Netflix just dropped the first trailer for Amy Poehler’s new film Moxie, and while we can’t prove it, we’re pretty sure this film was engineered specifically with us in mind. Based on Jennifer Mathieu’s feminist YA novel, Moxie is a coming of age film about high school girls finding strength in one another and standing up against the sexist bullshit that comes with the high school experience. Teen girls fighting the patriarchy? Sign us up!
The synopsis for the film reads,
“Vivian (Hadley Robinson), a seemingly shy 16-year-old, has always preferred to keep her head down and fly under the radar. But when the arrival of a new student (Alycia Pascual-Peña) forces her to examine the unchecked behavior of her fellow students running rampant at her high school, Vivian realizes she’s fed up. Inspired by her mother’s (Amy Poehler) rebellious past, Vivian anonymously publishes an underground zine called Moxie to expose bias and wrongdoing in her high school, and unexpectedly sparks a movement. Now at the center of a revolution, Vivian begins to forge new friendships with other young women and allies, reaching across the divide of cliques and clubs as they learn to navigate the highs and lows of high school together.”
There is SO MUCH to like about this trailer. Amy Poehler directing? Yes please. A kickass Riot Grrrl soundtrack? Give it to me now. A long overdue resurgence of zines? What a gift to my 90s girl soul. And to top it all off, Oscar winner and certified mommi Marcia Gay Harden? Get out of my dream journal, Ted Sarandos! There is a certain kind of woman for whom the opening notes of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” is akin to someone turning on the Bat-signal. We WILL show up for this.
The film also features a stellar cast that includes Hadley Robinson (Utopia), and Saved by the Bell‘s Alycia Pascual-Peña and Josie Totah. Nico Hiraga (Booksmart) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Midnight Sun) also star, with Ike Barinholtz and Clark Gregg rounding out the adult cast.
I think that women of all ages are going to turn out for this film. Adolescence is a challenging time in the best circumstances, but high school is often where girls first experience the toxic effects of sexism and the patriarchy. For many of us, high school is the place where we first realize that the world isn’t built with us in mind, a sentiment that grows exponentially larger when you aren’t white, straight, or cis.
While I’m excited to see this film as a grown-ass woman, I can’t help but think about how important it would be to me if I saw it as a teenager. Growing up, so many of us were desperate to see our anger and frustration reflected in pop culture, which is why films like The Craft and Ghost World became such cult favorites. And judging by the internet reactions to this trailer, women of all ages are here for this film. If you build it, the riot girls will come.
Moxie premieres on Netflix on March 3.
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