Do Revenge review: Camila Mendes made a wicked version of Mean Girls

Alfred Hitchcock’s influence is apparent in Netflix’s teen dark comedy Get Revenge. The 1951 thriller inspired it. On a Train, StrangersThe novel By was the inspiration for the name. The Talented Mister Ripley writer Patricia Highsmith. Instead of dwelling on the plotting murder, Highsmith focuses instead on the twisty. Get Revenge The plot is to destroy the social status and social standing of two It Crowd members.

The film neatly fits into the canon of dark comedies about the ruthlessness of teenage girls — think Heathers Oder The Mean Girls. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, director (co-writer Thor: Love and ThunderCreator of Sweet/ViciousThe 2022 remake of this genre is woven by ). A few romantic subplots slow the movie’s midpoint down, but by the end, the movie regains its momentum and pulls together for a satisfying ending.

[Ed. note: This review contains setup spoilers for Do Revenge.]

Photo: Kim Simms/Netflix

Get Revenge follows Drea (Camila Mendes), formerly the most popular girl at school, until her reputation tanks — not just because her ex-boyfriend Max released her sex tape, but also because she punched him in the face afterward. Drea, who is on scholarship to her Miami prep school (Austin Abrams), comes from a wealthy background. He has more social capital than her, so he’s able to turn his friends and the rest of the school against her, claiming a video from his phone got leaked and that she assaulted him for no reason. Drea is just trying to get by senior year. However, that change happens when Eleanor (Maya Hawke) becomes her transfer student.

Eleanor, a socially awkward teenager, was made worse by her crush Carissa (Ava Capri). A rumor spread that Eleanor forcibly kissed Carissa while she was in her underwear. Eleanor hates to see Carissa again after landing at the exact same school. After an emotional moment in the bathroom, Eleanor and Drea bond over the people who’ve wronged them, and hatch a plan for revenge — but with an important caveat. The two decide to swap vengeance targets: Drea will take down Carissa, while Eleanor will infiltrate Max’s friend group for ultimate revenge.

As with other movies from the Mean-Girls High School subgenre Get Revenge It focuses on complex social plots, vicious cliques, and other nefarious activities. But it isn’t derivative or a cliche: Instead, it’s a natural evolution of this type of movie for 2022. Some parts of high school are constants, but youth culture rapidly evolves, so teen movies — especially ones adapting or paying homage to older material — risk feeling outdated. Get RevengeThis curse is avoided by Celeste Ballard and Robinson smartly updating certain plot points.

Photo: Kim Simms/Netflix

For one thing, Max is a villain for 2022 — a good-looking straight rich white boy who uses performative public wokeness to hide his real motives. Max, a young and privileged man, is virtually untouchable. But that just means Drea and Eleanor have to come up with an even more enjoyably complex plan to take him down — and initially, it makes them easier to root for.

As their behavior escalates, so do their obsessions. Hawke and Mendes are great at giving their audience no clear choice of who to support. Their friendship is at first inspiring, and they rally against the wrongdoers. Then it becomes toxic and unbalanced. It then mutates to something entirely.

It’s a hell of a ride, all done with soft, influencer-worthy pastels. Movies like Heathers And The Mean Girls The reason they became iconic is because of the strong visual palettes that reflected ideal teenagehood during their respective times. Get Revenge continues the trend, updating the film’s look for those intimately acquainted with perfectly calibrated aesthetics that fit neatly under social media hashtags, whether it’s “Instagram witch” or #glamgirl.

Photo: Kim Simms/Netflix

When the movie focuses on the revenge plots, or Eleanor and Drea’s increasingly toxic relationship, it’s sharp and tight. A few romance B-plots begin to take centre stage midway through. Drea gets involved with a friend of Carissa’s, rebellious artist Russ (Rish Shah), while Eleanor flirts with Max’s sister Gabbi (Talia Ryder). Even though some of the scenes were sweet, none of them make Eleanor nor Drea more sympathetic. Their existence seems to stem from the idea that teenage movies must have obligatory relationships. The effect is to drag the film out and slow it down.

At the end, though, the movie shifts back to Eleanor and Drea — and for the better. They play off one another in a series of unexpected twists and turns, which draws them together. At some points, the movie seems like it’s going to turn into a moralizing statement about the dangers of revenge, especially when Drea’s college plans become jeopardized. But Robinson and ​​Ballard smartly avoid those pitfalls, proving they understand what the audience for these sorts of movies really wants: the vicarious thrill of watching vicious teenage girls go to great lengths to get what they want, while navigating the complicated relationships they form with one another. Eleanor and Drea both get what they need and deserve, without spoiling too many. It’s a satisfying conclusion that doesn’t punish them or extol them. You can ignore their cheesy epilogues about how they seduce potential lovers.

Get RevengeNetflix debuts Sept. 16