Random Media is releasing Jessica Watkins comedic documentary feature ‘SPECIALish’ about her walk across the United States over the course of 8 months, as there are traumas revealed, truths clarified, and obstacles confronted along the way. The film will be available on-demand and on all digital platforms on May 11, 2021.
Written and directed by Jessica Watkins, this moving feature-length documentary is her story which began leaving Nashville at 18 years old to become a star. Now, ten years later, she finds herself struggling as a standup comedian in New York City.
In the age of self-promotion and crowdsourcing, Jessica hatches a plan to quit her job waiting tables and jump start her career, hopefully landing her BIG comedy special – she will walk across America. Leaving behind her partner, dog, and life as she knows it, with minimum physical training and having gone on two hikes ever, Jessica sets out on her tour.
“For eight months, from Delaware to California I pushed a running stroller full of gear,” says Watkins. “Staying with strangers, sleeping on the side of the road and gathering hundreds of hours of footage.”
She pushed that stroller full of camping gear and whiskey to the West Coast, performing standup and meeting locals to assist her along the way. Three months into the walk Jessica has made it through six states, a knee injury, and almost giving up when an interview on a radio show brings painful memories of a teenage assault into focus.
“It was a radical experience that shifted my whole perspective, but after the walk is over you return back to normal life, and that was probably the most eye-opening part.”
The self-produced documentary from Jessica Watkins combines footage from the road and a *not so big* comedy special, SPECIALish delivers a humorous, vulnerable and sometimes dark look into one woman’s pursuit to heal from her past, write new material, and once again, trust the kindness of strangers. Getting laughs will not be the hard part.
Jessica Watkins Online: Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // TikTok
SPECIALish Online: Website // Instagram // Facebook
