‘Everybody Wants to F*ck Me’ Review: Funny, Intense, and Surprisingly Frightening [TIFF]

If Curry Barker’s Obsession gave horror fans one of the year’s most disturbing examinations of obsession, entitlement, and romantic rejection, Jonathan Schey’s Everybody Wants to F*ck Me feels like the perfect companion piece. This time, however, we’re experiencing the nightmare from the perspective of the male fuckboy. After catching the film at TIFF, I walked away having seen one of my biggest surprises of the festival: a hilarious, uncomfortable, and increasingly terrifying takedown of the self-proclaimed “nice guy” and the performative nature of modern dating.

Taron Egerton stars as Adam, a man who has seemingly mastered all the tricks of enlightened masculinity. He knows when to listen to women in meetings, practices yoga, reads feminist literature, and has perfected the exact amount of self-deprecation needed to make himself appear sensitive without seeming insecure. From fake reading books to buying a dog and naming it after a Haim sister, it’s all here. The problem is that nearly everything about Adam feels carefully calculated. These aren’t necessarily things he believes in; they’re tools he’s learned to use. He’s constructed the perfect version of the modern “good guy,” one designed specifically to convince women and himself that he’s different from all those other men.

Egerton is gleefully committed to making Adam work, delivering what I think is easily one of his best and funniest performances. He moves through the role with an effortless comedic confidence, completely embracing just how ridiculous Adam can be while never turning him into a full-blown caricature. He’s charming enough that you understand why his routine has been successful, but there’s always something lurking underneath that charm. Egerton makes him hilarious, pathetic, frustrating, and occasionally even sympathetic without ever letting us forget that Adam has built his own mythology around being one of the good guys. It’s a fantastic performance and one that feels perfectly suited to Egerton’s comedic strengths.

Charly Clive also shines as Adam’s longtime best friend, who has spent years providing cover for his behavior but is increasingly tired of playing accomplice. Their friendship gives the film another way to dismantle Adam’s carefully constructed image. She knows him well enough to recognize the tricks, excuses, and patterns behind the “nice guy” routine, and Clive is hilarious as someone who has finally started to realize just how exhausting her best friend can be.