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The Outcasts is neither as bad as you think it may be, nor something you’ll be surprised by how much you like it.
Characters & Storyline
With being outcasts all their lives, Mindy (Eden Sher) wants to try to make peace with Whitney (Claudia Lee) so that at least, for senior year, there may be peace between her and best friend Jodi (Victoria Justice), and the popular kids. However, with Whitney inviting the two to a party and publicly embarrassing Jodi, it is decided that there is a need for revenge. So, with the help of CIA agent in the making Virginia (Ashley Rickards), these girls plan to use the outcasts of Richard Millhouse school to flip the social pyramid and give the popular kids a taste of their own medicine.
Highlights
Victoria Justice and Avan Jogia reunion
Would it be wrong to say I really only watched this because I was a fan of VicTORIous back in the day and I wanted to see this mini-reunion? No? Good. For honestly that might be the sole highlight. A Beck and Tori reunion/ alternative storyline where they fell in love and there was no Jade.
But in all seriousness, being that Jogia is good at crafting chemistry with nearly whatever actress he is paired with, their romantic plot was one of the few highlights of the movie.
On The Fence
The Awkward Characters, Jokes, and Stereotypical Villains
Maybe it is because I went to a high school where blondes were in the minority, but I never fully got the stereotype of the evil blonde who picks on people who are of no threat to her. I mean, take Whitney and Mindy, for example. Now, if it was noted they were battling for valedictorian or something like that, you’d understand their rivalry and why Whitney would do whatever it takes to throw Mindy off. However, there is no rhyme or reason given here. Not even your usual “A long time ago, we used to be friends” type of storyline. Whitney is just an ass because she can be. No other reason is given.
Oh, and did I forget to mention she pretends to be rich when she is actually middle class? Yeah, because that is one way to humanize your villain. Have their mom be a maid and dad be the groundskeeper yet let them live in the guest house instead of the mansion. That’ll make the audience feel bad for her.
But let’s go back to the topic of Mindy. To me, Mindy is like a 90s, so weird she’d likely be on Nickelodeon, type of character. The kind who is so nerdy that when she is doing a college interview for MIT and the interviewer circles that Mindy might have Aspergers, I wasn’t sure if I should have taken that as a joke or a reveal of why Mindy is so eccentric.
Which is perhaps the heart of the issue here, the way high school life is portrayed seems like a full on Hollywood version. Now, granted, the outcasts, sans Justice, seem like the type who would be in ostracized groups who don’t actively seek out to interact at school functions and all that. Yet, there is something about this idea that goths only hang out with goths, jocks with jocks, and there is no intermingling which makes me wonder if that is truly some people’s high school experience or is this just a trope which never dies? For really, these Asian kids who inspire to be like Steve Jobs and wear turtlenecks, this Game of Thrones obsessed dude who, naturally, is fat and succumbs to any girl talking to him, surely people can do better than that, right? For even if this is supposed to be seen as a spoof or just a series of embellishments, it seems lazy as hell.
Overall: Negative (Skip It)
While by no means is this an outright horrible movie, at the same time you question what was the point of it? What was the message or was this supposed to be a comedy? Was it supposed to be a throwback to Freaks and Geeks maybe? After watching the film, it is rather hard to say. For even if there is a desire to say it is campy, a B-movie if you will, I would still question why anyone would pay money to see this?
Hence the Negative label for even with the VicTORIous reunion and, admittedly, Sher seeming like the type who, with the right script, could churn out an interesting coming of age tale, this movie is a waste of time. One not even worth having as background noise for a Sunday afternoon nap.
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