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Starring: Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, Karan Soni, Embeth Davidtz, Mia Isaac, Brennan Brown, Nadia Alexander, Tia Dionne Hodge, Negin Farsad, Sarah Yarkin
OUR RATING: ★★½
Story:
Hulu comedy written and directed by Quinn Shephard. Not Okay (2022) follows Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), an aimless aspiring writer, who is desperate for friends and fame, fakes a trip to Paris to boost her social media presence. However, when a terrifying incident takes place in the real world, it becomes a part of the imaginary trip and offers all she wants, making an unlikely friendship, Rowan (Mia Isaac), and getting the man of her dreams, Colin (Dylan O’Brien). But it’s only a matter of time before the facade cracks, and she learns the hard way that the Internet loves a takedown.
Our Favorite Quotes:
'Your pain is your biggest asset.' - Rowan (Not Okay) Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Danni: Have you ever wanted to be noticed so badly, you didn’t even care what it was for? You just wake up every day thinking, “I want to be seen. I want to be important. I want to have purpose. I want to be known. I want to be loved. I want to matter.”
Danni: Yeah, well, let me tell you, be careful what you f***ing wish for.
Two Months Earlier
Susan: [referring to Danni’s article] And you don’t feel like it comes off a little tone deaf? Offensive even.
Danni: Can’t tone deaf be like a brand though?
Susan: Oh, no.
Danni: Isn’t that what Lena Dunham does?
Susan: You don’t want to be like Lena Dunham.
Danni: I don’t feel like you take me seriously as a writer.
Susan: That’s because you’re not a writer. You’re a photo editor.
Danni: You know, I made out with a girl at an NYU party once. So, I might be bi.
Harper: Not with those nails.
Danni: You guys are so lucky. You know, you have like a community. You have a parade. You have your own bowling night.
Larson: Yeah, being a minority is great.
Danni: Right? Well, have fun.
Harper: [as Danni leaves the elevator] I hate straight people.
Danni: So cool that you have a fan.
Colin: Oh, yeah. I got a bunch. That’s just one.
Colin: Good luck in Paris, Jenny. Good to meet you.
Danni: Danni.
Colin: What’s up?
Danni: My name’s Danni.
Colin: No, it’s Colin. I’ll see you at work. Or I guess I won’t.
Part II: The Lie
Danni: [over phone] Hey, Mom. Guess what? I got invited to a writers retreat in Paris.
Judith: Really?
Danni: Yes, really.
Judith: It’s not a scam?
Danni: No, it’s not a scam. It has a website.
Danni: [posting on social media] “Starting my morning right. Now, where is my baguette?”
Part III: Oh F***
Judith: I just can’t believe you posted that photograph five minutes before the bombs hit. I mean, what if it had been five minutes later? Could you even imagine?
Danni: It’s a lot. It’s pretty unbelievable.
'If you're not okay, that's okay.' - Rowan (Not Okay) Click To Tweet
Part IV: What I Saw That Day
Susan: I know we’ve had our conflicts. And I’m so sorry I was ever going to fire you. But I want you to know, the fact that you’re standing right here…
Danni: You were going to fire me?
Susan: In front of me, instead of being curled up in a ball somewhere, mainlining gummy worms, which is what I would have been doing, that’s incredible. You are so strong. Isn’t she so strong, everybody?
[the office claps for her]
Kelvin: [to Danni] So you’re a psychic. Like the Lady of Galadhrim.
Julie: Or it was God.
Larson: Excuse me. This is a non-denominational workspace.
Julie: Well, I didn’t say which god.
Larson: Didn’t you?
Colin: I’m really glad you’re not dead.
Danni: Me too.
Danni: My name is Danni Sanders, and on April 10th, I almost died. But something, or someone, saved me. Maybe it was a guardian angel, or God, or Alan Rickman’s ghost, but I don’t think that I believe in any of that. More likely, it was me who saved me. Not that I believe in myself either. But if all of this has taught me something, it’s that maybe I should.
Linda: [at a trauma support group] Do you want to share anything about how you’re feeling, or your thoughts?
Danni: Oh. I was just hoping to listen today.
Linda: Of course. Of course, Danni. In your own time. We’re all survivors here.
Rowan: And I have had enough. Enough pain. Enough corruption. Enough death. Enough destruction. Enough sleepless nights, still watching my friends die. Enough of listening to our politicians lie! Enough!
