After binge-reading for hours, I needed to take a break, relax my muscles and brain, and feast my eyes on something unrelated to school books. For me, the best way to do this is to watch a movie. Usually, anime is my go-to choice. Unfortunately, I had already watched all 37 episodes of Death Note that I had downloaded. So, I had to resort to watching The Other Zoey, a movie my friend recommended. Although I had seen the trailer on Instagram and found it captivating, I knew better than to fall in love with a movie based solely on its trailer. After watching the trailer, I scrolled past it without giving it another thought. Interestingly, fate had other plans, and I ended up watching the movie anyway. My friend, who is a lover of K dramas and American Romantic Dramas, recommended that I watch this movie. In her words, “It is really nice, you're not going to regret watching it.” Although I didn't regret watching it- it helped me battle boredom and stretch my muscles-the movie is far from “really nice.”
The Other Zoey was probably written by a screenwriter who hated their job and was forced to do it or an underpaid writer who wanted to get back at their boss. Regardless of whichever is true, this movie is not a “really nice” one as my friend claimed. The movie revolves around a techy college student named Zoey Miller (Josephine Langford). Unlike many American teenagers, Zoey has closed her heart and mind to the concept of true love and believes that relationships should be all about compatibility. In simple words, true love should be about “ticking boxes.” The movie introduces Zach MacLaren (Drew Starkey), the captain of the school’s football team. Unlike Zoey, he is not so academically inclined, but he is every girl’s dream and he's good at what he does. Zach is in a relationship with a soccer star and public figure, Zoey Wallace (another Zoey).
The plot starts getting interesting when Zach gets into a minor accident, hitting his head hard on the ground, resulting in temporary amnesia. Zoey Miller happens to be at the accident scene and Zach mistakes her for his girlfriend, Zoey Wallace. Zach is rushed to the hospital, where his Doctor tells Zoey and his parents not to give him any bad news that would upset him as this could cause him to lose his memories permanently. Zoey Miller decides to keep playing the role of Zoey Wallace, his girlfriend, planning to pretend until he recovers. Up until this moment, I enjoyed the movie. Why not? The plot flowed seamlessly. Although there were tiny flaws, Zoey and Zach played their roles well to this point. Until…
The movie introduces Miles MacLaren (Archie Renaux), who put off one of the worst actings I’d ever seen in a long while. Miles is the perfect definition of bad acting. “Come on, bro! Do better.” His body movement was poor, his facial expressions didn't do justice, and his speech was unconvincing. His character was supposed to portray a smart person – a genius with a very high IQ. Although his lines were well-written, he delivered them in a way that seemed mismatched to the role. It was as if the producers ran out of money and had to bring a waiter out of somewhere.
Our big Miles here happens to share the same ideologies about love and compatibility as Zoey Miller. In Zach’s parent's house, Zoey meets Miles and the two start a thing… ouuu! I didn't see this coming at all. Of course, I did! I saw that scene coming even before I started watching the movie. While pretending to be Zach’s girlfriend, Zoey gets attracted to Miles, Zach’s cousin and they share a kiss in a steamy hot tub scene. Big shocker! The next morning, Zoey finds out Miles has a girlfriend and that they are Poly. In simple words, the kiss meant nothing to him. She decides to spend the day with Zach. She realizes that Zach isn't as bad as she thought. In fact, he is super smart in his own way and she wants back in. In the next scene, Zach’s real girlfriend- the real Zoey- interrupts and Zach regains his memories. Will Zach still love the fake Zoey or will he forget their one-day fun and get back with his real girlfriend?
This movie felt like it was written by a bunch of high school students who still have a lot to learn before diving into the world of screenwriting. Before a movie can be considered good, all elements have to be in place. When a few of those elements aren't in place, the movie becomes a flop. As if I've not had enough, the movie ends with a cliche- the usual way all(most) American romance dramas like this one end. Even a toddler could have predicted the resolution of this movie.
The Other Zoey gets a 3 out of 10 from me. It gets a three because the first 20 minutes weren't so bad. Plus, only a few characters played their role well.
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