Amy Poehler stars and directs ‘Moxie’ so I was excited for it, and had high hopes. I guess Netflix released this right after she and Tina Fey has just finished their stint hosting The Golden Globe Awards. And it is a very earnest effort from her – she has assembled a nice appealing young cast about a high school faced with racial inequality. I have heard some people compare this to ‘Mean Girls,’ and I kind of get that it has a similar vibe. This has a more rocker girl punk feel, wherein a teen, Vivian starts a fanzine addressing the inequalities in the high school system. The result? It’s a mostly funny affair, with some social relevance thrown in. It succeeds more as a teen comedy, also because it is more believable there. When it tries to cover more ‘serious’ issues, it kind of falls flat.
But you believe a lot of it, though. Hadley Robinson, who plays Vivian is appealing even though the villains are cardboard characters. You will feel a lot of the heart, though, and will probably feel that more. ‘Moxie’ is imperfect, but it passes time perfectly.
Luha Thoughts 