Do Revenge: Wickedly Delightful

Who better to revamp the teen revenge genre than a cast of actors who have been dominating teen series and young adult movies for the last five years?

The film leans more into the campy nature of American teen movies by hiding its vapidness inside a pastel shell. Throughout the entire movie, audiences will find references to their favorite teen movies from clueless to 10 Things I Hate About You but updated in a Gen Z fashion. 

Do Revenge centers on the life of the Rosehill elite with Drea Torres at the center. One day she is ousted into social solitary confinement after her boyfriend sends a sexy video of her to the entire school. 

A good teen comedy is always adapted from classic literature. For Do Revenge, it is Strangers on a Train. Instead of two men exchanging murder assignments, it is two bitter high school girls swapping their revenge targets. In order to beat their enemies they must put in the time to fully understand them. Drea looks for dirt on Eleanor’s nemesis, Carissa. In contrast, with a fresh makeover, Eleanor infiltrates Drea’s ex-boyfriend, Max, golden social circle. 

Of course, with every revenge story, our heroes succumbed to their demons and repeat the actions of those who wronged them like leaking private messages. It is their ability to go low that puts the audience in a complex situation if they can still support their behavior and justify it. The film goes off course with a very well-delivered twist that brings out the worst in our characters. It revives it from a formulaic path it seemed to be going down. Our leads aren’t trying to win over the audience but get revenge on those at fault. No one is trying to come out of this unscathed. This twist saves the movie.  

Other than the performances, the directing is strong, vibrant production design, and includes a wardrobe one could only dream of. It elevates this campy world to make the character’s actions feel like the most believable part of the story. 

Young Adult films please take note.