Drugstore June follows June, an aimless 20-something who still lives at home and spends most of her time live-streaming to her tiny online fanbase. When the pharmacy she works at gets robbed, June appoints herself lead investigator to crack the case, hoping it’ll impress her ex-boyfriend enough to get back together. What follows is a quirky romp through her hometown as June questions shady locals, annoy police detectives, and tries to “focus up” and act like a grown-up.
With its candy-colored visuals and repertoire of cringe laughs, Drugstore June comes off like a spiritual successor to Napoleon Dynamite – except June makes Napoleon look well-adjusted. While June’s lack of self-awareness fuels much of the humor, her abrasive personality may grate on some viewers. However, glimmers of warmth peek through occasionally, keeping you invested.
Overall, the film offers an enjoyable dose of weirdness, carried by Esther Povitksy’s committed lead performance and scenes with her enabling mom (Beverly D’Angelo). Just don’t expect the mystery plot to knock your socks off. The real draw here is hanging out in June’s delusional world for an hour and a half, for better or worse. It’s an offbeat experience fans of indie comedies should get a kick out of.
Join June on Her Chaotic Journey
The plot kicks off when June’s workplace, a small-town pharmacy, gets robbed right under her oblivious nose. With no real evidence, two detectives suspect June and her boss Bill were in on an insurance scam. Never one to shy away from drama, June makes it her mission to solve the crime herself and clear their names, hoping it’ll impress her ex Davey enough to get back together.
We quickly learn June is a bit much, even by Gen Z standards. She still lives at home, fixates on her tiny Instagram following, and wakes up every morning to give rambling “morning announcements” recapping her dreams about Davey. While the cops describe her as having a “bad personality,” June’s mom enables her eccentric behavior.
As June questions locals like her dad’s sketchy bookie and a gang running the weed dispensary across the street, we see cracks forming in her cheery facade. One minute she’s needling Bill to focus less on his vibes, the next she’s having vulnerable talks with her mom. She means well but keeps torpedoing her relationships by putting herself first.
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While the mystery itself fizzles out, watching June learn to consider others is oddly touching. She’ll likely continue being cringey, but by the end June shows more self-awareness and responsibility. Her personal growth feels authentic, even if the crime-solving plot doesn’t.
Alongside Bobby Lee’s fraying-at-the-edges boss and Beverly D’Angelo’s wine-loving mama bear, the cast shines brightest when playing off June’s childlike antics. Esther Povitsky effortlessly pivots between grating arrogance and intrinsic humanity. She may not fully stick the landing, but you can’t help rooting for June along the way.
A Cast That Keeps Things Weird
Drugstore June establishes its quirky comedic tone right out the gate – we open on Bill and June having an utterly straight-faced argument about the semantics of “getting someone” while weird synth music drones. This dry, cringe-based humor continues as June interacts with the world like an alien struggling to emulate human behavior. She speaks in bizarre non-sequiturs yet seems blissfully confident and oblivious to how she comes across.
Much of the comedy springs from the tension between June’s delusions and other characters not having the patience to entertain them. When detectives question if she “discovered personality yesterday,” every line reveals a new layer of absurdity to her persona. We know following June’s “investigation” will lead to plenty of laughs at her expense.
While June risks being insufferable, Esther Povitsky’s committed performance gives her an odd charm. Every furrowed brow and contorted facial expression screams of June’s strenuous attempts to appear mature. When she does let the facade slip, Povitsky mines poignancy from June’s insecurities. Beverly D’Angelo also shines as June’s wine mom who will defend her daughter’s nonsense to the death.
Plenty of deadpan supporting turns keep the weirdness thrumming. Bobby Lee plays June’s boss Bill like a frayed electrical wire ready to snap, while Bill Burr cameos as a doctor whose pure disdain for June oozes from the screen. The refreshing casting and tones may overwhelm the story at times, but it does make the watching experience unpredictably fun. While June may test your patience, the talented ensemble surrounding her misadventures will likely win you over.
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A Coming-of-Age Tale Hidden Behind the Zaniness
On its candy-colored surface, Drugstore June seems to satirize modern youth culture and the obsessive pursuit of influencing fame. Our protagonist fixates on accumulating followers, dispensing medical advice without credentials, and putting her personal drama on public display. In theory, her quest to solve the pharmacy robbery could highlight the hollow, performative aspects of amateur sleuthing for clicks.
However, the film struggles to fully develop lasting commentary amidst all June’s wacky antics. While influenced by current trends, June feels less like the epitome of Gen Z/Millennials and more like a cartoonish archetype. As a result, the absurdist humor often overrides the intended critiques of youth culture.
More effective are the traditional coming-of-age themes lurking below the hijinks. As June single-mindedly chases external validation, whether through social media or her ex’s affection, she remains blind to her own core issues. Only by helping others does she realize relationships require compromise and learning to accept people’s differences. The sincerity peeking through the irony gives June’s subtle maturation a satisfying emotional truth, even if the film’s message gets muddled at times.
In the end, Drugstore June works best when balancing its outlandish comedy with grounded peeks at June’s deeper desires to feel valued. Viewers may come for the culture commentary but stay for the awkward-protagonist-finds-purpose story hidden underneath. Just don’t expect the satire to resonate deeply when the ultimate draw here is hanging out in June’s strange world.
Don’t Expect the Mystery to Neatly Tie Up
While June’s eccentric sleuthing antics bring plenty of laughs, the film struggles to bring the central pharmacy mystery to a satisfying conclusion. As June follows arbitrary leads like her dad’s bookie and the hoodlums at the weed dispensary, the stolen drugs and cash seem to fade into the background. These zany pitstops often feel tangentially related at best, lacking narrative momentum.
Several story threads get raised then abandoned abruptly, like June’s food addiction and desire for a gluten allergy. Other times potentially funny scenarios, like June telling her mom her doctor is in love with her, are set up strangely without proper context or follow-through.
The film also falters when relying too heavily on June’s unpleasant qualities for humor. Her self-absorption borders on unlikeable as she steamrolls conversations to talk about herself. And attempts to mine comedy from her binge-eating or obsession with male approval sometimes feel tone-deaf rather than satirical.
Ultimately the random hijinks are part of the charm, rather than slick plot progression. But those seeking closure may leave dissatisfied. The crime investigation serves mostly as a clothesline for June to bounce her eccentricities off other characters. You have to settle into the film’s loose, freewheeling wavelength rather than expect all the dots to connect. A few more passes refining the narrative and June’s character could have removed some speed bumps. But there’s enough enjoyment from the cast and dialogue to satisfy fans of alt-comedies.
Wrapping Up Our Trip to June’s World
At the end of the day, I’d recommend catching a showing of Drugstore June if you enjoy laughing at cringe-comedy misfits and don’t need your plot threads tied in a neat bow. It may not become the next cult classic, but June’s bizarre persona offers memorable laughs alongside traces of humanity that peek through the caricature.
The bottom line is that how much you enjoy the film relies heavily on tolerating – or finding perverse pleasure in – June’s unique brand of obnoxiousness. Esther Povitsky’s committed portrayal successfully walks that fine line for most of the runtime. If you already find the Napoleon Dynamite-esque awkward misfit archetype grating, however, June may test your patience past the breaking point.
Yet between Beverly D’Angelo’s smothering mom, Bill’s high-strung pharmacy manager, and a host of dealers, criminals, and curmudgeons June pesters for information, there’s plenty of oddball humor that has nothing to do with June. Fans of alt-comedies will likely find a fair share of offbeat laughs from the proceedings even when June strikes out as a lead.
I wish the film delivered more scathing satire or wrapped its storyline with some sort of poignant grace note. But as a showcase for Esther Povitsky’s talents and an excuse to spend 90 minutes soaking in the vibrant weirdness, you could pick a worse way to spend your streaming time. Just set your expectations more towards having a peculiar yet amusing experience versus an airtight, logically satisfying plot.
The Review
Drugstore June
Drugstore June is a mixed bag - silly and uneven yet oddly endearing. Esther Povitsky gives a committed lead performance with moments of malicious fun, but the storyline loses focus and June herself remains fairly one-note. For every punchline that lands, there are just as many that flop. Thankfully, the talented supporting cast keeps the good vibes going above June's grating qualities. At its best, the film offers a surprising amount of heart underneath the childish hijinks - if you can get onto its peculiar, freeform wavelength. But expect to have as many laughs AT the movie as WITH it.
PROS
- Esther Povitsky's bold, committed lead performance
- Strong comedic supporting turns (especially Bobby Lee and Beverly D'Angelo)
- Colorful visual style and quirky comedic tone
- Heartwarming moments that ground the zaniness
- Subtle themes of maturation and compromise
CONS
- Loose narrative that loses focus
- Underdeveloped plot threads and abrupt endings
- June's characterization grates at times
- Attempts at satire that don't fully land
- Mystery fails to deliver a satisfying resolution
