I find so often in this day and age young adult films never really know what they’re trying to be, they are either too on the nose with their gen z and millennial commentary or they’re just plain awful, yet this film to me was lightning in a bottle. I went in with the lowest of expectations and spent the first part of the film guessing which movies and TV shows I’ve seen the actors in before being sucked in to a fantastic story line in the second half. Honestly it’s an absolute cult classic from the beginning and shines a light on all the things we love in 90s and noughties chick flicks.

Do Revenge follows two girls, Drea and Eleano,r as they embark on a new school year. At their school Drea was part of the cool crowd until her boyfriend leaked a sexual video that she sent him in confidence, and Eleanor has joined the school after being bullied out of her last one for being forced to come out as gay. The two team up to get revenge on the groups that have wronged them, from Eleanor and her bully being at this school and ruining her life, to Drea doing the same to her ex-boyfriend and friends. It’s a brilliant story that perfectly encapsulates everything we love about 90s and noughties chick flicks, from the makeover scene to the outlandish outfits that are very Y2K, and even the slang used, it’s a marriage between gen z and old school chick flicks that I can thoroughly support and get behind.

But there is even more to this film when a twist happens part way through that I did not see coming. Already you have this great base line of an original cult classic chick flick and now you have this twist that adds so much more element and depth to the characters you’re watching. It’s absolutely brilliant and I won’t lie I was hooked from start to finish, yes I went in slightly dubious, but as I continued to watch I didn’t want it to end and I want to see more movies like this because it was so well done.

I feel the actors chosen were perfect for the roles they played, the style and costume departments clearly understood the assignment when they created the looks because they fit perfectly with the genre and the time, and while it felt very 90s in its looks it had the modern elements of phones and laptops that bought it into this 21st century era that we’re living now and made it feel fresh without being too over the top or on the nose about its point.

Yes it talked about non-binary people, yes it talks about sexual assault and being an ally to the less fortunate or minority groups, but it wasn’t too much. It wasn’t like a group of old men sat in a boardroom one day and devised this idea, clearly the people behind the scenes knew their target audience and knew what they were trying to do. I feel this film could be the Clueless for this generation, it has that power and I highly recommend everyone to watch it because it is so good and truly blew me away and was not what I expected at all. I could go on and on about how much I love this film but you have to watch it for yourself to really understand.

What do you think of Do Revenge?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding