By: Kimberly Grant
In any underdog story, it is expected that the main character will experience growth and become a better person. In fact, the audience has hope that the underdog will grow and thrive despite their hardships. The latest underdog story to hit theaters is Emily the Criminal.
Emily the Criminal is in theaters nationwide now.
The Underdog
As the title suggests, Emily (played by Aubrey Plaza) has a colorful past. She was convicted of a DUI when she was in her early twenties after being the designated (read: least drunk) driver amongst her friends. After her DUI, it’s assumed that she left college, but ended up with approximately $70,000 in student loan debt. If that’s not enough to ruin a young life, Emily has also been charged with assault against a boyfriend at some point in time.
Feeling bad for Emily? Of course, you do! She’s been through a lot already. The film, written and directed by John Patton Ford, isn’t just about Emily having a checkered past. It’s about how those youthful choices are affecting her adult life. Emily is desperately trying to find a better job, but her past is preceding her. Until she can make enough to actually earn a decent living in Los Angeles, she works as a delivery person for a restaurant (I think, because the film never specifies) delivering big order lunches for corporate offices.
Hope Springs for the Underdog
While Emily is trying to make a bad situation better and earn an honest living, she comes across a somewhat enigmatic criminal named Youcef (Theo Rossi who was much better as Shades in Luke Cage). Youcef, invites Emily and a small group of people who are also down on their luck to make $200 in one hour by doing something illegal. A pivotal part of the film is that Youcef allows this group of people to back out before any crime is committed. No one leaves and it makes you wonder why people would do such a thing.
Unfortunately, Ford doesn’t really give a good explanation for that, so the audience is left to fill in their own blanks. Since this is a movie, Youcef becomes Emily’s love interest and shows her how to do credit card fraud like a professional. Naturally, this is the stuff of romance novels everywhere! Their plan to commit small time crime seems to benefit them both until it doesn’t. I won’t ruin the ending for you.
It should be noted that this film was an official selection for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It should also be noted that the plot of the film has many holes and there are quite a few unexplained points. The acting in the film is sub par. And, the characters are in desperate need of fleshing out. Basically, there’s nothing compelling to grab the audience and keep them truly interested; except for Emily’s friend Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke). Liz is the friend who made something of herself and made better choices; even though that meant watching Emily crash and burn.
Rooting for the Underdog?
Like any audience member, I found myself rooting for Emily. I wanted her to succeed despite the odds and be a good citizen with a great job. Unfortunately, this gritty film is all about showing the superficial side of human nature. I will give you one spoiler alert. Emily interviews for a job that seems very promising; until the interviewer tells her it’s for a full-time, unpaid internship. This person actually expected an adult to work full-time for free as if bills don’t exist. That in itself is a crime.
Moving on. I’ve always been reeled in by a good love story. Alas, Youcef and Emily don’t really have great chemistry. It’s there, but it’s lacking. Not to mention, Rossi’s Middle Eastern accent is a bit appalling. Plaza as Emily is annoying on the screen and doesn’t show much talent. The only thing that makes Emily tolerable are the few culturally relevant monologues in which she’s yelling at oppressors about their bad behavior. Those are few and far between.
Can’t Root for the Underdog
I truly wanted to root for Emily the criminal. She’s had a hard life and I wanted to see that she’d learned from the bad choices of her early adulthood. Unfortunately, she does not. She just keeps coming up with the wrong answers and proves to be not a good person. Ford, who does not do a good job with this film, basically created a work that leaves the audience asking if a broken system justifies criminal behavior. And, most importantly, this film makes anyone who has had their identity or credit cards stolen not root for the underdog in this story. Surely, Sundance can do better.
Don’t let the lack of love for this review keep you from reading more. You can read my review of Bullet Train here.
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