Movie Review – Never Goin’ Back

Jessie: “Did you draw a dick on my face?”

Angela: (smiling) “Mmm hmm!”

Angela (Maia Mitchell) and Jessie (Camila Morrone) are best friends who struggle to gather funds to pay their rent so they can justify spending a week on a beach in Never Goin’ Back (2018).

Angela and Jessie are two 16-year-old high school dropout waitresses who stay with Jessie’s brother Dustin (Joel Allen), and his pals Brandon (SNL’s Kyle Mooney), and Ryan (Matthew Holcomb​) in a rundown and neglected suburban home. One day, Angela decides to use their rent money to pay for a beach vacation getaway for the two girls to celebrate Jessie’s 17th birthday. They agree to work several shifts at the restaurant, back-to-back, to earn the rent money back. Of course, no comedy film has ever been a straightforward and entirely rewarding adventure. Dustin, Brandon, and Ryan, along with a variety of supporting characters, complicate and interfere with Angela and Jessie’s quest for rent money, and the comedic misadventure begins.

Never Goin’ Back is a far cry from a standard teen comedy. The girls and characters they encounter drop the f-bomb more often than not, there is plenty of alcohol and drug use, and these teens are the furthest from being good role models for teen girls. Kyle Mooney Is particularly funny as the awkward, desperate, and nearly  creepy friend who doesn’t hesitate to prepare  free sandwiches for his friends, while remaining totally oblivious to his surroundings.

More of a gross out situational stoner comedy than a coming-of-age film, director Augustine Frizzell seems to channel the stylistic efforts of the Farelly Brothers’ products and similar films in that shared sub genre. Angela and Jessie are able to replicate the sisterly chemistry and irreverent profanity of Aly and Aj Michalka in Weepah Way for Now (2015), while duplicating the comedic awkwardness of the female main characters  from The Sweetest Thing (2002).

The “gross out comedy” film sub genre continues to evolve and update its content to relate more to social issues and modern times. What began as a method of pushing the content boundaries of the comedy film category, has now become the newest standard and winning quality of the average modern comedy film.

Never Goin’ Back is not a perfect film, but the chemistry between Angela and Jessica, their interactions with other characters, and their frequent profane utterances and lack of civility towards others, makes this film a worthwhile watch. Consider catching this one whenever and wherever you can find it.