Not Okay Review: Zoey Deutch Charms As Unlikable Social Media Fame-Chaser

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With the rise of social media influencers as part of the larger popular culture, movies have begun to tackle their impact on the individual, perhaps most notably with the black comedy Ingrid Goes West. In her new movie, Not Okay, writer-director Quinn Shephard delivers a black comedy of her own, one that focuses on one person desiring the fame of being an influencer above all else — to her own personal detriment. Zoey Deutch shines as the (mostly) unlikable lead in Not Okay, an incisive and entertaining satire of social media influencers and fame.

Not Okay follows Danni Sanders (Deutch) an aspiring writer and social media influencer who, to impress the guy she likes — Colin (Dylan O'Brien) — tells him she's been accepted into a writer's retreat in Paris. Instead of admitting to the lie, Danni uses creative photo editing to post images on social media as if she really is in Europe. However, when there's a terrorist attack in Paris, Danni's lie gets more complicated. Instead of telling her friends and family she was never really in Paris, she continues with the ruse. It spins out of control and, when Danni attends a support group for those who survived traumatic events, she meets Rowan (Mia Isaac), a young activist fighting for gun reform. As Danni begins to learn there's more to life than social media fame, her colleague Harper (Nadia Alexander) begins digging into her story.

Related: Every Upcoming Dylan O’Brien Movie

Shephard's script for Not Okay is clever right from the jump, warning audiences the movie tells the story of an unlikable  protagonist before delivering on that promise in spades. With Danni, Shephard manages to construct a character who is truly destructive and does some heinous things that audiences