by Kassidy Hart–All alcohol and drugs are illegal and the use of them can have harsh consequences, except for one 24-hour period. One day a year anyone 18 and older can consume as much of these mind-altering substances as they want. All other crimes are still illegal, though, and because it’s based on personal decisions, can result in death if not properly monitored.
That is the premise of the new Hulu movie, The Binge, released a week ago.
The film follows two teenage best friends, Griffin (Skylar Gisondo) and Hags (Dexter Darden), experiencing their first official Binge night. Griffin wants to get to a huge party where the girl he wants to ask to prom is, and Hags is his wingman, attempting to boost his confidence to do it, but also wants to experience the night himself.
Throughout this journey, they endure a variety of obstacles beginning with finding a way to sneak out and get the party information. As the night goes on, it just gets crazier when they are forced to put up with violent siblings, forced or accidental drug-intoxications, and an unexpected encounter with an alligator.
The movie is basically a combination of The Purge and any other teen party movie, such as Superbad or BookSmart. It has the concept of a dystopian society with restrictions they have found to be reasonable but the plot and character development of a regular coming-of-age movie.
I watched this film twice – the first time with my comedy-loving boyfriend and the second time with my open-minded, but still Christian, parents. The first time I watched it, I thought that maybe it would be a bit more serious by the way the introductory videos were laid out and voiced over by Morgan Freeman, involving clips of recent riots, natural disasters, and other political tragedies. As the film switched from the introductory clips to a scene of pep rally in a high school gym, though, the “brazilian tuck” demonstration and unexpected burn victim jokes to educate about the craziest and most dangerous night of the year quickly told me otherwise.
Honestly, this was a pleasant surprise. As young adults, my boyfriend and I enjoy watching Seth Rogen movies and shows like Dave for a good laugh and light-hearted night. My parents, on the other hand, prefer the more subtle comedy of Adam Sandler, which excludes the focus of drug-use and alcohol consumption, so I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I suggested this movie for our Sunday night film.
Thankfully, my younger brothers weren’t around to consume any of the film and my father fell asleep about half way through. I did notice my mother laughed at most of the sex-jokes and loved the part where the film switched to a musical (she’s a big musical theatre nerd), but as a person strongly against illegal drugs, she wasn’t fully convinced of the focus of the film.
Because of these elements, I have seen many reviews bashing The Binge, calling it “unimaginative” and “an epic fail of a storyline.” And though I can attest to the stupidity of the film, it is not meant to be taken seriously and the overdramatization of events makes that perfectly clear.
By creating a plot of an outrageous scenario, the film brings certain issues to light. It makes the audience question their own reality and experiences with drugs and alcohol. It also allows for an emotional connection from their audience, understanding that though these events are not realistic, the emotions that the characters experience as well as their motivation are very real and apparent in teenage lives.
This movie is for sure wacky and familiar, but I found myself laughing throughout the whole thing both times I watched it. It was a different look at how society can be molded and the general impact of this shapeshifting.
If you enjoy raunchy comedies, I’d for sure recommend having a movie night with some friends to watch it. But if you’re more of a critique and need all of your movies to be original and have an accurate representation of the world, don’t waste your time on this one.
I give this movie a 7/10. It’s not my absolute favorite movie, but I definitely could see myself sitting through another hour and a half to watch it with my homegirl here at college.
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