Not OK: The 10 Funniest Letterboxd Reviews
0
0
Warning: The article contains brief discussions of suicide and trauma.
it’s not good was released on Hulu on July 29, and the savage critique of influencer culture has garnered many rave reviews. At the time of publication, it has a respectable 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and many critics enjoy its depiction of social media manipulation and fifteen minutes of fame. With themes of trauma, superficiality and deception, the film is particularly salient to today’s audiences.
After Zoey Deutch’s Danni Sanders spins her terrible lie, the facade inevitably cracks as she discovers that the Internet loves a fall from grace. Ironically, the internet has a lot to say about her, with thousands of viewers sharing their thoughts on the film, as did the famous influencers in her cameos. Letterboxd is one such space for such thoughts, and some funny lines from these reviews sum up the film.
@weedboiiicolin
Dylan O’Brian’s character Colin is the weedy editor of the Vice-esque website ‘Depravity’, who emerges from his office in a cloud of smoke with an elaborate scorpion joint. Danni’s crush on him kicks off her elaborate fling, only for it to end in tears. Letterboxd user bree hits out at Danni, saying: “She fell for a guy who is an Instagram user @weedboiiicolin… I can’t keep defending her.”
Everyone has had a crush that they look back on and regret, and this Instagram name is unforgivable. Colin lets her down hugely when he starts to like her, and that should have been her first red flag. For user Letterboxd, he sees through Colin’s facade from the start, perhaps predicting that he is in fact a poser from Maine.
Ariana’s #1 fan
Letterboxd user Dylan says in all caps, “GODISAWOMANMAN CARRIED,” referring to the username of Charles, a character Danni meets at the mass violence survivor support group. Rowan tells Danni that she was traumatized as an attendee at Ariana Grande’s actual concert in the UK, where a tragic suicide bombing occurred.
Proudly shouting after Danni that he is known as “God is A Woman Man”, a play on words from the beloved Ariana Grande song. The user clearly finds the secondary character amusing, especially when he tries to befriend a fame-seeking Danni. Although Danni judges and rejects him, Charles is thankfully nothing like her and other delusional influencers, as he is unapologetically on social media.
Cameo by Pete Davidson
Colin’s bleach cut hair color is dreamy to some and hideous to others. He smokes loads of weed, has lots of tattoos, wears oversized clothes, and has a self-important swagger. This has led some to compare Dylan O’Brian’s character to actor and comedian Pete Davidson. Gal Balaban jokes, “I love Dylan O’Brian’s performance of Pete Davidson in this movie.”
Since the film is a satire of today’s internet culture, it’s only natural that the romantic interest is the model of the most sought-after male Gen Z. O’Brian plays this type of man effortlessly, maybe a little more exaggerated than the real Pete Davidson.
Protégé of Lena Dunham
it’s not good she instantly conveys Danni’s characterization as an aspiring writer, but comes across as self-centered due to her tactless nature. User Letterboxd molly highlighted one particular comparison Danni made, saying, “I knew Danni was desperate the moment she compared herself to Lena Dunham.”
One of Danni’s major character flaws is her tone-deafness to the more progressive world, where she at one point compares herself to herself. Girls creator and essayist at the same time that she convinced her publisher to publish her alleged essay. The worst part is that Danni acknowledges this comparison, saying, “But she can’t be brand deaf, isn’t that what Lena Dunham does?” which is a reference to Dunham’s fair share of controversy with her past insensitive comments. The shocking part is that Danni is self-aware and yet has no problem with it, as long as she can gain fame for it, a foreshadowing of what ends up happening.
X rated Dylan O’Brian
Many Letterboxd users had a lot to say about Dylan O’Brian’s involvement in this film, with many of them having lasting crushes on his Teen Wolf days of celebration Unlike his role in Teen Wolf, O’Brian plays a very different influencer. User Letterboxd Lindsay complains: “this movie gave us a Dylan O’brian sex scene but at WHAT COST”.
This refers to the gut-wrenching scene where Danni finally gets exactly the kind of romantic attention she craved from Colin, only for it not to live up to what she imagined. He uses foul and creepy language, and their encounter hardly lasts long, which explains the user’s reaction. Also, the sex scene portrays Colin as a typical womanizer, prioritizing his pleasure and disregarding any contraceptives. He continues to portray Colin as a terrible, selfish person who only cares about his own self-interest, which makes Danni’s activities a waste of time and very consequential.
Dear Danni Sanders
it’s not good has inevitably received comparisons to the musical film Dear Evan Hansen, comparing the plot as both Danni Sanders and Evan Hansen find themselves wrapped up in lies that spiral out of control, with dire consequences. While Evan aims to be best friends with a teenage suicide victim, who reaches out to her grief-stricken family, Danni bonds with school shooting survivor Rowan as a result of the his lie
User Tyler gives the film an alternate tagline: “the tiktokification of Dear Evan Hansen (2021)”. Coining a new word in the process, the user references the many TikTok references in the film, with Danni using many of the platform’s popular gestures and catchphrases. They also show that the call for attention in it’s not good is on a much larger scale than a Dear Evan Hansenas Danni commands all of TikTok to use her hashtag: #notokay.
Second hand shame
The nasty female lead had plenty of cringe-worthy moments, as the film sometimes feels like an exercise in second-hand embarrassment. From Danni who publishes ‘Skin Goals!!’ in a video of Rowan describing the horror of a school shooting with the many TikTok gestures he makes in serious situations, he also behaves and reacts recklessly, not reading the room most of the time. User Chloe had a serious case, comments: “The second hand embarrassment of seeing this, shit made me open another browser tab just to check emails at 10pm on a Friday night “.
The feeling of being shamed on someone’s behalf is not pleasant, so it’s understandable that Letterboxd’s reviewer had to tune out for a minute or two. However, as his journey to fame quickly crumbles with his confession, it shows Danni as a more complex character who sees the true consequences of his actions.
Black swan poster
Letterboxd user marcelina makes an excellent point: “No wonder she has a black swan poster in her room.” 2010 thriller movie poster black swan can be seen when Danni returns to her childhood room after her “traumatic experience”. As a fan of Darren Aronofsky’s film, it’s safe to assume that she admires the character of Nina, a dancer who goes to great lengths to land the role of a lifetime.
This little detail may have foretold Danni’s end as she deals with the repercussions of fame. In some ways, Danni emulates the extreme dedication that Nina goes through in the film, pursuing her dreams regardless of the ramifications.
Ginny Weasley
User beauty it has a unique yet understandable look to the film. She claimed she’s “tempted to buy a long-haired guinea pig now”, clearly inspired by Danni’s pet, hilariously named Guinea Weasley. At a glance at the Harry Potter franchise and Ginny Weasley, this reference is a clue to her peak status as the pinnacle of millennials and Gen Z.
The guinea pig is undeniably cute and is Danni’s only companion at the beginning of the film as she talks to him non-stop. It wouldn’t be surprising if sales of the lovable mascot soared after the film’s popularity, ironically showing just how influential today’s media can be.
A tip for Danni
Danni makes a lot of mistakes it’s not good and he doesn’t handle his apologies very well either. She is a delusional influencer, deaf at the best of times. For example, she compares Rowan and herself to Katniss and Rue de The Hunger Games, forgetting that Rue dies in the movie. reviewer emma has some simple advice for Danni in advance: “read the girl in the room.”
If Danni stops thinking of herself as the main character – ironic since she is literally the main character It’s not good – can successfully “read the room” and think more carefully about their actions and how they affect others. It’s a message he doesn’t understand until the final moments, where he finally realizes what his actions have done and, for once, considers the feelings of others during a crucial period.
