This weekend, one of my favorites has a new movie streaming on Hulu… Not Okay, starring Zoey Deutch. I’ve been a big fan of the way she can do comedy as well as drama and make it look easy. Like Anthony Mackie, I think she is one great role, in a great movie, away from getting the others to really notice it. I just don’t think “Not Okay” is that role though.
One thing I did really like about Not Okay, is that it actually played to Zoey’s strengths. She would go from fun & funny to serious throughout the film. And never giving too much of either. All while her character reaps the rewards of internet popularity and at the same time, receives a reality check when surrounded by those that have survived human tragedy.
On the other hand, I think Not Okay suffers from trying too hard to create emotional connections with the viewers. Taking the aggravation of watching influencers do stupid stuff for “likes” on their social media platforms and then switching it up to sending messages about horrific events that are all too common today. The bad part about doing that was it made it almost predictable. So instead of getting into what they were trying to say, I spent most of my time seeing if my guesses were right. I think they just needed to pick a lane and stick with it.
In the end, Not Okay was actually just ok. I think the story had the potential to be more than what it was, but it would need more of a seasoned supporting cast to help sell it.