Sweethearts

With a few thousand reviews here, I have discovered that some films only make sense if you put them in context. Films entirely about teenagers did not really exist until the 1960s, and even then most of those involved silly settings like the beach or the malt shop. By the 70s, creators had decided the real purpose of a teen film should be to scare other teens, hence the so-called slasher decade. By the 1980s, the teen film evolved again, and we had the raunch-com. Porkys. Revenge of the Nerds. This proved to be a popular spin as evidenced by the fact that, a half-century later, they are still making them. SWEETHEARTs 2024 is a raunch-com with a weak premise duly supported by an equally weak script. The only redeeming factor is Shipka, who can mug and pout with the best of them. But at age 25, there are not a lot of teen roles left for her, so her fans should enjoy this while they can. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

It felt rushed and the plot didn't work very well for me because the main charachters did have chemistry on screen. I loved the casting and was waiting for this movie, but I was rather disappointed, because I wanted it to be more. It was a lovely movie though, I just wanted something different from the main charachters. They had potential, it just felt like the story doesn't even know where to go. I think they wanted too much and then nothing really hit it right.

Palmer's story felt a bit off too, it didn't connect to the story not even a little bit, although I got the message, yet it was rushed too.

It was funny seeing Millie Bobby Brown's husband in this movie.

..the director kept insisting going back to the boring "coming out" side quest. To be fair, Caleb Hearon is good with his filler part but somehow the script keeps insisting in staying too long in what should've been just a gag deflating the main story. No doubt, the reason for this is that the main premise doesn't justify 90mns. Actually, this could've been a great 60mns of Kiernan Shipka, Ava DeMary, Charlie Hall and Nico Hiraga's story. Instead, we get a strong first act cut by a boring second act focused on an unnecessary "message" , and a weak third that tries to be original while paying an "homage" to "When Harry Met Sally". At the end we get the familiar performance from Shipka - who, surprisingly, looks physically weak and way older than her 25 years. Nico Hiraga tries to charm as the weak modern boy. Ava DeMary shines as the wildcard, while Charlie Hall gets boxed in a sad jock cliché. Overall, Sweethearts is only half good.

I've noticed this in most Gen Z rom-coms-most of the "com" in these new-age flicks happen when Gen Zs are basically interacting with millennials or boomers. In this film too, that's mostly the case. So, you end up getting a fun little stretch in a bus where Kiernan Shipka argues with an older co-passenger, a sincere scene where Caleb Hearon comes out (with another gay couple being his only audience), and a little tribute to When Harry Met Sally..., though these are some of the only high points. Also, my dude, Nico Hiraga was thirsted on by four girls (including his girlfriend, of course) in a span of like 12 hours, but he's painted as a dorky pushover for the entire first act in college-something's off with the character sketch here. I'll give marks for the trope subversion at the end, which plays into the film's overall light-hearted, non-dramatic tone. And okay, wow, director Jordan Weiss-you're so PHOTOGENIC! I look forward to your next.

Max releases on its platform a youth comedy about the liberation of feelings, gender and friendship that is fun and fulfilling, but that does not propose any intention beyond the superficiality of the themes and the colorful world.

Directed by Jordan Weiss and starring Kiernan Shipka, Nico Hiraga and Caleb Hearon, we embark on a story about friendship and a kind of romantic comedy that ends up not being such, but rather a film about identity and friendship that delivers a couple of pleasant moments with a message of inclusion and respect that will reach a specific audience that will probably enjoy it with great enthusiasm.

It is a buddy comedy that works in several parts, due to the chemistry of its protagonists and the affection they put into dealing with the issues addressed in the script. This effort allows us to have a pleasant film that is not boring, but which, however, does not offer much novelty and even loses a bit of strength if we consider that it has a pleasant start, which later fades away as we add more stories to the path of its leading duo.

Although the film has clear intentions, they are not fully completed, beyond the fact that its protagonists end up providing a charming charisma with which as spectators we enjoy that everything is positive around them, but at certain moments its script lacks a bit of energy and intrepidity that prevent this story from reaching its full potential that it promises to have at the beginning.

In any case, it is a correct comedy for current times and for current generations in which they will feel identified with more than one character or with more than one subplot that its script addresses.

A comedy about love, friendship and identity.