Before last summer's indie hit Safety Not Guaranteed, you could be forgiven for thinking Aubrey Plaza's primary talent was rolling her eyes or glaring at the main character. As a supporting presence in Funny People, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and of course Parks & Recreation, Plaza was sardonic and funny but often a little one-note, the dark-eyed scowler adding conflict for the central story but never getting one of her own.
But just as her character on Parks & Rec was growing up a bit, Plaza showed even more of her skills in the charming Safety Not Guaranteed-- and now she's expanding her repertoire even more in The To-Do List, the comedy set to arrive this summer. Written and directed by Maggie Carey, the comedy stars Plaza as a recent high school graduate determined to get in all the sexual experience she's missed out on before heading to college in the fall. Even though this clip, which premiered at MTV, is cut together really bizarrely-- presumably to avoid profanity-- you can get a sense of just how raunchy the story might be. That popsicle says it all!
In between the jarring quick cuts you can also get a sense of the killer cast backing Plaza up, from up-and-coming comedians (Donald Glover, Adam Pally, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) to established ones (Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Alia Shawkat) to familiar faces who just seem to be on board for the fun of it (Clark Gregg, Connie Britton, Rachel Bilson). Set to arrive in August, just at the time when spending the rest of your summer getting a tan by the pool sounds like a great idea, The To-Do List is positioned to be another late-summer Superbad-style surprise hit-- but with girls getting in on more of the fun this time.
