Zoey 102

Zoey 102 is a bonus movie of the teen tv series Zoey 101 that had aired more than a decade ago (close to two actually).

If you haven't watched the series, you probably won't get some of the jokes, which does take some of the fun out, as the rest of the movie is boring and makes no sense.

The story is messy and handles too many subjests, and leaves them all underdeveloped and half baked. Not to mention that most of the characters had no storyline, only a character cell.

Finally, the plot is cheesy and it does feel like it was written in the early 2000's. And what was the deal with all that sci fi advanced technology gadgets that they added?

It's not common to find a light movie getting so polarized opinions. 50% in RT, 50% here in ImdB, 4.9/10 in Filmaffinity. I really wanted to give it more than 5/10 but I have to agree with the average, for some reasons I would like to explain.

The movie have just a remarkable 9-minute sequence, the karaoke joint. The revelation of PCA academy as being unlicensed and the "Time of our lives" duet are funny. But in the rest of this is 101-min long mess there are flaws and not very funny things. Zoey being trapped with Chase inside a full automatic car and claiming not knowing how to open the door, when all she has to do is call the owner, that is nonsense. The truth about the fake Zoey's boyfriend in the last scene is unnecessary portrayed. And those feminist references sprinkled here and there in the movie are not funny at all.

As to the cast, it was good to see Mark and Stacey characters practically unchanged, but Quinn should have preserved her black hair at least. Sad thing Lola doesn't appear even when Victoria Justice should accept any role considering the little success she's having in the business.

In summary, this movie is a product of the inexperience, as much in writing as in directing, but has some moments that hardcore Zoey fans will appreciate. But I'm not one of them.

I wanted to go into this not being a bitter hater because Jamie Lynn Spears does not deserve good publicity. But having watched this show when I was young I was intrigued anyway.

1. Too much is going on. There's a subplot about Zoey's job that really takes up to much of the run time.

I'd rather focus on the wedding.

2. For the most part, I feel like the characters have some semblance of who they once were. Like Stacey being an obsessive true crime podcaster makes sense somehow.

Quinn only had like... one moment of being a weirdo.

Zoey... she never seemed like the person who passively accepted misogyny. It's a real world thing, but would she really stay at a job that ignores her for that long? She had more gumption as a teenage girl.

3. I had a few laughs, so the jokes weren't completely horrible. Like PCA being an unaccredited school was a good tongue in cheek joke.

4. I had to grab a drink after the 30 minute mark to be honest.

5. Jamie Lynn being a horrible person to her costars and her sister makes it hard to remember I'm watching Zoey. Or that the show itself was toxic as all get out.

6. iCarly is a better example of how to actually revive a series for an adult audience.

I don't know why Nickelodeon greenlit this but Jamie Lynn needs money I guess.

Overall, if you don't care about the drama behind the scenes, that Jamie Lynn is a monster and just wanna watch your bonus episode of Zoey 101, I'd say go for it.

Honestly, I wanted this movie to somewhat succeed, if for nothing else but my screwed up childhood. I always think that we don't have enough of the characters we grew up on making a comeback, nor the shows and movies they were in. When I first heard this was coming out, I guinely got excited because the idea of a show I loved as a kid getting a second chance after it was cut too soon felt fun and exciting. I wanted to see something from my preteen years adapted into something I could enjoy as an adult. What I imagine it was like for people who watched Degrassi for the many generations it carried its characters through. I remembered there was some sort of drama with the cast, but of course when this movie came out, Quiet on Set had not yet aired. So I did not know about the wrongful behavior towards Alexa Nikolas. So I was guinely excited for this movie; going into it with no prior knowledge of drama or behind the scenes past issues and behavior. That said, this movie gave us nothing. There was no actual interest in showing us what has gone on with the characters since they were at PCA, nor did they give us any interesting or exciting new information to have us invest back into these characters we loved growing up. They were just there.... literally, if you've never seen Zoey 101, these characters wouldn't matter, not even their names. I felt like it was a spit in the face to people who actually expected to go into this feeling warm about seeing a piece of our childhood rejuvenated. It was just fluff. I truly hope this does not stop Hollywood from bringing back an adult reunion of some of our childhood favorites, because if they could get this right, it could be amazing *Obviously not "this" one, but another show/movie. It could have been great, but not even the potential was here to be scene. Did not feel invested nor excited to watch something that could have brought so much fun. Someone please get out here and do this right!

3.8/10

This was not a nostalgia movie we needed. I didn't know it existed until I found it scrolling through Paramount+, and I much rather have liked not knowing it existed. While I can't remember "Zoey 101" completely, it was one of the shows I grew up on as the actors and actresses were, and are my age, but despite a few jokes from the show I feel I got nothing out of the movie. It doesn't need to exist. It shouldn't exist.

There were very small pieces of humour that were funny, but really it feels stale. The acting was rigid. The story was mediocre. The spark of "Zoey 101" doesn't exist. The characters are somewhat relatable, but you can really find that in any other show or movie. Lastly, the pacing is slow. There came a point where I had given up on the movie, but I had to see it through knowing there was no recovery.

The big takeaway is that if you want your childhood memories of this show to stay in tact then don't bother watching this film. In the end I was left with the feeling of "that's it?" I wasn't even happy to see the reunion in the end. I wished for better.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading my review, and until next time.... Enjoy the show!