The old saying goes: “There’s no such thing as bad press,” but Netflix’s “Cuties” really tested that idea in 2020. This drama from writer/director Maïmouna Doucouré was accused of hypersexualizing its young cast, and while critics were generally impressed, viewers were divided on this addition to the Netflix movie library.
Of course, “Cuties” is not the first, nor was it the last Netflix movie to cause serious ripples of controversy. Earlier this year, “Miller’s Girl” claimed the No.1 spot in the streaming service’s top 10 despite depicting an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and student. However, I’ve never seen a social media backlash quite like the one “Cuties” endured four years ago.
Upon release, there were calls to remove the movie from Netflix entirely. And it looks like those people have finally got their wish (sort of), as “Cuties” is now set to be removed from the streamer in just a matter of days. But you might want to consider watching before it goes, so here's everything you need to know...
What is “Cuties” about?
Set in one of Paris’ poorest districts, Amy (Fathia Youssouf) lives a lonely life with her immigrant family. She yearns to rebel against her inherited religious traditions and becomes fascinated by her neighbor Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azoun), who’s part of a dance crew called “The Cuties”.
This dance trope isn’t afraid to perform suggestive moves like twerking and also wears revealing outfits as they compete against their rival crew, the Sweety Swags. As Amy becomes more involved in the dance group, she finds herself desperate to be accepted, and in the process crosses further lines into indecency that greatly disappoints her mother (Maïmouna Gueye) and aunt (Mbissine Therese Diop).
Why was 'Cuties' so controversial?
Filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré has stated that she wrote “Cuties” as a way to criticize the sexualization of pre-adolescent girls, so there's a certain irony that in the lead-up to the movie’s Netflix release it was heavily criticized for doing exactly that.
A lightning rod for the outrage was a pre-release poster that showed the movie’s young cast in very revealing outfits and sexually suggestive poses. Netflix attempted to quell the fire by removing this ill-judged marketing asset from its social media channels, but the internet is written in ink so the damage was already done.
I am supportive of the arts. I want the stars of @netflix #cuties to reach for every star in the sky. 🌟 That being said, I can not support allowing children to be portrayed in a way that is overly sexualized. pic.twitter.com/QsrqSxSwXwAugust 20, 2020
This led to a whole load of “review bombing” on platforms including Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb from users who had yet to watch the movie for themselves. The movie’s trailer was also heavily disliked on YouTube, and a (since deleted) petition was started calling for the movie’s release to be canceled — though like most online petitions, this proved ineffective.
By the time “Cuties” landed on Netflix the battle lines had been drawn, and the movie itself wasn’t really given a fair shake. A subsequent report from The Verge claims that Netflix even went as far as to prevent the movie from showing up in select search results to avoid further backlash.
Critics and viewers disagree on 'Cuties'
I track critics' and viewers' scores every single day, and it’s fairly common to see a discrepancy between the two. However, I’ve never seen a bigger divide than there is over “Cuties”. The French drama holds an 86% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which is enough for a “Certified Fresh” seal of approval.
Beth Webb of Empire Magazine said, “‘Cuties’ is a thematically bold yet nuanced study of displacement and duty that deserves to be seen as an auspicious and astute debut, not the source of scandal.” While the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said it was presented in “good faith” and “bold, flawed and misunderstood”.
In contrast, the movie’s viewer scores are very low. “Cuties” holds a shocking 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with audience reviews labeling it “a crime” and calling it “a piece of trash”, and those are just the harsh words we can print here!
On IMDb, the situation isn’t any better with the movie scoring 3.6/10, that’s even lower than the “Borderlands” movie which is currently rated 4.4/10.
However, as noted, “Cuties” was subject to a review bomb campaign before it was even released so it’s worth taking into account that many of these low scores are likely to be from people who haven’t actually watched the movie for themselves.
Why is Netflix removing 'Cuties'?
Netflix has confirmed that it will be removing "Cuties" from it's library later this week, and you might assume it's due to all the controversy mentioned above. However, this French drama movie isn't leaving the world's most popular service for the reason you might initially assume.
It's removal from the platform is not a (very late) response to the backlash but rather part of Netflix's routine content refresh. Every month Netflix removes a handful of movies and TV shows from it's back catalog, usually because its license agreement has expired. And that appears to be the case with "Cuties".
While Netflix distributed the movie in the U.S. and other international territories, it was not the original producer of the project, and it's not a coincidence that it's waving goodbye to Netflix exactly four years to the day it arrived on the service.
Should you stream 'Cuties' on Netflix before it leaves?
The conversation around “Cuties” at release was pretty toxic, and the movie itself got a bit lost in the mix. The critic's scores are strong for good reason, this is a thoughtful movie that uses its provocative premise to explore topical issues and the tricky path of growing up. But any viewer should be aware of its more outrageous aspects before watching.
“Cuties” is set to leave Netflix on Sunday, September 8, so you still have time to give it a watch, if you want to see what all the controversy was about. Even after it’s removed from the streaming service, I’m sure it’ll live longer in the memories of all those at Netflix who weathered the intense storm when it was first released. That level of backlash would be very hard to forget, and it appears to have taught Netflix a few valuable lessons in the process.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something a little less controversial to watch this week, check out our roundup of all the top new movies arriving across streaming services as well as our complete guide to everything new on Netflix in September 2024.
Watch "Cuties" on Netflix until September 8
