Joey Mendez ’27
Contributing Writer
Recently, I had the pleasure of watching the rise and fall of a popular high school girl in the movie “Senior Year” (2022). The film brings back some all-too-familiar feelings about high school for many viewers, especially for those of us who had a hard time with issues such as bullying or making friends.
“Senior Year” follows the story of Stephanie Conway (Rebel Wilson) and her journey to become popular — a journey that is swiftly interrupted by a sabotaged cheer stunt that sends her into a 20-year coma. Fast forward to the present-day, and after finally waking up, Stephanie returns to high school as a 37 year-old with the mind of a 17 year-old. The transition is made easier by her two best friends: Martha (Mary Holland), who is now the school’s principal, and Seth (Sam Richardson), the school librarian. The rest of the movie follows Stephanie as she makes the typical mistakes of a 17 year-old girl, and her journey facing responsibility for those mistakes — sending a good message about the importance of owning up to mistakes and holding oneself accountable.
“Senior Year” is a cringe-fest — it’s the second-hand embarrassment that everyone can relate to, even outside of Stephanie’s coma plot-line. This movie is the cringe that both Rebel Wilson and Angourie Rice (teenage Stephanie in flashback scenes) were entirely made for. I absolutely love both of these actresses, and I do know some of their previous works were … interesting, to say the least. Rice starred in the “Mean Girls” musical film, which currently has a 5.6/10 star rating on IMDB and 3.5/5 star rating on Letterboxd. The role was a bit more than Rice could chew. In the show “Black Mirror,” Rice stars in the episode “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too,” where she plays another awkward girl with few friends at school. This episode really connects the characters of Rachel and Stephanie and their struggles with awkwardness and social isolation. This connection strengthens the lessons viewers can learn from these films, like being responsible for yourself.
Aside from Stephanie, viewers get to see characters grow and learn, listen to and ultimately understand each other. Along with learning to hold oneself accountable and apologize for one’s mistakes, “Senior Year” is a great example of how toxic high school can be, both for the popular kids and the “outcasts.” The struggles of high school affect almost every character within the movie, and it’s hard to watch without acknowledging it. Everyone in real life has a hard time in high school too, even the popular kids or the bullies.
High school is incredibly rough, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be lonely. Dealing with the stresses of adolescence can be frustrating and draining, and even though it doesn’t necessarily stop, luckily we’re out of high school and the environment it creates only to look back — in cringey movies that we enjoy with our beloved friends.