Part V: Rowan
Danni: [referring to the support group] Therapy never really worked for me.
Rowan: It’s not therapy, okay? It’s better. It’s family.
Danni: So, listen, I was kind of hoping I might be able to get your advice on something. Full disclosure, I stalked you online. The poetry you do, it’s crazy. It sounds just like Hamilton.
Rowan: Yeah, it’s called spoken word.
Rowan: You know, actually, I wanted to take you here first. I think it could be super helpful. Before you write, you have to deal with why you’re feeling stuck.
Danni: Oh. Okay. So, and then we’ll go write.
Rowan: Yeah. Come on.
Danni: [as they enter a building called “Rage Space”] Okay. What is this place?
Rowan: How do you feel about breaking things?
Danni: What if I don’t feel angry?
Rowan: Alright, then what do you feel?
Danni: Well, I don’t know. Numb. Still numb.
Rowan: [to Danni] That is how I write. You have to attack it. That is what’s going to make people pay attention. Okay? No more scrolling past headlines. No more distractions. We do that with our truth. If you’re not okay, that’s okay. You know, as f***ed up as it sounds, your pain is your biggest asset.
'Sometimes a good place to start can be with a little self-reflection.' - Caroline Gotschall (Not Okay) Click To Tweet
Part VI: I Am Not Okay
Danni: You always hear these horror stories of people in the spotlight getting all this hate, but I don’t know. It doesn’t seem to be happening to me.
Rowan: Well, you should still be prepared if it does.
Danni: [to Rowan] Did you just say that Avril Lavigne is oldies?
Kelvin: [to Danni] I just wanted to say that your article gave me the courage to finally speak up to my DnD Discord. I told them about my trypophobia. It means I have a fear of small holes. Like this cookie is terrifying to me, but you’ve given me the strength to eat the cookie.
Young Publicist: [to Danni] Oh, my God. You’re the girl from the Paris attacks! Hashtag, I Am Not Okay.
'Be careful what you f***ing wish for.' - Danni (Not Okay) Click To Tweet
Danni: [referring to the party] This is crazy.
Colin: Yeah, you get used to it. What you got now like twenty K followers?
Danni: Thirty-two K, actually.
Colin: S**t. Okay.
Colin: If what happened to you ever happened to me, I don’t think I’d ever be okay.
Danni: Right now I’m okay.
Colin: I just wanted you to know like, if you weren’t, I’d like be there, you know.
Danni: I’m really, really glad that I came out tonight. I thought that group was going to be like depressing. It’s actually really fun.
Rowan: We try our best.
Danni: I don’t know. Being with you guys makes me realize what good people are.
Rowan: You’re a good person too.
Part VII: I’m A Good Person Now
Host: We are here with Danni Sanders, the girl of the moment, who rose to Internet fame after surviving the Paris bombings. You know her as the girl behind the hashtag, “I Am Not Okay.” But, girl. Right now, can I just say, you look more than okay. Are we getting a shot of this fit? So, you and your new bestie Rowan Aldren, you’ve been blowing up our Insta feeds.
Danni: You know, Harper, you could probably get your own office too if you just worked on that positivity a little.
Danni: [after Colin asks her out] I’m busy trying to make the world a better place, Colin.
Colin: I see what you’re doing. It’s like a hard-to-get kind of thing.
Danni: I’m going to go now.
Colin: Okay, you go. Go. You follow your dreams. I’ll see you later.
Danni: No, you won’t.
Harper: Colin, you’re from Maine.
Colin: Okay. Cool, Harper. Great. We all know information about each other.
Rowan: I am supposed to be setting an example, but I couldn’t. And I just, I feel so weak. And if I’m weak, then that just weakens what I stand for. And everything, everyone I fought for, it just, it all, it falls apart.
'Maybe one day I'll forgive you. But we will never be okay.' - Rowan (Not Okay) Click To Tweet
Danni: [to Rowan] Remember what you said to me? That the Internet loves to turn villains into victims. Said it the wrong way, didn’t I?
Danni: You went through my computer? Why would you do that?
Harper: You know what? Because I didn’t like you. I never trusted you. The way you acted when you came back from Paris was sus as hell. And, yeah, I was probably jealous that you got an office. But you know what I didn’t do? Lie about being in a f***ing terrorist attack to get one for myself!
Trailer: