Megalopolis Works Best as an Aubrey Plaza Comedy [Video]

One of the most anticipated releases of the fall movie season (that in no way involves renovating a dilapidated Mexican restaurant) is Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed $120 million epic Megalopolis.

The reviews so far have been largely mixed, and in some cases, downright cruel, which is what seemingly prompted the film’s marketing team to craft an ad campaign hinging on the premise that critics are frequently wrong about Coppola’s work — a strategy that promptly backfired once it was revealed that the catty quotes about films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now were A.I.-generated fakes.

The film just made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and, having seen it, I can honestly say, it’s a lot.

Basically, Megalopolis tells the story of a future where everyone in New York acts like it’s Ancient Rome, but also the 1940s. An architect named Cesar Catalina (Adam Driver) wants to build a utopian city using some kind of snazzy new material …