Doug (Aristotle Athari) and Valerie (Catherine Cohen) have made a mistake. Their hate-fueled obsession with the jerks downstairs — who always seem to be singing karaoke in a brownstone, who even does that? — recently led them to flee the city for Doug’s parents’ place upstate, giving up a great deal on a rent-stabilized apartment in the process. Their friends are horrified, and regret is setting in. They start plotting their revenge— and before they know it, they’re staging an off-Broadway play starring their nemesis. 

Writer/director Rachel Wolther’s wry sensibility places The French Italian in the tradition of comedies of hipster manners like Girls and Search Party, riffing on the art of Googling, lesbian double engagements and New York City apartment politics. Add a touch of theater kid and you’ve got cringe comedy at its most hilariously self-absorbed.––Frederic Boyer