Usually when a Hulu or Amazon or Netflix original movie is released that sounds interesting to me, it still takes me forever to actually watch the movie. I used to watch tons of movies, but there are so many interesting original shows on the above mentioned services that we tend to watch those instead these days. On the days I work from home I tend to “watch” things I have already seen. I believe I’ve mentioned that before…The Golden Girls, Eureka, New Girl, Schitt’s Creek. I tried watching The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu while working, but I’d either miss something important on the show or not pay enough attention to my work. I’m not one for taking advantage of my employers so that show was no longer an option for my work day.
I digress…I’m talking about movies here. I have watched a few light/fun movies while working. Movies like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before part 3 or Palm Springs. While I knew Plan B had an underlying serious issue at hand, I also knew it was a comedy starring women and made by women. I decided to give it a go while working earlier this week.
If you haven’t heard of the movie Plan B, it’s a Hulu original that came out in May. It’s the story of two 17 year old girls/women; Sunny is a “good girl” over-achiever who is always trying to reach her mother’s expectations. Lupe’s father is a pastor, her mom passed away, and she feels as though her dad will always find fault with her so she pushes the boundaries whenever she can. There’s an incident that leads Sunny to need the morning after pill, which is not so easy to do in their state of South Dakota. They find themselves on a road trip to the nearest Planned Parenthood, over 3 hours away.
Of course, hijinks ensue. This is a funny yet touching road trip movie. Kuhoo Verma as Sunny and Victoria Moroles as Lupe are brilliant. They play off each other perfectly and both nail the swing from over confidence to low self esteem that teenagers go through so often. I believed these two had known each other for years and loved each other no matter what.
This movie kept me laughing and engaged, but the first hour and a half would not have had me listing it as a favorite thing. I would have instead said this was an enjoyable movie with wonderful acting and directing. It’s the last 15 minutes of Plan B that take it over the top from great movie to a movie I can’t stop thinking about. I don’t think I stopped crying for those last 15 minutes. (Don’t worry, I stopped my work clock!) There were tears of joy and sadness, pain and delight. The writing, directing, and acting all come together to bring this movie to a satisfying conclusion. It leaves you with things to think about without ramming the message down your throat.
Lupe and Sunny are the main focus of this entire movie, but I want to shout out a couple secondary characters. My favorite is Hunter. He doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but his reactions and insights are what I’m seeing more of in this upcoming generation and I rejoice in that. On the slapstick side is Andy. He is a small part of this movie, the girls come across him at a playground during their road trip, but he his scene was hilarious.
While I think this movie can do good for all teens and adults, there are many adult situations. We all know kids don’t mature at the same time so, if you have younger teens, maybe watch it without your kids so you can decide if it’s appropriate for them.
All In Good Time 