Now that plagiarism is hot again, Josh “The Fat Jew” Ostrovsky has re-emerged from the pile of LaCroix cans and empty Siracha bottles he calls home to remind the world that he failed to cite his sources first. (Who are we kidding? He probably has a really nice loft in Brooklyn somewhere.) And because Hollywood executives are the last ones to criticize someone for ripping off other people’s ideas, despite Ostrovsky’s pariah status in both the comedy and ramen communities they continue to give this self-proclaimed overweight child of Abraham work.
Most recently, as reported by Deadline, Ostrovsky has been cast as a millennial genie—sorry, “foulmouthed mystical bearded guy”—who gives a teenage boy a magical app that makes all of his social-media posts come true. (So, he manifests racist Pokémon, then?) Billed as “Big for the millennial generation,” the movie is called Status Update and co-stars people who should know better like Rob Riggle, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Famke Janssen. Austin & Ally star Ross Lynch stars as the ostensibly lucky teen, and since he’s spent most of his career at the Disney Channel we’ll let this one slide. (Anything to get away from that taskmaster Mickey Mouse.)
No word yet on when the surely insufferable viral marketing for Status Update will begin, but if the kid doesn’t summon the genie with a vape pen, we’re calling bullshit on this entire thing.