"If you're not okay, that's okay."
Title: Not Okay
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Dylan O'Brien, Mia Issac, Nadia Alexander
Rating: ★★★★★
Not Okay has been one of my most anticipated film releases of the year. So many elements of this film had to fall perfectly into place for it to be an entertaining film and not completely offensive. I am more than happy to say that the team behind Not Okay did a remarkable job not doing that.
Not Okay follows Danni, an ambitious young woman desperate for followers and fame, who fakes a trip to Paris to up her social media presence. When a terrifying incident takes place in the real world and becomes a part of her imaginary trip, her white lie becomes a moral quandary that offers her all the attention she has ever wanted.
It is not bold of me to say that this is comparable to Dear Evan Hansen. If you loved the musical (and no, I am not talking about the movie because that wasn't nearly as good), then Not Okay is in the same vein. These are not easy subjects to create films around, especially if there is meant to be a comedic element included.
Zoey Deutch is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood right now. For those who have not seen her previous work, I recommend watching Set It Up on Netflix. Her rom-com colors shine in that film, but we see a new side of her come to life here. A character we are forced to hate instead of love. The movie is about Danni, but it is also about how her actions affect the people around her. I think many of us will be able to find a part that we love about ourselves in Danni and also a part we deeply hate. I love Zoey. I love Zoey. I love Zoey. Give her more rom-com roles. Give her all romance book to movie adaptation roles. Please. Thank you.
I have seen a lot of Dylan O'Brien movies, but not once have I seen him play a bleached-blonde-hair-weed-smoking-wannabe-Instagram-influencer. One of my favorite reviews I saw for this film was 'We got a Dylan O'Brien sex scene, but at what cost?" He has a small amount of screen time as Colin, but his actions make a significant impact on Danni. Yeah, he sucks, but I am happy to see Dylan back on screen after we have been in a DROUGHT (minus the great All Too Well music video).
Mia Isaac is a breakout star in this film. She plays Rowen, a gun violence activist, who attends a violence support group Danni finds herself at. This is her first big movie credit, along with another 2022 release Don't Make Me Go, starring John Cho. She embodies a personality that we see in news and media a lot nowadays, combining the likes of Amanda Gorman's spoken word and Olivia Julianna's recent abortion fundraising efforts. I am genuinely in awe of Mia's performance, so much so that I was tearing up at multiple of her scenes. I hope she gets the credit she deserves for this role, and I can't wait to see where she goes from here!
This is the first I have ever heard of Director Quinn Shephard, but I will be following closely with her career to see what she does next!
If you all follow Reece @guywithamoviecamera on Tik Tok and Instagram, he has been promoting the hell out of this movie, and I am just obsessed with him. If you want silly videos of Dylan O'Brien behind the scenes, go look at his account. He is feeding us the content we deserve.
Watch Not Okay on Hulu now! You will not regret it:)