🍿 2022-09-16 07:02:00 – Paris/France.
If “Heathers” and “Cruel Intentions” had a son reduced in violence and sex, the result would be "Revenge Now", a flawed but entertaining revenge story from director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Although its chaotic plot spans more than you can stomach, its celebrity cast and compelling premise set it above the rest of Netflix's teen comedies, but not by much.
Drea (Camila Mendes) is a scholarship student at a prestigious elite school. When her boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams) leaks a sex tape of her, her whole popularity plummets and her so-called friends leave her. During the summer, he meets Eleanor (Maya Hawke), who is going to transfer to his school but doesn't want to go because an ex-girlfriend who hurt him a lot is studying there. Drea then has an idea: since no one knows they know each other, what happens if one takes revenge on the other's enemies?
When Robinson and Celeste Ballard's storyline ("Space Jam: A New Era") focuses on the girls' wicked and ingenious revenge, it's smooth and entertaining: we wait to see how the bad guys pay and find out. if the plan of our heroines will succeed. Although the writers don't push their characters all the way and the film could have benefited from a lot more mischief, there is plenty to keep its audience entertained.
However, the rest of the elements are not developed with the same efficiency, in particular the relationship between the two girls; Much of the story's credibility hinges on the two girls' friendship, and while they have their moments, the excess of themes doesn't allow their relationship to fully develop, which is demonstrated when the film resorts to the hackneyed artifice of flashbacks and the sad music of their friendship to cause melancholy because the relationship itself is not enough.
Camila Mendes (“Palm Springs”) and Maya Hawke (“Italian Studies”) are good leads who make up for their characters' flaws with their charisma, especially in their most self-centered moments. Hawke has the toughest job: selling the introverted version of herself and the popular facade when she's with Max and her friends. Mendes is better at his vengeful moments than his emotional ones, but he pairs well with Hawke.
The company accompanies a slew of famous numbers: Austin Abrams (“Dash y Lily”), Alisha Boe (“13 Reasons Why”), Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) and an entertaining cameo glorified by Sarah Michelle Gellar as the director from school. The fantastic Talia Ryder (“Hello, Goodbye and Everything That Happened”) and Rish Shah (“Ms. Marvel”) probably have the best characters, but the film does them no favors by reducing them to the love interests of our protagonists, with too little screen time to shine or develop romance.
Like the many films it draws inspiration from, "Get Back at It" has a lot to say about patriarchy, hypocrisy disguised as progressivism, the sexualization of teenage girls, and the psychological effects of bullying. Unfortunately, its charismatic actresses and beautiful costumes aren't enough to compensate for a screenplay unable to balance all of these elements. It's fun as a hangout option, but don't expect much more than that.
“Revenge Now” is available on Netflix.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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