Misty Green (2026) – Review

I caught Misty Green at TIFF. Wonderful festival.

Quick Thoughts:

• Rosalind Eleazar is a star. She owns the screen.
• Chris Rock has a lot on his mind.
• I wish the TV show Red Eye existed. I’d watch it.
• Eleazar should release an album of 1990s alternative song covers (Her cover of “Creep” is wonderful).
• Rock put together an insanely talented cast.
• Eleazar is the glue that holds together about 43 different elements. Once again, Rock had a lot on his mind.

With a $5 million budget and inspiration from Legally Blonde, Uncut Gems, Frances Ha, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Magnolia, and the city of Los Angeles, Rock wrote a story about an absurdly talented woman named Misty Green (Rosalind Eleazar) who has an eventful seven days. The film opens with Emmy-winning actress Misty Green being woken up by her sugar daddy’s widow (Amy Landecker), who is at the swanky condo to evict Misty. In a funny moment, she recognizes Misty from her work on Red Eye, a universally loved network TV show. Instead of booting her out, she gives Misty seven days to find a new place to live. On top of finding a suitable place to live (that has a beach view), she has to deal with her bipolar brother Jay (Daniel Kaluuya), who is on the verge of another mood episode. Her promiscuous friend Naomi (Anna Kendrick) is also dealing with issues, and her sex-trafficking/drug dealing/producer hook-up Zach (Adam Driver) is back in town, which means late-night partying and bad decisions. She also comes across Jordan (Chris Rock), a director auditioning women for his remake of Dream Girls. It’s a lot, and not all of it works, but it’s always watchable and entertaining because of Rosalind Eleazar.

Misty is a talented actor/singer who should be headlining films, but she can’t handle the politics, racism, ageism, nepotism, and sexism of Hollywood. She also loves to party, snort cocaine, drink, and make bad decisions. She’s a complex human who has picked the worst industry in the world. She lands an in-person read for a film (the lines are horrible), and instead of memorizing dialogue, she meets up with Zach (Adam Driver), does drugs in a club bathroom, and wakes up hungover. Then, after little sleep, she nails the audition (by reading outdated sides) and almost blows it when she argues with the casting director (Tracie Thomas). Over 10 minutes, the audience witnesses her talent, self-destructive nature, and stubbornness. She’s way better than the material, and her “difficult” label prevents her from working with the best in the business. Her long-time talent agent Randy (Topher Grace) doesn’t know what to do with her and is tired of representing the quick-tempered talent.

Rock struck gold when he landed Rosaline Eleazaor, because I don’t know if this movie works without her. She’s 100% believable as a wildly talented, intelligent, funny, angry, self-destructive person residing in a condo funded by her rich sugar daddy. In an interview, Rock mentions that Eleazar refused to audition over Zoom, so she flew to LA and blew everyone away with her audition (like in the movie). During production, Rock stopped, and said “Oh, sh**, she is throwing the f**k down,” and her performance elevated everything in the film. If Eleazar isn’t nominated for multiple awards, it will be depressing.  

Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick signed on because they love the Rock-directed Top Five (which is a good time. DMX!). The semi-retired Daniel Kaluuya signed on because of Eleazar, whom he’d seen on stage and wanted to work with. Misty Green is loaded with talent, and while most of them don’t get enough to do, they work well with Eleazar and have moments to shine.

The mixed reactions out of TIFF make sense, but Misty Green works for me because of Eleazar’s committed central performance. Also, Rock clearly had a lot on his mind, and the film is earnestly told, and you can feel the screenplay’s passion. The elements don’t fully blend, but the overall experience is worthwhile.