The Re-Education of Molly Singer, 2023.
Directed by Andy Palmer.
Starring Britt Robertson, Ty Simpkins, Nico Santos, Cierra Ramirez, Holland Roden, Wendie Malick, Jaime Pressly, Jerome Beazer, Nate Walker, Perris Drew, Jonathan Lipnicki, Carlos Alazraqui, Paul Soter, Zach Scheerer, Ben Begley, Joel Michaely, Emma Holzer, Andrew Ortenberg, Steven McCormack, Kailie Sanders, Tyler Reefer, Christie McLendon, and Daniel Annone.
SYNOPSIS:
To save her job, a young lawyer must go undercover, enrolling as a freshman at her old alma mater, in order to resuscitate the well-being of her Boss’ terribly awkward teenage son.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, The Re-Education of Molly Singer wouldn’t exist.
It is a surprise to find out that The Re-Education of Molly Singer director Andy Palmer has far more experience as an editor than a filmmaker (it’s also worth pointing out that this seems to be his first comedic effort, having previously helmed horror movies), since what this flick needs most is a serious edit to not only trim down the unforgivable two-hour running time but to condense and home in on the situational humor and story beats that are directly connected to the premise of Todd M. Friedman’s and Kevin Haskin’s scattershot script.
Molly Singer (played by Britt Robertson, shedding some of her family-friendly image, having risen acting in works such as Tomorrowland and A Dog’s Purpose) is an upstart lawyer working for a firm run by Jamie Presley’s Brenda, a neurotic mother paranoid that her college-bound son Elliot (Ty Simpkins) will forever be stuck inside his social shell, let alone amount to anyone successful.
She is also a hard partier, frequently going out for drinks after office hours and coming into the firm hungover. It’s problematic behavior that worsens once she arrives late to a trial and misses out on defending a client. Furious, Brenda fires Molly, but not before offering a tantalizing, financially lucrative opportunity to return to her college stomping grounds to impart her sense of reckless abandon and wild fun onto Elliot, bringing him from lonely loser to hotshot. Naturally, Molly accepts the offer without hesitation, subsequently convincing her gay best friend Ollie (Nico Santos) to get away from his annoying elementary school lunchroom co-worker and return to college to help her out in exchange for a small portion of the money.
Ty Simpkins is quite endearing as the anxious outcast, still grieving the loss of his father. When he is not moping around, he is either playing video games or attempting to appear cool on TikTok by performing martial arts moves while sporting MMA clothing (a routine he regularly fails at.) There is a lot of over-the-top. ludicrous stupidity here in The Re-Education of Molly Singer, but Elliot’s evolution into finding himself, befriending a pretty campus girl (Cierra Ramirez), inserting himself into drinking games, finding his sense of confidence even when around bully frat boys (Zach Scheerer), and generally eases his way into a more social life feels believable.
It is not Ty Simpkins’ fault, but he seems to be a completely different movie from everyone else, trying to find some semblance of emotional honesty during absurd, dumb scenes ranging from his mom taking him to a strip club to open him up socially, or late-shenanigans involving being framed for attacking and kidnapping a rival mascot (because of course this movie ends with a court case instead of sticking to its college setting.)
As for Molly and Ollie, they have their lessons to learn, although it hardly comes through since it is buried underneath comedic material, some of which is genuinely funny (the ensemble, including minor supporting players, all have a knack for delivery and timing), and other times unbearably grating and far too lengthy for its good (a triathlon of drinking party games with color commentary for no discernible reason other than the filmmakers incorrectly thought it would be funny and would instantly become tired.) Not to mention, there is a sexual encounter played for laughs between a woman and a gay man that somewhat crosses the line into rape territory.
That’s without acknowledging the obvious sentiment that none of this is necessarily refreshing (moviegoers got to see something similar and much funnier a few months ago starring Jennifer Lawrence.) There are some pleasantly silly ideas and occasionally funny performances here, but The Re-Education of Molly Singer needed a rewrite more than anything. The filmmakers are constantly distracted by situations and ideas that don’t fit into the core story here, by extension, losing any heart the story would otherwise possess.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
