Watch Jessica Williams Navigate Dating at 25 in ‘Jessica James’ Trailer
Jessica Williams, the quick-witted Daily Show correspondent, stars opposite Bridesmaids actor Chris Dowd in Netflix’s new comedy The Incredible Jessica James. The movie, which premieres July 28th, chronicles the life of aspiring playwright (Williams) as she comes into her own following a nasty breakup.
In the two-minute trailer, Williams-as-James lists all her positive traits in an act of self-affirmation as she goes on bad date after bad date. “I’m tall and pretty and smart and I’m a cocoa queen,” her voice declares over scenes of her snuggling up to a would-be suitor. “Obviously I will have many great loves of my life.”
But landing a significant other in the city is easier said than done. On what is presumably her first date with Dowd’s character (a recent divorced Boone), James’ past keeps coming back to haunt her. “I thought this would be good for me to help me get over this guy I was in love with, but this whole thing is making me think of him more enticingly,” she tells Dowd-as-Boone, to which he responds, “Cool.”
When Boone confesses to James that he likes her, the sharp-tongued lead responds, “Of course you do. Everybody does. I’m freakin’ dope.”
Jessica James is helmed by Jim Strouse, and also stars Master of None’s Noël Wells and Get Out’s Lakeith Stanfield. Strouse told Dropbox at Sundance earlier this year that he wrote the script specifically with Williams in mind.
“I’d never written anything for an actor [before],” he said. “Jessica and I, we know each other, we’re friends. It was really helpful to visualize her and imagine her saying the [lines].”