While paying tribute to all the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s teen flicks we've grown up watching, Netflix's Do Revenge delivers a performance worthy of becoming a cult classic movie itself. Starring Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes, the central theme of this dark teen comedy is vengeance and toxic female friendships.
The story starts when Camila Mendes's character, Queen Bee Drea, has one of her intimate videos leaked. This leads to the formation of a plan where a transfer student named Eleanor, played by Maya Hawke, teams up with Drea to exact revenge on each of their respective "foes" by carrying out each other's dirty deeds.
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Set in a Clueless-esque high school, with Sarah Michelle Gellar (notorious for playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer), serving as the headmistress, the visuals submerge you in a world of unabashedly bright colours that completely contradict the dark undertones laid throughout the movie.
Even though the film is classified as a teen flick, it does shed light on some very real issues, with central messages of not believing victims and how easily men get away with their crimes.
Austin Abrams' character, Max, does a phenomenal job of portraying the indie jock who uses his "allyship" as a guise for his actual problematic masculinity. This iteration of the popular jock character as an indie boy who dresses effeminately, rather than a hyper masculine character, is one of the ways the movie does an amazing job of translating teen movies to modern times.
This is exactly what sets Do Revenge apart from the other modern teen flicks. I've sat through most new movies with gritted teeth due to second-hand embarrassment, as I witness characters being written by people who have no idea how teens behave. These movies incorrectly use modern slangs to an excessive degree, show text messages in the most awkward ways, and replay the same tropes again and again.
The music and wardrobe are also a huge part of Do Revenge. Just as the rest of the movie pays tribute to the old classics while translating them to modern times, the same can be observed with the soundtrack and clothes. The soundtrack seamlessly meshes the old and the new with the movie beginning with Hayley Kiyoko and Olivia Rodrigo and then ending with The Cranberries and Meredith Brooks. In terms of wardrobe choices, every single person occupying the screen has thoughtfully crafted looks with most outfits containing some Easter egg alluding to old favourites. I'll leave the readers to guess through each scene and list all the homages you can find throughout the movie.
Over the past decade or so, you could say that the teen flick genre had more or less seen its demise with the new movies being released never living up to its ancestors. Netflix itself has consistently delivered abominations in the name of teen flicks with movies like The Kissing Booth, The Perfect Date, and the ever-awful He's All That. In this scenario, Do Revenge truly catches you off-guard with the potential to serve as a renaissance for teen flicks.
Tasnim Odrika has only one personality trait and that is cats. Share ideas for new personality traits with her at odrika02@gmail.com