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Zero time Tony Award winner • Production Assistant • Serial rewatcher
Not Okay is a social satire that takes viewers on a journey through the mixed-up mind of a wannabe influencer. Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch) has no friends “irl” and no followers online. Unfortunately, in this day and age, society deems those with the most followers to be the crème de la crème. What will solve that dilemma and give her endless online clout? A trip to Paris for a writer’s retreat, of course! Well, a photoshopped trip to Paris. It’s good that our protagonist, or maybe the antagonist, is a photo editor. Danni’s little facade is going great until a tragedy strikes in Paris. Now, her little white lie has turned into a nightmare of epic proportions.
PART ONE: NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME
In the beginning, it’s normal to think that Danni is relatable. She feels underappreciated at work, her peers don’t respect her, and getting the attention of a boy she likes isn’t an easy feat. Her guinea pig, Guinea Weasley, is the only one who understands her. After running into her work crush, weed influencer Colin (Dylan O’Brien), Danni hatches her Paris escapade. Danni is misguided, and she has been taken hostage by the idea of the “perfect life” that only exists on an Instagram feed. Her life of privilege clouds the reality that, as the kids say, she could be canceled for her deception.
When Danni posts a “photo” of herself in front of the Arc de Triomphe, five minutes later, there is a terrorist attack. Danni has an escape. Before she gets in too deep, she can toss herself out of the lie by coming clean. What kind of story would this be if she did that, though? It definitely wouldn’t be the kind that teaches you a lesson. We see a possibility of redemption in her eyes until Colin messages her and sends his best wishes. The DM from a cute guy always seems to be the downfall…
PART TWO: WHAT I SAW THAT DAY
Danni can’t seem to aid her narcissistic tendencies. When she returns to the office and writes an article about her faux experience, all the attention is on her. How could she ever turn back now? It gets to a point where you think, “can this girl get any more insensitive?” and somehow, she does. For clarification, in this case, being insensitive is the goal for writer/director Quinn Shephard. You’re anxious to see how far Danni goes while simultaneously screaming at the television for her to snap out of it. Danni’s failure to realize that this tragedy is not her ticket to fame quickly pushes her character from borderline protagonist to full-on antagonist.
In a support group, Danni meets a young girl named Rowan (Mia Isaac). Rowan is a young activist passionate about speaking out against gun violence. Being the only two young people in a support group full of boomers, the two girls form a kinship. In Rowan’s eyes, the friendship is based on a mutual understanding of experiencing a tragedy. In Danni’s eyes, it is another stop on the train ride to her pity party of fame. Rowan’s use of the internet is admirable. Her platform brings awareness to the ongoing violence in the world, hoping to make it a safer place to live. She is the angel on Danni’s shoulder. Danni tries to venture back to the right side. The closer she gets to Rowan, the more she truly values their relationship.
As her relationship with Rowan strengthens, Danni also grows closer to Colin. He is everything Rowan is not. His personality exists through a camera lens, the true antithesis to Rowan’s raw vulnerability. The pull to populrity draws Danni in, and Colin shares the right amount of information that keeps her crawling back for more. It makes Colin the devil on Danni’s shoulder.
PART THREE: I DON’T GET A REDEMPTION ARC
Danni is haunted by the culprit of the attack on Paris. The apparition follows her until she is forced to come clean. Her coworker, Harper (Nadia Alexander), snoops on her laptop and finds an unedited photo of Danni. The web of lies unravels as Harper gives her an ultimatum; if Danni doesn’t fess up, Harper will expose her. Danni confessing to her mistakes is admirable, in theory. Her apology is laced with blame on the weed she smoked before concocting her lie.
The internet takes this and demolishes her. She deserves the criticism, but as Shephard puts it, “Danni is a reflection of her environment, though not a product of it in a way that earns her an excuse for her actions.” Danni doesn’t get her happy ending comeback, and she has to learn to deal with the consequences of her actions.
PART FOUR: FINALE
Writing Not Okay was Quinn Shephard’s way of coping with the information overload we experience because of our digital age. Headlines of tragedies every other day are sandwiched between influencer scandals, TikTok trends, and targeted Instagram ads. Each character is someone we know, and they exist in our everyday lives. We might be friends with them or follow them on social media. This film is exactly what we need right now, and it reminds us that we have to exist outside social media.
Not Okay releases July 29th on Hulu.
Zero time Tony Award winner • Production Assistant • Serial rewatcher
This article was edited by Francesca Aloe.