From director Quinn Shephard comes the story of Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), an aspiring writer whose life is going nowhere fast. In order to boost her social media following, she decides to fake a trip to Paris. When a terrorist attack strikes while she is supposedly aboard, Danni’s lie takes on a world of its own. Suddenly everyone wants to be her friend, including influencer and trauma survivor Rowan (Mia Isaac), and her crush Colin (Dylan O’Brien) is showing interest in her. Danni’s newfound fame, however, is not all its cracked up to be.
I love everything and anything that Zoey Deutch touches. She tends to star in more offbeat films which I have always admired. I remember when I first heard about Not Okay. While Deutch once again knocked it out of the park, I have to say that because I had such high expectations, they weren’t exactly met.
What I did enjoy was the way in which social media was depicted throughout. I found myself nodding along to certain moments and cringing at others over how realistic it was to see Danni so reliant on her Instagram followers. I also thought it was a bold choice not to go with a happy ending; life doesn’t always tie everything together so neatly in a bow after all.
Unfortunately there were times when the pacing was slow and not much was happening. I also can’t say I liked any of the characters. While we were warned of Danni’s awful ways in the beginning, I still didn’t know how to feel about her. I also couldn’t get on board with O’Brien’s Colin who came across as a vapid fuckboy. If I had to choose, I’d say Rowan was the most tolerable because at least she was being true to herself from the beginning.
At the end of the day, I have to say that I expected more from Not Okay. I guess I should have known better. I built it up in my head for too long and ended up feeling slightly disappointed as a result.
Rating: ♥♥.5
Credits Rolling 