The American Dream thrives on people who work hard and dream big, even though success is almost never guaranteed. On Becoming a God in Central Florida points this out by brilliantly exposing how capitalist institutions exploit the desperation and naivete of those in need. There is, inevitably, a darkness to the story it tells, even though Krystal tries her best to outwit a system rigged against her. But showrunner Esta Spalding tells it with a campiness and magical weirdness that seems fitting for a show based in sun-soaked Florida. There is no shortage of incredible performances too from reliable veterans like Dunst and Skarsgård to relative newcomers like Théodore Pellerin, who plays the pyramid scheme FAM’s blind devotee. Not only does he hold his own, but his blind (and funny!) fanaticism often steals the show.
"Dunst unifies the many far-flung aspects of the story, never letting Krystal become a cartoonish white southern caricature, yet at the same time letting us see the frightening ruthless streak that's usually camouflaged by her desperation."
— Matt Zoller Seitz
"A clever, compelling, and thorough evisceration of American capitalism..."
— Ben Travers
In the early 1990s, a recently widowed, impoverished Orlando water park employee schemes and cons her way up the ranks of the multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme which ruined her financially in the first place.
Already living from hand to mouth, former beauty queen Krystal Scrubbs (Kirsten Dunst) finds herself in a financial crisis after her husband (Alexander Skarsgård) leaves her with a ton of debt. Desperate, she climbs her way to the top of the pyramid scheme that duped her husband in the first place.
Pellerin should be in more movies and TV shows. The guy’s a star!
This show being set in Florida is all you need to know to understand how equally dark and bonkers it is.
Golden Globes
1 nomination
WGA
1 nomination
