There’s no denying that Matthew Espinosa is a star. The 18 year old social media phenom has close to 4 million Twitter followers and over 6 million followers on Vine, a platform where he quickly established a rabid following when he was just 14 years old. It’s no wonder Paramount Pictures partnered with Studio71 in order to showcase digital influencers, beginning with Espinosa. Their premier scripted feature called Be Somebody, released earlier this month on VOD and in select theatres in the United States, is not only a showcase of Espinosa’s talent but also a tender coming of age film that could easily fit in at any film festival.

Fed up with trying to be something he’s not, pop singing superstar Jordan Jaye (Espinosa, bearing a striking resemblance to Justin Bieber) escapes from his tour bus one night in a small town. When he’s recognized by an overzealous throng of fans, he begs local girl Emily (Canadian Sarah Jeffery of TV’s Rogue, who, perhaps coincidentally, looks quite a lot like Selena Gomez) to assist him in going undercover for the weekend. The rest of the narrative is a by the numbers teen fantasy, yet it’s elevated by the delicately nuanced performance by Jeffery and the exquisite cinematography by Eve Cohen. A must see for tweens!

[star v=3]