I’ve made the following statement a dozen times this year, and I’ll say it again: Netflix is determined to win the hearts of its young adult audience. The streamer has produced several films and tv shows this year that revolve around young adults dealing with subjects such as identity, sexuality, and going on the painstaking journey of figuring out who they are, and most importantly, who they want to be.  While Do Revenge doesn’t tackle any of those topics in meaningful way, it’s an entertaining coming-of-age revenge story set in the halls of an elite private school.

Premise

Riverdale’s Camila Mendes stars as Drea, a queen bee attending an elite private school that will lead her all the way to her dream Ivy-league university. Although she’s a scholarship student, her wealthy classmates don’t look down on her, but worship her for her beauty and intelligence. Her reign is also helped by the fact that she’s dating the most popular boy at school, Max (Austin Abrams). Drea’s kingdom comes crashing down when an intimate tape she filmed with Max is leaked to the entire student body at the end of their junior year. She blames and attacks Max, which results in all of her friends abandoning her. When she returns for her senior year, she discovers that Max is dating her former friend, Tara (Alisha Boe) and feigning remorse for what happened to her. When she meets Eleanor (Maya Hawke), and discovers that the girl was outed by one of their classmates, the two team up to take down each other’s bullies once and for all.

Cast & Characters

Our leads, Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke, do a great job in their respective roles. Mendes definitely channels her infamous Riveradale character, Veronica Lodge, while playing the vengeful, but sharp, Drea. Although she is a scholarship student, she doesn’t let anyone make her feel less than.  Drea is crafty and you don’t want to cross her, as several characters learn the hard way. Mendes portrays Drea with just the right mix of vulnerability and ferocity. These attributes make the character thrilling to follow and root for. Hawke’s character Eleanor will quickly win the hearts of viewers who remember what it was like to be an outsider in high school. Eleanor is haunted by a nasty rumor that began at summer camp many years before the movie begins. We’re told that the lasting impact of this rumor has left her a social pariah among her peers. I can’t say too much about Hawke’s storyline because it will spoil a huge and crafty surprise we get halfway through the film. Eleanor is ultimately just as crafty, sharp, and manipulative, as her partner-in-crime. Watching Hawke switch from one aspect of Eleanor’s personality to the other is wildly entertaining.

After watching Austin Abrams in several “nice guy” roles, it was great to see him play the villain. Yes, Max is a one note high school movie villain who is selfish, vain, and conniving, but what Abrams brings to the role makes the character bearable. Former 13 Reasons Why star, Alisha Boe, takes what could have been a stereotypical popular girl character and brings some thoughtfulness and vulnerability to the role. Tara knows the way that Drea is being treated is wrong, but she doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Max and the rest of their clique. Former Game of Thrones star, Sophie Turner, makes a cameo as a student who learns first hand why you don’t want to cross Drea. Although she’ll always be my Queen of Winterfell, it was nice to see her play a new character. Even if said character is barely in the film at all. The cameo I enjoyed the most is Sarah Michelle Gellar’s. She portrays a stern, but fair high school principal who attempts to guide Drea through her high school troubles. Gellar absolutely nails the role.

Criticisms & Final Thoughts

While the film is enjoyable, it’s by no means perfect. Without spoiling too much, the main characters do some pretty messed up and dangerous things in the name of getting their revenge. There’s one scene that involves the student body consuming soup drugged with hallucinogenic mushrooms and a massive panic ensues. Our lead heroines never get in trouble for this even though it could have been disastrous and even deadly. Another problem that stood out to me were situations in which Drea would weaponize the fact that she was a woman of color to slap down her white, wealthy classmates. This comes across especially forced and uncomfortable because the character is largely white-coded outside of these instances. We see nothing pertaining to Drea’s cultural background and how much it differs from her classmates. Heck, we never even meet her mother, who is referenced several times throughout the movie. Having Drea weaponize the fact that she is a person of color without showing or clearly defining her cultural background was a mistake in my opinion. I would have appreciated the addition of this information because it was have helped to better define the character. Criticisms aside, this movie was enjoyable and wildly entertaining. It’s just the right mix of high school drama, comedy, witty dialogue, and pop culture references to keep viewers watching until the very end. Do Revenge is currently available to stream exclusively on Netflix.