Nude Andrew Garfield Terrorizes Internet in Mainstream Trailer

IndieWire has already declared Andrew Garfield’s character in Gia Coppola’s upcoming film Mainstream “one of the most obnoxious characters in cinema history.” This might be considered a compliment, considering that Garfield plays a YouTuber in line with the Jake Pauls of the world. Well, kind of.

The setup is this: Maya Hawke plays a Los Angeles bartender named Frankie trying to make it in some sense. Garfield plays a mysterious stoner named Link. The pair link up. Frankie films Link’s shenanigans. They somehow go viral. Link thinks he’s satirizing the whole idea of YouTube celebrity. At some point, he adopts that nom-du-vlog “No One Special.” Then, suddenly, he gets a game show. Oh, and eventually Frankie and Link start making out a bit. Garfield is often either shirtless or wearing patterned blazers with glam rock eye makeup. At one point, he goes full Blink 182-style nude. And that’s just in the trailer alone.

Alexa Demie, Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman, and Johnny Knoxville all make guest appearances in the film. Riverdale actor Charles Melton appears as himself, as do actual YouTubers including Jake Paul, Patrick Starrr, and JuanPa Zurita. Internet comedian Casey Frey also appears as himself, if that does anything for you.

When it premiered last year at the Venice Film Festival it was the subject of some controversy, but the main talking point was just how much Garfield committed himself to his off-the-wall character. Some of the YouTube stunts his character pulls off in the film are a bit too sophomoric to describe in polite company, but Garfield seemed game. In any event, we promise you haven’t seen anything quite like even the trailer before.

The film is set to premiere on Video on Demand on May 7th.