Formulated by YouTuber Anthony Po, the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest on Oct. 27 was a delightful brand of chaos. As posters of the event and Partiful invitations went viral, everyone was on tenterhooks in the lead-up to the event. Would it meet our expectations, or end up a flop? The best part is, that the event managed to do both at the same time.
A measly $50 prize fund and lookalikes with little-to-no resemblance to the star made the event objectively ‘bad,’ but at the same time, it was kind of thriving in its messiness.
As hundreds gathered just to observe the mayhem, the event led to four arrests, and, in a particularly bizarre moment, Chalamet himself appeared among the masses. (Sorry Club Chalamet, but you were wrong about that one.)
The best way to know if something is successful on the internet is if it’s shamelessly imitated, so it should come as no surprise that in the past few days, three more lookalike competitions have taken place. These events were dedicated to Paul Mescal, Dev Patel, and Harry Styles.
But despite nobody famous showing up, the videos coming out of the copycat events show everybody having a good time. Even as these supposed ‘lookalikes’ start to look more and more dubious.
So, what does this all show us? It’s no secret that we’re going through especially tense times at the moment with the recent US election. Perhaps this brand of sheer silliness and whimsy is exactly what we need right now.
Who cares if one of the Harry Styles lookalikes is blonde? Truth be told, it’s just about having a moment of respite from all the hard conversations going on right now.
