple of issues. The first act is cluttered with relatable self-deprecating humorous interior monologues from the endearing protagonist, who always has good intentions (“we don’t think about unbuttoning our coworker’s oxford shirt”); the trope works, but it’s a gambit used too often at the start of the story. Additionally, the narrative does not always seem know what it wants to be, beginning as a fun, fish-out-of-water tale before making a hard left into intellectual property theft, kidney infections, and verbal abuse. Though the ups and downs of Charity’s experiences in Los Angeles feel authentic, the changes in tone can be jarring.