“I Am Not Okay With This” Review

supernatural Netflix drama is funny, relatable

I+Am+Not+Okay+With+This+Review

In the Netflix comedy-drama, “I Am Not Okay With This’, 17-year-old Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis) navigates her newly-discovered telekinesis with the help of her quirky, yet loveable sidekick Stanley Barber (Wyatt Oleff). At the same time, Sydney also deals with the tense relationship between her and her mother (Kathleen Rose Perkins), the grief her father left her with, her romantic feelings towards her best friend Dina (Sofia Bryant), and her emotional outbursts that trigger her superpowers.

As for my personal opinion, I enjoyed the show to the point of finishing all of the first season in one sitting.  Wyatt Oleff and Sophia Lillis both starred in the movies “It” and “It: Chapter 2” which added to their on-screen chemistry. Unlike other shows set in high school, the actors are actually teenagers, which makes them much more relatable. The show also discusses deep and unglamorous issues, such as acne, anger issues, and abuse. The minor characters, such as Stanley and Dina, are as well developed and flawed as Sydney. Their lives aren’t completely centered around the main character and the plot shows that. The way Sydney’s character is developed makes her morally-grey. Her anger and stubbornness contrast with her strength and charming awkwardness.

Despite how much I liked it, there are some very obvious flaws. The main plot of the show is very cliché. Many supernatural shows start with a character learning about the “supernatural world” and navigating through it with the help of a funny, lovable sidekick (Stranger Things and Shadowhunters, for example). The supernatural plot also occurs at a very slow pace. It takes three major events in which Sydney uses her superpowers until Stanley gets involved. The show also glamorizes drugs and alcohol. Two characters smoke weed, which kickstarts their relationship. At a party, teens drink and then later blame their actions on the alcohol. A parent drinks wine to cope with stress. Besides that, the characters’ courage and determination are quite admirable.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially teenagers. There’s romance, fantasy, and comedy elements and most people will relate to at least one of the conflicts portrayed in the series.