Senior Year Review: Rebel Wilson Leads Bland, Heartless Netflix Comedy
Directed by Alex Hardcastle from a screenplay by Andrew Knauer, Arthur Pielli, and Brandon Scott Jones, Senior Year tells a familiar story. While it attempts to incorporate elements of classic films from the late 1990s and early aughts, the Netflix comedy fails to capture any magic with a lackluster script that could have used a lot more heart. The film is filled with nostalgia, but doesn’t use it to properly amplify its own story. The lead character, relationship dynamics and premise are surface-level and, despite a few funny moments, Senior Year never lives up to its potential.
Stephanie Conway (Angourie Rice) is not cool or popular. To prevent herself from ever being made fun of or belittled again in front of her peers by mean girl Tiffany (Ana Yi Puig and played by Zoë Chao as an adult), Stephanie vows to become popular. By her senior year, Stephanie is not only cheerleading captain, but she’s dating Blaine (Tyler Barnhardt and played by Justin Hartley as an adult), the most popular boy at Harding High, and is on track to win prom queen. Unfortunately, her dreams are never realized after a cheerleading accident lands her in a 20-year coma. Waking up at 37, Stephanie (now played by Rebel Wilson) is shocked to realize she’s been unconscious for so long. Not wasting any time, Stephanie reconnects with her old friends Martha (Mary Holland), now high school principal, and Seth (Sam Richardson), and decides to go back to high school in a bid to win prom queen. The only issue is the rules have changed since 2002 and Stephanie has to keep up if she wants victory.
Related: Senior Year Trailer: Rebel Wilson Wakes From a 20 Year Coma in New Comedy
Senior Year plays like a cheap knockoff of Never Been Kissed. It's so focused on
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