Fresh Eyes FIRST TAKE: "Do Revenge"

Do Revenge' Trailer Teases Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes in Netflix Film - Variety 

SPOILERS AHEAD!

After finishing Netflix's new teen high school comedy, "Do Revenge", I am left with one question: how many plot twists can a movie... possibly... have? Because, WOW, this movie had the most plot twists I've ever seen in my life. In any movie. Ever!

Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson takes inspiration from classic high school films like Mean Girls and Clueless, combines it with dark thrillers like Strangers On A Train, and throws in a few extra plot twists to concoct this masterpiece that could possibly be the teen movie of the next generation. 

"Do Revenge" follows Drea Torres (Camila Mendes) as she navigates her picture-perfect preppy high school after her ex-boyfriend leaks her sex tape to everyone in school. Drea, who was at the top of the food chain at school, is now struggling to fit in and thirsty for revenge on her ex. Meanwhile, Eleanor Levetan (Maya Hawke) struggles with her own burning desire for revenge -- together, the pair team up and decide to enact each other's vengeance. 

Watch Do Revenge Trailer With Camila Mendes & Maya Hawke - Netflix Tudum

The amount of plot twists that ensue... I can't even begin to explain it. "Do Revenge" is slightly under the 2-hour mark, and yet.. SO MUCH happened. The pacing of the film was done very well to fit this amount of content within two hours. It was disorienting at times (but in a good, I've-never-seen-this-before kind of way). 

Watch Do Revenge Trailer With Camila Mendes & Maya Hawke - Netflix Tudum

At certain points, I was unsure of how the movie was going to end. "How are we going to get to an ending from here?" Was a thought I had running through my head on, like, 6 different occasions. I wish I were exaggerating. And yet, we made it to the end, and it was a satisfying ending as well! 

Overall, this film's cast pulls stars from previously successful teen franchises, like Camila Mendes ("Riverdale"), Maya Hawke ("Stranger Things"), Austin Abrams ("Euphoria"), Ava Capri ("Love, Victor"), and Alisha Boe ("13 Reasons Why"). This was not only a smart casting decision but also a genius marketing decision as it caught the eyes of their target demographic without even needing to see a trailer. Teens who found comfort in the previously mentioned franchises are granted a certain familiarity watching "Do Revenge" because all of their favorite actors are in it. 

That's not to say that these actors were only cast due to their notoriety within the film's target demographic. Each member of the cast absolutely knocked it out of the park, with Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke being the standout stars. Their performances were so entertaining to watch, for the comedy, for the drama, for all of it. 


Comments

  1. Robbie PrecinOctober 2, 2022 at 9:13 PM

    Interesting how there are so many plot twists you've mentioned. I personal feel like having a lot of plot twists usually ruins films for me, but not always. Seems to me that that's what the film is pretty much about. It sounds impossible to add that many plot twists in a film, but the impossible had happened. I'm curious to learn more about this film.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All My Questions About Primer

Image
  It has taken me almost a week to write this blog post, because I keep telling myself if I take a little more time to digest Primer, I will finally understand it. Turns out, I won't completely understand it no matter how hard I try. So, that's the direction I've decided to run with.  Purely for authenticity (and for comedic reason), here are the notes I took during the movie. It really shows how much I retained, and where I was clearly grasping for straws. Keep in mind, I was so hypnotized by this film that I stopped taking notes halfway through and closed my laptop, so these points only cover the first half of the film. But, I digress. Notes: - sketchy business operation? - ransom/blackmail call at the beginning? - they ship out computer parts to use for hacking  - Philip and Robert vs Aaron and Abe  - Seems like some people are closer than others, some people are more involved than others  - I have no idea what they are trying to invent  - I feel like one of them is evil
Read more

Fresh Eyes FIRST TAKE: "Don't Worry Darling"

Image
  So... let's talk about Don't Worry Darling. (SPOILERS AHEAD!)     I went into seeing this film for the same reason everyone else went to see it: for Harry Styles. As one of his first big feature films, the movie trailer caught the attention of many. However, Styles' lack of experience seems to also be his downfall.       Don't Worry Darling follows the narrative of Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles), a young couple who live in the utopian, squeaky clean Victory village as members of the Victory Project. Every day, Jack and all the other men go off to work in their 1950s style cars, while the wives clean their houses, listening to propaganda media, going to a strangely regimented ballet class, sipping martinis, and gossiping. In other words, the wives do "traditional wife things", while the husbands do "traditional husband things". However, the mens' occupation is unknown. The one price to live a perfect life? The women aren't all
Read more