Charli XCX’s The Moment described as ‘glum Spice World’ as it is released in UK
The film has received mixed reviews from critics.
Singer Charli XCX’s film The Moment has been described as a “glum Spice World” in reviews as it is released in the UK.
The film, directed by Aiden Zamiri and produced by A24, is a fictionalised account of the cultural phenomenon that followed the release of the 33-year-old singer’s Brat album in 2024, and follows her on the lead-up to a world tour.
It has received mixed reviews from critics, with The Telegraph describing it as “more like a glum Spice World than the next Spinal Tap”, referring to the 1997 comedy film about the Spice Girls, and calling it a “messy exercise in self-consciousness”, awarding it two out of five stars.
The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, praising it for its “smart idea” but adding there is “not a lot else”.
The review read: “Though billed as a mockumentary, The Moment, also directed by Zamiri, is less Spinal Tap and more Black Swan, a ragged, borderline horror film of cracking under the pressure of getting what you want.
“In this funhouse mirror version, the singer plays a more pitched, volatile and transparently insecure version of herself in preparation for the Brat tour.”
The Times accused the film of being a remake of Spice World and added that Charli “buries her musical gifts under layers of tepid irony in a patchy, manic mockumentary”.
The review read: “Sadly, the mockumentary Zamiri’s film most resembles — at times, eerily so — is Spice World: The Movie. No, really. Same manic energy. Same faux crises. Same shouty one-note line delivery.
“Indeed, there’s a lot of Ginger Spice from that film in the Charli XCX we meet here, especially when our Brat protagonist is hammering out some grimly overliteral clunkers such as, ‘they all seem to think that they know what’s best for me’.”
Radio Times was more impressed, calling the film “a perfect way to finally bang a nail in the Brat coffin”.
Its review read: “Where the film scores is its skewering of the music industry, and the way artists are frequently forced to either compromise or repeat past successes for the sake of the bottom line.
“The outcome of the Brat bank card debacle is particularly funny (as is the fact that sandwich chain Pret adopt a similar green colour for their rebranded logo). Turning away from Charli’s music for the final scene, the choice of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony feels very apt indeed.”
Sight And Sound said the singer, whose real name is Charlotte Aitchison, was unable to carry the film with her persona, calling the movie “tonally confused”.
The magazine’s review read: “Billed as a mockumentary, this music-biz chronicle never finds its footing, caught between essentially workplace humour around a buzzy director (Alexander Skarsgard) brought in to shoot the tour, and the tedious obligations of maintaining her independence and brand.”
The film comes after the singer released her Wuthering Heights album on February 13, a companion album to the Emerald Fennell film of the same name, with Charli also appearing in films such as Pete Ohs’ Erupcja and Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights Of Hero.
The Moment was released in US cinemas on January 30, and is released in UK cinemas on Friday.
