The Big Picture

Cora Bora
, starring Megan Stalter, offers a fresh take on LA, revealing its unglamorous side and emphasizing the urgency of the protagonist’s situation.
The film depicts Cora’s emotional turmoil as she navigates her failing music career and struggling relationship, showcasing Stalter’s talent beyond comedy.
With a 93% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
Cora Bora
is a festival darling worth checking out for its realistic portrayal of LA and compelling storyline.

One of last year’s festival darlings, Cora Bora, has just dropped its first trailer ahead of its theatrical release on June 14th. Cora Bora tells the story of Cora, who heads back home to win over her girlfriend before realising it isn’t just her romantic life that needs fixing. The movie stars Megan Stalter (Hacks), Jojo T. Gibbs (Twenties), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Ayden Mayeri (Veep), Thomas Mann (Project X), Chrissie Fit (Pitch Perfect), Andre Hyland (The Fourth), Margaret Cho (All-American Girl), and Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), with Darrell Hammond (Saturday Night Live).

Directed by Hannah Pearl Utt and penned by Shiva Baby and Palm Trees and Power Lines executive producer Rhianon Jones, the movie revolves around the complicated character Cora. She appears confident yet is emotionally unstable and faces numerous challenges. Besides the typical daily annoyances of interacting with others, she’s struggling to kickstart her barely-existent music career. At the same time, she’s trying to keep her shaky relationship with her girlfriend intact. Cora left college and moved from her hometown of Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles to dedicate herself to music. She was once part of The Maybe Nots, a band with a dedicated fan base. However, with the band disbanded, she’s now eager to succeed as a solo artist.

Is ‘Cora Bora’ Worth Checking Out?

From the reviews that are available, absolutely. The film currently sits with a 93% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Collider’s Emily Bernard saw the film at SXSW back in March 2023, and praised Stalter’s performance, as well as the depiction of Los Angeles in the movie.

It’s surprising how much
Cora Bora
tilts dramatic, with the setting of Los Angeles being a major contributing factor. Not to sound cliché, but LA really felt like a character in this movie. The film depicted the City of Angels in a very unglamorous, but far more realistic way than a movie usually would. This helped emphasize the dire situation that Cora found herself in, and the urgency with which she needed to remedy said situation. There’s also a late-stage hefty reveal that provides a lot of context and possible explanation as to why Cora is the way that she is.

Cora Bora
is a bit of a surprise first leading role for Stalter as it’s a comedy that’s soaked in heartache, trauma, and self-discovery. It’s a vehicle that proves she can not only make us laugh, but make us feel some feelings, too.

Cora Bora opens in theatres on June 14.