Zoey 102

The crew could have worked a lot more when they were creating this reunion film. Everything about this reunion film was weak. The storyline really did not go anywhere. It was nice to see most of the cast return and see how much they have changed from the original series. It is a real shame that not all of them returned like Paul Butcher, Victoria Justice, and Austin Butler. The cast members that did appear did not exactly recapture the same energy and spirit as the original series. This reunion film reveals to viewers that everyone can come together to work together to make the world of today a better and safe place. This is an alright reunion film that could have been better.

Most of the characters we know and love return in this very odd, difficult to characterize film.

Is it a drama, a wedding reunion, a roadtrip comedy, a murder mystery? -My head is still reeling trying to make sense of it all. It seems like the writing room took everyone's ideas and ran with them all at once without giving it much thought.

As a millennial who really enjoyed the escapist nature of the original series, the last thing I wanted to see was the characters I love struggling to find their footing in the adult world.

I would have preferred to see evolved characters with remnants of their high school quirks act in adult functions related to the PCA campus-whether it be teachers, administrators, board of directors, donors, or parents.

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!

"Zoey 102" is a movie that I really thought wouldn't work, I was shocked though how much I actually really enjoyed this movie, for the most part.

Starting with the good, I think all the old cast members do a really great job at getting back into character. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. I liked the main story here, I though it fit very well for a Zoey 101 reboot. I also really like some of the new characters, particularly Dean Geyer and Audrey Whitney. I really like both of them and though they were pretty funny. Along with that I also thought the film was decently funny. And finally I was surprised how well shot the movie was. The lighting was very vibrant and overall it was a good looking movie.

However all of the new stuff including the subplot with Zoeys job I thought was very boring. I was really entertained with the main story but whenever it went back to that part of the movie I honestly was getting very bored. I also thought the pacing at times suffered as the movie felt a little longer than it was. And finally I did wish there was some more callbacks to the original series just to make it feel more like Zoey 101.

Overall though, despite a pretty bland subplot and pacing issues I did find this to be a pretty decent catch-up with the old series.

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!