Film Review: 'Moxie'

Synopsis:

Vivian Carter (Hadley Robinson) is an introverted 16-year-old hoping to keep off the radar during her junior year at Rockport High School. But that all changes when she meets Lucy Hernandez (Alycia Pascual-Peña). A bold and unapologetic new student, Lucy speaking her mind in class and standing up to oafish jock Mitchell Wilson (Patrick Schwarzenegger) opens Vivian's eyes to the rampant sexism of Rockport High. After stumbling across some memorabilia from her mother's time as a feminist activist, Vivian gets an idea: publish an anonymous zine at her school dubbed "Moxie" calling for the student body to rise up against their school's toxicity. But as things progress, Vivian realizes that anonymously starting a revolution isn't going to be easy--and it may come with some unforeseen consequences. Will the power of Moxie prevail? Or will the status quo reign supreme?

Story:

One thing's for sure: Moxie lives up to its name by coming jam-packed with ferocious energy. From its punk-rock soundtrack to the zeal with which the students of Rockport take a stand, viewers of all genders are sure to feel empowered watching Moxie. The pacing is perfectly balanced, allowing us to remain tuned in with the action revolving around the Moxie movement while developing the characters involved in it. Through its various talking points about body shaming, harassment, and other forms of sexism, Moxie forms its defining message about finding your voice and the importance of battling societal problems through solidarity. The movie also goes out of its way to call attention to how noble social stances can turn sour if not handled properly, as is what happens with Vivian's Moxie campaign. Balanced in its portrayal of feminism and full of nuances and layers, Moxie's writers craft an engaging narrative that could be used to facilitate some important discussions.

Characters:

The array of young women who become a part of the "Moxie Girls" circle is notably diverse, with a majority of the group being women of color. With Vivian keeping her status as Moxie's creator a secret, it falls on Lucy to become the movement's de facto leader and the other girls to be more vocalized in their support of the cause. They're all great characters and many of them have moments that'll make you feel like cheering. Lucy gets the ball rolling by standing up to Mitchell's harassment and Principal Shelly's inaction. Kiera and Amaya stand up for the school's underappreciated soccer team. Kaitlynn calls attention to how hypocritical the dress code is and how damaging the bystander effect is toward women's issues. Even Vivian's best friend Claudia, teacher Mr. Davies, and popular girl Emma Cunningham (all of whom start out reluctant to get involved with Moxie) end up supporting the cause in smaller but nonetheless impactful ways.

Where Moxie's script loses its spark a little is in how it treats two of the Moxie girls: CJ and Meg. Being transgender and disabled respectively, their presence in Moxie gives the group some more splashes of intersectionality. Unfortunately, neither of them gets as much coverage as they could've gotten. CJ talks about her experience with being deadnamed and how others are upset about her wanting to audition for the female lead in the school musical. There could've been a subplot about this audition process and Vivian using Moxie to drum up support for CJ. But such a storyline never materializes, whereas Meg is given no story arc and is left as such an underdeveloped character it's easy to forget she's in the film at all. Their inclusion is still commendable, but it would've been nice if they'd gotten more of a taste of the spotlight.

But at least those who do make it into the spotlight are more than worthy of it. Vivian makes for a stellar heroine, being as compelling as she is flawed. Her intentions are certainly good and starting Moxie leads her to come out of her shell and learn to fight for what she believes in. But at the same time, Vivian's actions sometimes shift from audacious to reckless, which (in combination with her remaining anonymous as Moxie's publisher) leads to others suffering the consequences of her decisions. She also unfairly takes her stress out on others during the final act--something the movie wisely has her called out on and made to seek forgiveness for. In the end, Vivian's journey into activism forces her to learn from her mistakes and grow as both a person and an advocate.

It helps that she has lots of people in her life to show her how to get there. In addition to her fierce Moxie compatriots, she has her ultra-supportive mother Lisa, her loyal best friend Claudia, and her infectiously wholesome crush-turned-boyfriend Seth. These three are incredibly lovable while also making sure to humble Vivian whenever she starts acting up. As for the antagonists, Mitchell Wilson and his friend Jason are accurate depictions of teenage boys whose gross behavior towards girls could escalate into something worse than just "being annoying." Principal Shelly, meanwhile, is realistic in her casual refusal to combat or even address the blatant problems within her school. Instead, as often happens in reality, she brushes it all off as "girls being overdramatic" and punishes the Moxie supporters for calling attention to what she's ignoring.

Acting:

Now for the arena in which Moxie thrives the most. Every actor here gives a phenomenal performance and everyone's chemistry is virtually flawless. Hadley Robinson brings every facet of Vivian Carter to life. Even when she's at her lowest and hurting the people around her (intentionally and otherwise), Robinson's performance keeps Vivian from becoming completely unbearable or unsympathetic. Alycia Pascual-Peña is a powerhouse as loud-and-proud Lucy Hernandez and Lauren Tsai is every bit as dynamic as the quieter Claudia. Once you meet Claudia's mother and realize how different her circumstances are from Vivian's, you'll understand why Claudia acts the way she does and Tsai will leave you wanting to hug the poor girl. The actresses playing the rest of the Moxie members are all as top-notch as Tsai and Pascual-Peña, though admittedly, Emily Hopper's performance is stifled by Meg barely getting to do anything. Josephine Langford deserves a shoutout for her poignant delivery during Emma's climactic scene, as it definitively proves just how much the After series has wasted her abilities.

Amy Poehler makes use of every second of her limited screentime to make Lisa funny and quirky, but serious and sincere when she needs to be. Marcia Gay Harden will have you as infuriated with Rockport's dismissive principal as her female students are while Patrick Schwarzenegger will have your skin crawling whenever Mitchell is onscreen. Joshua Walker sells Mitchell's buddy Jason as the "lite" version of his more overtly menacing pal and Ike Barinholtz is authentically awkward/endearing as Mr. Davies straddles the line between wanting to support his students and feeling the need to distance himself from the movement out of implied fear of losing his job if he doesn't. Nico Hiraga, however, is without question the king of Moxie's male cast. He makes Seth undeniably wholesome and shares great chemistry with Robinson as Vivian and Seth's relationship blossoms. Plus, when it comes time for Vivian to be chided for her misdeeds, Hiraga lets the viewer know that while Seth may be a sweetheart, he's no doormat.

Overall:

In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Moxie's themes about standing up to injustice resonate just as much as they did when it was first released. And much like fellow feminist-themed dramedy Unpregnant, Moxie packages those themes into a well-written and superbly-acted feature. The story and its characters feel authentic and the atmosphere is guaranteed to have you wanting to hop through the screen and join the Moxie girls in their revolution. If current events have you feeling bleak about the state of women's issues, Moxie is just what you need to revive your hope and strengthen your resolve to see the tides turn back in favor of equality.

Score: 9.5 out of 10 disco cats.