Without giving away too much, the act of forgetting serves as a major plot pivot in “Blink Twice.” Ironically, that’s what Zoë Kravitz’s debut as a writer-director requires of an audience. Just don’t remember that you’ve seen “Get Out,” “Midsommar,” “Don’t Worry Darling,” “Promising Young Woman” and/or “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and you should be fine.
True, there seem to be few original ideas left and none whatsoever in Hollywood, and true, worn-out plots can be made to seem brand new with enough style and smarts. And “Blink Twice” certainly has style. What it doesn’t have is a lick of sense.
As is often the case with movies directed by actors (Kravitz has been in everything from TV’s “Big Little Lies” to 2022’s “The Batman”), the casting is rich and the players enjoyably indulged. The British actress Naomi Ackie (“Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody”) stars as Frida, a cocktail waitress with ambition, too much debt and a crummy apartment shared with wisecracking best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat). Working a tech gala, she catches the eye of billionaire wonder boy Slater King (Channing Tatum) - imagine if Elon Musk were actually as hot as he thinks he is - and, to her delight, finds herself and Jess invited to Slater’s private tropical island to party with his entourage.
The early scenes on the island are the film’s best: sly and sharp, with just enough razzmatazz direction and some fun subterranean.