If you’re a Rebel Wilson fan, then check out here new comedy. The movie Senior Year unravels how a high school cheerleading captain (teen Stephanie – played by Angourie Rice) is dropped during a dance routine and wakes up from a coma (adult Stephanie – played by Rebel Wilson) twenty years later to discover high school is not what it used to be. The film begins with a flashback of Stephanie’s being made fun as the new and nerdy Australian kid and how she changed her persona to become a popular girl and cheer captain of her high school.

Stephanie still feels like that 17-year-old she was and convinces her friend Martha and current high school principal (Mary Holland) to allow her to enroll to finish her senior year. She discovers high school in 2022 has vastly different social structures and becoming popular is going to be a challenge in a school promoting equality, no social hierarchy, and no cheer captain. Stephanie sets out to reclaim her role as cheer captain and become prom queen, but feels lost and displaced in the process. This coming-of-age film speaks on topics of identity, peer influence, and learning to be your own person.  A lot of scenes were campy and over dramatized. I enjoyed the dance numbers paying homage to nostalgic music videos, my favorite one being Britney Spears.

Stephanie Conway was a loud and in-your-face character, and the plot was without surprises. Rebel Wilson was funny as always, however, even with the exciting dance scenes the film was  your typical high school film. Stephanie’s old high school “frenemy” Tiffany (played by Zoe Chao) and Tiffany’s husband Blaine (Stephanie’s ex-boyfriend) (played by Justin Harley) provide conflict and tension, raising the stakes for the characters, however; their scenes were predictable and underwhelming.

Alicia Silverstone’s cameo was a nice nod to the popularity and nostalgic roles, Stephanie (Rice and Wilson) idealized Silverstone’s character as having the “perfect” life and marriage until Deanna spoke about the reality of how her marriage fell apart and she lost her house. The music and pop culture references in this film were on-point. Stephanie’s friend Martha, the principal and cheer coach was a supportive and sound of mind and nerdy character who help guide Stephanie as she always has. Seth (played by Sam Richardson) the school’s librarian was the same faithful friend he was in high school. Stephanie befriends cheer squad “besties” Janet (played by Avantika Vandanapu) and Yaz (played by Joshua Colley) but does not win the acceptance of Tiffany and Blaine’s daughter “Brie Loves” the “non-popular,” body positive, eco-friendly, influencer who claims everyone is her friend while simultaneously stroking her ego and acting like people are below her. Brie character arch is interesting. All other character architypes were predictable and stayed true to their limits.

Shout out to Chris Parnell for being a comedic and lovable dad in the film. Rebel Wilson was funny as always, did several comedic sketches, and brought depth to the role of a woman growing into her own and while in the process of trying to be popular learns to love and accept herself. Rather than looking for validation from outside herself (her peers and social media.) Angourie Rice did an excellent performance, including dancing and matching the cadence of Rebel Wilson. The is a cutesy feel-good film, I would rate it a six. It is entertaining; however, I would not watch it again or recommend paying to see it. Kudos to Rebel Wilson for looking gorgeous, staying hilarious, and stepping into a changing role of playing someone with the mentality of a child with grace and dignity, showing us a different side with a light-hearted film with all the emotional trimmings.