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Not Okay

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Not Okay
Release poster
Directed byQuinn Shephard
Written byQuinn Shephard
Produced by
  • Brad Weston
  • Caroline Jaczko
Starring
CinematographyRobby Baumgartner
Edited byMollie Goldstein
Music byPierre-Philippe Côté
Production
company
Makeready
Distributed bySearchlight Pictures
Release date
  • July 29, 2022 (2022-07-29)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Not Okay is a 2022 American satirical black comedy drama film written and directed by Quinn Shephard. It stars Zoey Deutch as a young woman who desperately wants to be famous and beloved on the Internet, only for her efforts to lead to her mistakenly gaining fame as a survivor of a tragedy. It also stars Mia Isaac, Nadia Alexander, Embeth Davidtz, Karan Soni, and Dylan O'Brien.

Not Okay was released on July 29, 2022, by Searchlight Pictures on Hulu.[1] It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Danni Sanders is an aspiring writer who works as a photo editor for Depravity, an online magazine in New York City. Struggling with both her job and making friends, Danni lies about attending an upcoming retreat in Paris to impress her co-worker Colin, a social media influencer. Danni spends the next week posting edited pictures of herself in Paris from her Brooklyn apartment. She gains a modest following on Instagram as a result, which includes Colin. A few days later, Danni posts a doctored photo of herself by the Arc de Triomphe only minutes before several major Parisian landmarks, including the Arc, are bombed by terrorists. To uphold her lie, Danni claims she witnesses the bombing and fakes returning from Paris, joining up with her parents at the airport.

With her parents, co-workers, and online following believing she is a survivor of the terrorist attacks, Danni immediately garners widespread attention and sympathy, leading Danni to lean into the lie. After attending a trauma support group, she meets and befriends teenage anti-gun activist Rowan Aldren, a school shooting survivor who also has a large social media following. Inspired by Rowan, Danni writes an article about her "experience" of being in a terrorist attack. This article, which includes the hashtag #IAmNotOkay, goes viral with Rowan's help and propels Danni to fame. Danni grows closer to Rowan, becoming a confidant and sisterly figure to her. Danni is invited to a party with Colin, where they have a brief sexual encounter which is unpleasant for Danni, making her realize the life of fame she wanted is not as desirable as simply being a good person.

Danni is invited to speak at a rally with Rowan. When counter-protestors set off fireworks, Rowan suffers a PTSD attack and is hospitalized. Danni, who has been having recurring hallucinations of the Paris bomber, feels increasingly guilty about deceiving Rowan. Meanwhile, Harper, a skeptical co-worker of Danni's, uncovers her deception and gives Danni an ultimatum: either Danni comes clean on her own terms, or Harper will announce the fraud to the world. Danni decides to publish a short apology detailing the truth and promising to change. This derails her life quickly; she becomes an online pariah, is fired from her job, rejected by Rowan, moves in with her parents after her address gets leaked online, receives death threats and harassment in real life, and deactivates all of her social media accounts.

A month later, Danni is attending a support group for individuals who are victims of online shaming, where she is encouraged to make amends with those she hurt. Danni attends a spoken word event where Rowan speaks about how Danni exploited her, which impresses Danni and earns cheers from the crowd. Upon realizing that amends would be for her own benefit rather than for Rowan's, Danni quietly exits the theater.

Cast

Production

In June 2021, Zoey Deutch was announced to star in the film, with Quinn Shephard directing from a screenplay she wrote, with Searchlight Pictures set to produce, and Hulu distributing.[2] In August 2021, Dylan O'Brien, Mia Isaac, Embeth Davidtz, Nadia Alexander, Tia Dionne Hodge, Negin Farsad, Karan Soni and Dash Perry were announced to star in the film.[3]

Principal photography began in July 2021 in New York City.[4][5] Filming wrapped on September 12, 2021.[6]

Release

The film was released on July 29, 2022, on Hulu in the United States, on Disney+ internationally and on Star+ in Latin America.[1] It was originally scheduled to be released on August 5, 2022, before it was moved up a week.[7]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 95 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Even if it may not add much to the discourse, Not Okay makes some salient points about online life, with extra sparkle added by an effervescent Zoey Deutch."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[9]

Lena Wilson of The New York Times found that the film succeeds to highlight some of the negative aspects of social media on people's mental health, and stated it manages to develop Zoey Deutch's character, notably across her mental health struggles, but said the movie lacks narrative finesse.[10] Adrian Horton of The Guardian rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars and found it to be a solid social media film, praising Deutch's performance for depicting anxiety and vanity across her character, and found the ending to be sharp, while saying the film's weaknesses reside in its looseness of tone and time.[11] Jennifer Green of Common Sense Media rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, complimented the depiction of positive messages, citing honesty and the movie's take on the negative aspects of fame, while noting the diverse representations across the characters.[12] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com rated the movie 2.5 out of 4 stars and found it to be an entertaining comedy drama, complimenting Deutch and Mia Isaac for their performances, but found that the script restrains itself from depicting a truly dark satire.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Not Okay [@NotOkayFilm] (April 29, 2022). "👁👄👁 NEW RELEASE DATE‼️ Not Okay is streaming July 29 only on @Hulu . #NotOkayMovie" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 8, 2021). "Zoey Deutch To Star in Quinn Shephard's 'Not Okay' For Searchlight And Makeready". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Donnelly, Matt (August 2, 2021). "Dylan O'Brien Joins Zoey Deutch in Searchlight Satire 'Not Okay' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Staff, People (August 2, 2021). "Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka Hit Bridgehampton, Plus Minnie Driver, Megan Thee Stallion and More". People. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Meredith, Karenna (July 31, 2021). "Zoey Deutch Debuts "Money Piece" Highlights, and All of a Sudden We're Back in 1992". PopSugar. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Lee, Helen A. (September 17, 2021). "Not Okay Release Date, Cast And Plot – What We Know So Far". Looper. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Chikhoune, Ryma (March 11, 2022). "First Look: Zoey Deutch's Parisian Meets Y2K-Influenced Style in 'Not Okay'". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "Not Okay". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  9. ^ "Not Okay". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  10. ^ Wilson, Lena (2022-07-28). "'Not Okay' Review: Posting Through It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  11. ^ "Not Okay review – a just okay satire for the influencer age". the Guardian. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  12. ^ "Not Okay Movie Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  13. ^ Tallerico, Brian. "Not Okay movie review & film summary (2022) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
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