Do Revenge: A classic teen flick for a new generation
On September 16, Netflix released its new high school dramedy Do Revenge starring Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as the leads. From creator Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Sweet/Vicious, Thor: Love and Thunder), Do Revenge is not only a teen comedy that aims to explore the angst and trauma of existing when you’re a teenager; but to pay homage to the ‘90s teen flicks many of us grew up loving – but curated for a new generation.
Loosely inspired by the premise of Hitchcock’s Strangers On a Train about two strangers joining forces to kill each other’s enemies, Do Revenge takes its own creative freedom and transfers the story to the Rosehill Academy – a posh high school in Miami – and gives us something probably more terrifying than bloodthirsty protagonists: revenge-obsessed high schoolers.
Since its release, people from all over the world have watched the film and loved it, calling it an instant classic – and while we don’t think we would call it a classic, we understand where y’all are coming from. It’s funny, it’s witty, and even though it references many films within its own genre, it’s never derivative or trite. It’s a smart film that uses satire to acknowledge any potential negatives and turn them into something worth watching.
Do Revenge Plot Overview
Drea Torres (Camila Mendes) is the classic popular girl and queen bee of an all-girl hive – a la Mean Girls – but with a twist: unlike her wealthy peers at Rosehill, Drea is “poor” (middle class) and has spent her entire life curating the perfect life at school in order to achieve her dream of going to an Ivy League school. However, her life and status change in an instant when her equally popular boyfriend, Max (Austin Abrams), leaks a nude video of her to the entire student body, unleashing her terrible thirst for revenge.
In comes Eleanor (Maya Hawke), the new lesbian transfer student at Rosehill who also has an act of revenge on her to-do list. When she was thirteen, she was outed, shamed, and demonized by a classmate at a summer camp and now she wants to make her pay for what she did. So in classic teen fashion, these two unlikely allies team up and hatch a plan to hunt down each others’ tormentors and “do” each other’s revenge.
After the ever-classic makeover montage, the pair embarks on their revenge mission, while taking us down memory lane by referencing all manner of classic teen movies – Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, to name a few. Do Revenge is very aware of the clichés it takes from these classics and how they don’t meet the standards of the generations it is aimed at. But it’s precisely that self-awareness that makes the film feel like a refreshing take on the genre rather than a mockery.
So while at first one would think that Do Revenge’s plot is about as predictable as it gets, in a surprising twist, the film ends up taking us in a completely different direction and showing us that revenge is, in fact, a dish best served cold.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Now, while we thoroughly enjoyed Do Revenge and were very happy to see a queer main character like Eleanor be gay and do crimes in HD (literally), we have to acknowledge that although it’s a good piece of entertainment with a great cast and a killer soundtrack, the movie did lack something that most classic teen movies have: a character to root for.
Generally, in movies or shows about teens, creators try to give redeeming qualities to the characters (especially the main ones) so that everyone watching can relate to them in some way. Do Revenge seems to have forgotten about that, and although that didn’t affect our viewing experience completely, it did leave us with an uneasy feeling in the end.
Y’all know that here at Q+ Magazine, we’re always championing representation, and we really wanted to root for Eleanor no matter what, but after all was said and done, we found ourselves not so sure if we could do that anymore. We agree that main characters don’t always have to be likable and endearing, as flawed characters are usually more interesting, but Do Revenge wanted us to emotionally invest in these characters and their stories. When the film ended we weren’t sure if they had achieved this goal for us, or not.
Did that make us hate the movie? No, but we couldn’t help but find it slightly problematic.
Do Revenge is a dark comedy that although focuses almost entirely on a revenge/friendship story, doesn’t shy away from addressing issues that today’s teens face on a daily basis. With references to classic teen movies and cameos from VERY familiar faces, Do Revenge is, to the surprise of many, a cleverly crafted and entertaining film that could potentially become for new generations what the films it intends to honor were for past generations.
Do Revenge is available to stream exclusively on Netflix. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
