So long as the world has teens in it, there will be movies portraying—to varying degrees of accuracy—the challenges they face in terms of anxiety and angst while trying to fit in, look cool, or woo a hot peer that they’re inexorably attracted to. The genre of teen-comedy has neatly arranged its tropes in such a way that others are able to follow almost easily. Good Girls Get High is refreshing in that regard—it veers from those conventions while at the same time bringing lots of fun.
Most of the movie’s success comes from the ways the main characters ascend wide-eyed into reefer madness, which to the audience is both mirthful and unpredictable. The story starts off with valedictorian Sam making a video message intended for Harvard explaining her refusal to enroll despite being selected, as well as begging to be admitted because now she regrets her mistake. She narrates the early parts of the story, showing us her best friend Danielle, as well as their world. The two are super nerds—both valedictorians—and lacking social lives aside from Friday hangouts with Ken—a friend who delivers pizzas. Sam is big on science, while Danielle is invested in poetry and debates.
Sam also lays out her father’s character, and his doomed ice-cream store that owes its current condition to the trendy guy that opened up a better competing business next door. It’s this financial instability that prompts Sam to say no to Harvard in the first place, but much to her annoyance this knocks Danielle into acceptance at the prestigious school, spoiling the former’s dream of attending state college with her pal. There’s also an array of colorful side characters, including Ashanti (an Instagram influencer at the same school) and Jeremy (Danielle’s crush and a new-age performance artist).
Sam and Danielle mostly seem completely accepting of and even comfortable with where their social standing is, up until the point where they catch on to the fact they’ve been voted their yearbook’s “Biggest Good Girls”. With shaken egos, the two decide to live out the bad-girl life before the moniker sticks. After that, Sam finds a joint in her dad’s laundry, and what follows is the strangest journey either has ever experienced until then.
Notable turns also include Danny Pudi’s Mr. D, who plays Sam’s science teacher and Sam’s longtime crush, and Lauren Lapkus’s pregnant cop, who becomes an unexpected ally.
The movie is nowhere near as lewd as Superbad or as sexy as The To Do List, but the screenwriters have managed beautifully to keep away from excess plot devices. What Good Girls Get High focuses on is the freewheeling experience two besties share on their virgin high. The co-writers also put across both characters as strong and individualistic leaning on a strong friendship, without making other characters archetypes in the meantime. Scott and Quinn seem up for doing even the most humiliating scenes, which makes for some seriously humorous (no pun intended) situations. The friendship too comes off as genuine and natural.
