Review: 'Zola' successfully brings a crazy Twitter stripper saga to clever big-screen life
![Portrait of Brian Truitt](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/44e6e0dadeda60cf062700769fffe91dd2dca166/c=35-7-570-542/local/-/media/2019/03/13/USATODAY/USATODAY/636880721296148052-Brian-Truitt.jpg?width=48&height=48&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
“Zola” is obviously a cautionary tale to never go on a road trip with crazy people you don’t know. But stripping away the wild hijinks reveals a sneakily effective exploration of storytelling and point of view.
Writer/director Janicza Bravo’s comedic thriller (★★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters now) adapts the stranger-than-fiction Twitter thread of A’Ziah King that went viral in 2015 with its tale of a couple of fast friends who went to Florida for 48 hours and fell out in epic fashion. It’s a clever, stylish and well-acted ride – with tweet sounds and notification bells acting as a sonic reminder of its social-media origins – that tackles rather serious themes including toxic relationships and sex trafficking with a surprising amount of humor.
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