The film is centered around an introverted student named Vivian as she tries to be invisible at her school until a list comes out causing her to be frustrated with her peers behavior so she takes a page from her mothers book and writes an anonymous zine.
Moxie is a novel written by Jennifer Mathieu the book was released in 2015. Netflix announced in 2019 that the novel would be heading to the streaming service the screenplay is written by Dylan Meyer and it would be Directed by Amy Poehler. This is not the first time Amy Poehler has directed she previously Directed for the Netflix comedy “Wine Country” however this is the first film that dives into serious subject matters such as sexism and harassment where the majority of the cast are teens instead of adults.
One of the best moments in the film is when the ensemble cast gets together to discuss who Moxie is showcasing their natural charisma as they interact with one another making their performances seem effortless. The most interesting part of the films that has to be pointed out is that the film actually focuses a lot on the side characters making them realistic to teens today. Such characters have their own struggles for example student athlete Kiera is a laid back teen who enjoys hanging out with her friends without making it cliche, the actress Sydney Park adds a depth that some will recognize in their peers as having a cool exterior that is until she loses the athlete award to Mitchell feeling gut wrenched. Another character that breaks away from being cliched is Kaitlyn (Sabrina Haskett) a student who is a funny and sweet girl who is publically shamed by her principal for wearing a spaghetti strap as the dress code dehumanizes girls. She is then added on the list for best rack this causes Vivian to create “Moxie” to challenge the school's treatment of girls.
One scene that stood out had to take place in the cafeteria when Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Peña) tries to buy a drink she inserts a dollar in the vending machine however that is ruined when Mitchell (Patrick Shwarzeneggar) stands in front of the vending machine as he starts harassing her while blocking her he then pushes the button for a beverage as he stares at her he spits in it then handing it back to her leaving lucy feeling unsafe. This interaction is displayed what many men in school do and society believes it normal that the phrase boys will be boys is used to excuse mens behavior. As the film continues it's important to note that Vivian saw the interaction and her character seems to represent society by saying that “ Look, I just wanted to say ignore Mitchell.” followed by Lucy's “ He’s dangerous.” as she recognizes that his behavior is foreshadowing that something bad will happen then Vivian says “I don’t think he's dangerous. I think he’s just annoying.” This conversation points out how many believe that mens behavior are normal however that is not the case usually it gets worse by the time they are in the workplace.
The film makes a bold choice by following the books Vivian instead of changing the perspective to say another character such as Lucy however Vivian in a way is representing what society has been told what to think. Having Vivian be the main character actually enhances the storytelling as the spectators can see the character development from her being naive to using her voice.
Comments