Stripped: Taylour Paige and Riley Keough Bring @Zola’s Infamous Tweet Storm to the Big Screen

“Have you taken a shower since the trip?” actress Taylour Paige asks at the start of our Zoom interview about Zola, the new A24 film in which she plays the title character and narrator. We’d just screened the movie before the interview and co-star Riley Keough, also on the video call, agrees that post-viewing might require some serious refreshing. Ultimately, we all agree a quick “hoe bath” (the affectionate(?) term for sink washing of sweaty areas, fittingly, originating in sex work) should be in order after watching this endearing yet revolting little movie with big chops. It’s a weird and probably inappropriate way to start an interview, but this is a weird film, and the raunchy repartee feels right.

We weren’t quite sure what Zola’s intentions were after seeing it, so it was helpful to talk to its stars about it. We do know it made us feel uncomfortable and that was probably intentional. We were also very aware of the Twitter posts by the real “Zola” (a.k.a. Aziah Wells) back in 2015. In fact, we were one of the platform’s many users who followed it in real-time as it unfolded into an epic 148 tweet storm that caught the attention of, well, everybody. Was “The Story,” as it’s called, made up? Exaggerated? It really didn’t matter because either way, Wells showed her gift for riveting, unfiltered story-telling infused with humor, sass and streetsmart critique. The viral moment suggested that a book deal and maybe even a movie could be in the works based on the Detroit-based dancer’s enticing social media narrative.

And now we have it. Directed with naughty nuances and trenchant finesse by Janicza Bravo (who also wrote the script with playwright Jeremy O. Harrison, based on a Rolling Stone article about the tweets) the movie tells the tempestuous tale of two strippers – Zola and Stefani – who go on a club tour to Florida to earn some extra cash and end up getting wrapped up and wrangled into prostitution and unsavory hijinx involving violent thugs, crazy boyfriends and merciless pimps. Before the journey ends, money is earned, but blood is also spilled, and nobody (except maybe the johns) seems satisfied. The film is fun to look at, as are all the actors involved, but the tone is hard to pinpoint. Is there a takeaway here or is it just another debauchery-driven fantasy about “money and titties,” eclipsing substance or message?

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