I Am Not Okay with This
2020
Original language: English
- drama
- comedy
- sci-fi & fantasy
The story
Angsty Syd navigates high school awkwardness, family drama and an unrequited crush on her best friend while trying to rein in her budding superpowers.
What it’s like
Handheld, close-in framing on a teenage face that stays expressive without a word, and a sun-faded suburban Ohio palette of beige hallways, mustard-yellow lockers, and cold fluorescent classrooms that gives way to dusky blue at night. The camera breaks the fourth wall often: Syd speaks straight to us in voiceover and the frame jitters with her moods, so the whole thing feels like a diary being read aloud over a shoulder. The score leans on needle-drop indie rock and tinny synth pulses that swell at awkward silences. Its vibe is deadpan and prickly, a dark comedy with a bruised heart, best for a late evening alone or a comfort rewatch when you want to laugh at your own worst teenage instincts. Pacing is brisk, around half-hour episodes that cut quickly between jokes and sudden quiet grief. Syd's arc is a restless, self-sabotaging girl learning to hold her temper and her feelings at once, with her friendship with James tangled up in unspoken longing. Violence is sporadic and sharp, with a few startling telekinetic outbursts and some bloody consequences, but no gore for its own sake; there is some frank teen sexual talk and a few brief moments of drinking and drug use. It suits viewers who like coming-of-age stories that are funny, uncomfortable and honest about adolescent rage and longing.
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