Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Comedy
Number of episodes: 7
Year: 2020
Starring: Sophia Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, Sofia Bryant, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Richard Ellis, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong, Greg Daniel
Description: Sydney (Sophia Lillis) is a teenage girl navigating the trials and tribulations of high school while dealing with the complexities of her family, her budding sexuality, and the mysterious superpowers just beginning to awaken deep within her.
Review: A bloody girl walks down the street. It’s Sydney, a misunderstood teenager with superpowers. Angular cars, dull pastel colors and clothing from a bygone era surround Sydney in her trip to school. The tutor advises her to keep a diary, to avoid those anger attacks. The tone is set.
“I Am Not Okay With This” uses the same trick as “Sex Education”. Because the 80s don’t want to disappear from out pop culture, the creators dress their series in exactly the same aesthetics, only to mention in passing that we are indeed in the here and now. Get ready for yet another school party with eighties tunes and a staging of “The Breakfast Club”. Nostalgia can be a strong narrative.
Sometimes I feel like I’ve seen it all before. The new Netflix-hit in the making also burrows the voice-over and imaging of “The End of the F***ing World”. No wonder because the same creators are behind it. The combination is edgy and enchanting at the same time. “I Am Not Okay With This” stands out because it’s unobtrusive.
Behind the easy story-telling voice is the passionate young actress Sophia Lillis, which you might recognize from the movie “It”. Lillis and her young fellow actors portray realistic and complex teenagers with a good heart. Sydney is stuck in a love triangle with her best friend Dina and the eternally enthusiastic neighbor Stan. Stan is played by Wyatt Oleff, who was also in “It”. Lillis and Oleff worked together before, which is probably why especially those two click really well on screen.
The series is only seven episodes long and each episode is under 30 minutes, it’s a quick and easy watch. “I Am Okay With This” deals with some heavy themes, but never feels like that. It’s not dark enough and it’s a bit too light-hearted at times.
Although the style it is filmed in, with the 80s vibe and new-wave music, isn’t new and a much used style these days in series, I did love this aspect of “I Am Not Okay With This” the most. That and lead Sophia Lillis were the best part of the series. It’s not a unique series, there is a big mix of shows and stories we have seen before and it doesn’t really offer anything new. But with this formula, that seems to work well on other shows, you don’t necessarily need to be standing out because there is a reason people make these types of series. The audience likes it. And so did I. Not number one in originality, but definitely a good new Netflix original series.
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