A satire is only as sharp as its subject, and writer-director Quinn Shephard has plenty to play with in "Not Okay," targeting the emptiness of social media and the facade of influencer culture.
She does so through Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), whom we're told up front in a tongue in cheek pre-credits warning is an "unlikable female protagonist." That ensures we never feel too much sympathy for Danni, even as Shephard flirts with giving her a redemption arc of sorts. How much Shephard is willing to let her off the hook becomes its own little narrative within the narrative.
Danni is a photo editor at a New York magazine (it's called Depraved) who yearns to be a writer. Her pitch to an editor to be taken more seriously includes her regret over being on vacation with her parents during 9/11 and missing out on her piece of generational trauma. So yeah, she's a vapid, clueless clout chaser, and she has no real friends or identity to fall back on.
So she decides to create one for herself. In order to impress a guy, she fakes a trip to Paris and loads up her Instagram with pics of her posing in front of iconic landmarks, red beret and all.
When Paris experiences a terrorist attack during her supposed visit, Danni is (unwillingly at first, and later very willingly) caught up in the storm. She pretends she narrowly escaped the attack, soaks up the sympathy from her parents and co-workers and even attends a support group for victims of trauma, where she gravitates toward Rowan (Mia Isaac, strong here, just as she was in the recent "Don't Make Me Go"), a school shooting survivor with a large social media following. It's the social media following that really hooks Danni.
The two become friends, and their bond grows from superficial to genuine as Danni gets to know her better. Danni borrows a phrase from Rowan (and from My Chemical Romance, though that part goes unacknowledged), writing an article about how she's "Not Okay," and the #Iamnotokay hashtag becomes a generational slogan and a social media rallying cry, giving Danni the online and real life fame and validation she's always craved. Ah, but at what cost?
It's no spoiler to say Danni's lie eventually catches up to her and her world comes crashing down; we see a montage of her being roasted by the internet in the opening credits. What's interesting are the lessons that Danni learns, and how Shephard — who has her finger firmly on the pulse of the Zillennial set — handles her redemption.
While its performances are strong — Dylan O'Brien is hilarious as a rapper-influencer who is like Pete Davidson mixed with Wiz Khalifa — "Not Okay" is sometimes wobbly in its execution. But it's not afraid to take big swings, and it's bold enough to not always chase after the easy Likes.
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'NOT OKAY'
Grade: B-
Rated: R (for language throughout, drug use and some sexual content)
Running time: 1:42
How to watch: Hulu
