Rebel Wilson saves Senior Year from getting a failing grade

Rebel Wilson returns to acting following a brief hiatus in Netflix’s Senior Year from director Alex Hardcastle. The film’s opening introduces us to Stephanie (Wilson) amid an apology via social media. Senior Year then flashes back to 2002, and we meet the younger version of Stephanie (Angourie Rice), the most popular girl in her high school. 

She is the cheerleading squad captain, dating Blaine, the quarterback, and is well on her way to becoming the prom queen. Girls want to be her, and guys want to be with her. She has it all until she falls off the top of the cheerleading pyramid and goes into a coma. Fast-forward 20 years later, Stephanie finally wakes up from her coma as a 37-year-old woman. She goes back to her high school and tries to assume her role as the star of her school. Most of all, she is still set on winning the crown as prom queen.

That is the genius of the plot of Senior Year, and I am sure most moviegoers think it’s just modernized version of Never Been Kissed or the forgotten eighties film Plain Clothes. Rebel Wilson does what she can to elevate the dialogue and premise from scriptwriters Brandon Scott Jones, Andrew Knauer, and Arthur Pielli. Sadly, the film tries to take a drama tone instead of focusing on comedy and using Wilson’s natural comedic charm. 

Sure, there are early moments where we see glimpses of what could have been as Stephanie learns how times have changed, but there is not enough of this angle. I would’ve loved some scenes where the characters portrayed by Sam Richardson, Justin Hartley, Zoe Chaoe, or Justin Hartley introduce Stephanie to an Air Fryer or inform her about the Obama era.

I do get the angle that the filmmakers were going for with the film, and while it might get a passing grade, overall it is quickly forgettable.

Final Grade: C-

Senior Year is streaming on Netflix now