Teens always gonna teen. In the 1980s, Heathers bleakly took the concepts of teen social power struggle and went about upending them…through murder. Netflix and the 2020s kids are a little smarter, and would rather just murder their reputation. Do Revenge succeeds because it sticks to a teen formula that works, and because it has a killer young cast and modernized storytelling. And Miami Beach. Gorgeous. Stunning. Miami Beach.
Drea (Camila Mendes) is the head Heather at modern day Rosehill High School. Flanked by her boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams) and bff Tara (Alisha Boe), Drea is all set to rule high school her senior year. That is, until Max convinces her to create a naughty video, which (obviously, it’s a movie) leaks to the school. Pariahed from her social group, Drea works a summer job at a tennis court, where she bumps into Eleanor (Maya Hawke). Despite Drea’s guttural condescension, Eleanor explains that she’s transferring for her senior year to Rosehill, and will be tormented by her camp ex girlfriend Carissa (Ava Capri). Despite pleas from the headmaster (Sarah Michelle Gellar, GREAT casting) to lay low, Drea decides with Eleanor to invade each other’s social circles on the DL, and wreak havoc on their tormentors Max and Carissa.
Do Revenge’s set up is stuff we’ve seen before: Heathers, 10 Things I Hate About You, American Pie. Teenagers are always pretending to be something they aren’t…except maybe they are? But the movie gets a lot of good will from Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke, completely likable opposites with equally empathetic backstories that play nicely off each other. Plus, the high school world building is fun enough, with glossy rich Miami being filled with a fascinating mixture of artists, sociopaths, and drama queens, led by the delightfully douchey Max. The outfits and activities modernize the story and distract you a bit, as, like Maya Hawke, you try to find your footing in this strange place.
But the delight of Do Revenge is its 2nd act. We think we know the beats of a story like this: both of the girls are gonna be found out, ostracized, then make a big resurgence at the end of year party. Well there is a big end of year party, but the route there really surprised the hell out of me. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s story makes some bold swings early; the plots for revenge is over in about 45 minutes, leaving about an hour of movie left. That time is spent digging into the characters of Drea and especially Eleanor, and the personal consequences these double lives have had on their real ones, making the pair much more interesting. While the audience is a tad unmoored, Robinson has been hiding some story swerves in plainsight, but starts careening them to the surface, giving Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke a chance to show some of their talents. Mendes is a star, but Hawke proves she is that unholy combination of her mom’s charisma and her dad’s acting flexibility. This section of the movie uses the wealth of teen movies beforehand to fix some storytelling sins of the past in favor of a more welcome modern flair that gives Do Revenge an edge and unpredictability until the big end of year party.
And hell, any movie that ends driving down a South Beach overpass can never be that bad. It’s been long enough and Netflix has proven their teen stories good enough that they can start reenergizing movie tales of the past. Plus, as a Smosh fan, I was delighted to see Olivia Sui in the movie, even though they didn’t let her be as weird as I hoped they would let her be.