Jon Matteson’s portrayal of Stu is such good acting, oh my god. His main scene and speech really stuck with me. He's the character I feel the most sorry for out of the whole friend group.
The fact that Stu is such a happy-go-lucky, easy-going guy with lame humor is so endearing, and it makes it extra tragic when the people who are supposed to be his friends push him past his limits. (I thought it was kind of like the break the cutie trope, but then I realized that for Stu it's the variant, break the comedian, trope.) It's so freaking sad when a fun, optimistic character is brought to their breaking point.
Stu's reactions as Mykel tells him about the group chat about him are heartbreaking:
Stu: “...Okay, crickets.”
Mykel: “Hey, you guessed the name.” Stu still has a clueless smile on his face as he turns to Mykel. Then, after it’s explained to him, there's Stu’s gradual realization:
Stu turns to look around and grins, still trying to maintain a light atmosphere and be in on the joke: “Wow, roasted.”
Everyone’s quiet; he looks around at them more. In denial, he swallows roughly and tries to smile. “It’s actually really funny you guys do this.”
As he looks around more and is met with more silence, his smile fades and he sits down. “None of you find me funny?” More silence, and the look on his face as it sinks in is just so—?!
I felt betrayed and outraged on his behalf! Like there could've been a much better way his friends could have gently told him that his jokes are cringe, if at all, instead of revealing that they make fun of him behind his back.
The transition from happy obliviousness to growing hurt and then the outburst is so well done and heartbreaking. 😭 There’s no way that the friend group is going to keep together after this. Too many secrets and confessions were revealed for them to come back from.
The fact that Stu even drove up to the AirBNB by himself is so sad! He deserves so much better. 🥺
