Honor Society movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Honor Society

This coming-of-age movie is now available on Paramount+

RATING: TV-MA (R)

Because the movie went straight to Paramount+, it wasn’t given an MPAA, but a TV-MA grade. The movie rating would probably be a PG-13 but pay attention to the Tips for Parents section of my review.

LENGTH: 1 hour 37 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

A girl named Honor is in high school, desperately focused on getting into Harvard. Willing to do whatever it takes, Honor concocts a plan to take down her top three competitors, until things take a turn when she unexpectedly falls for her biggest competition.

The film was written by David A. Goodman, and directed by Oran Zegman. It feels like a John Hughes movie from the 1980s. That’s a huge compliment.

THINGS I LIKED:

Angourie Rice is perfect in this role as Honor. The protagonist and the movie itself is very self-aware. She breaks the 4^th wall throughout the entire movie in the style of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, one of my all-time favorite high school movies. Even though her character appears quite cut-throat and conniving, she’s extremely charming and likable.
Fans of the popular Netflix TV show Stranger Things will be thrilled to see Gaten Matarazzo in a feature film. As always, he’s perfect in this role too. His character’s name is Michael Dipnicki. He even sings and it was good!
Twists. I love twists.
Fans of Doctor Who (the Matt Smith version), as well as The Handmaid’s Tale will love the references.
I loved the scene they performed from the play at the end. Great staging and choreography. Ben Jackson Walker was absolutely terrific. He sings the “Glorious” song from that scene in the final rolling credits. I had never seen him in anything before and can’t wait to see what he does next.
Keep watching during the final rolling credits for more scenes and bloopers.
Nice soundtrack.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Mr. Calvin’s character is super creepy and inappropriate. It’s supposed to be funny but it was gross. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, known mostly for his role in the high-school comedy Superbad, gives an over-the-top performance of this predator.
I really enjoyed the movie but I just wish it didn’t have all of the sexualized humor. I understand that they were trying to make it feel like what happens in high schools today, but the target audience of pre-teens and teens just doesn’t have to be constantly exposed to that content.
Some of the performances by minor characters were off.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Lots of crude conversations and inappropriate humor.
Tons of sexually-suggestive humor
Two gay teens kiss
3 F-bombs
You have to read a bunch of texts

THEMES:

Feminism
High school drama
Competition
Identity
Caring for others
Getting into Harvard
Getting hurt
Goals
Focus

FUNNY LINES:

* “Love you!” – Honor (Angourie Rice) “Mean it!” – Talia & Emma

“I’m sorry. Crazy person says what?” – Gary (Ben Jackson Walker)

INTERESTING LINES:

“For me, high school means one thing: getting out of high school.” – Honor (Angourie Rice)
“A flyer’s like a Tweet that ruins the environment.” – Emma (Avery Konrad)
“What kid uses Facebook anymore?” – Honor (Angourie Rice)
“I make my own luck.” – Honor (Angourie Rice)
“Men don’t have to choose between love and power. Why must a woman?” – Grace (Zoe Christie)
“You never give me credit for anything.” – mom
“It’s just like Kenny Rogers said, ‘If you put your heart into it, it can take you anywhere.” – dad