Every now and then a movie comes around that you know won't make much noise at the box office, but will inevitably be a cult classic. If there's one movie this year that I can easily see staying in people's hearts despite not getting quite enough love right off the bat (current estimates have it's opening weekend at roughly one million dollars), it has to be Meredith Alloway's witchy comedy-horror debut Forbidden Fruits. It certainly helps that one of the film's producers is Diablo Cody, the iconic screenwriter of arguably the most iconic feminist cult classic horror; Jennifer's Body.
Based on the stage play Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die, Forbidden Fruits follows Lola Tung as Pumpkin, a new hire at a mall's pretzel shop. She quickly attracts the attention of Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and Fig (Alexandra Shipp), the cliquey employees of a boutique clothing store called Free Eden. They are initially dismissive of Pumpkin, but upon learning she too is named after a fruit she is hired alongside them. In little time, the trio reveal themselves to be part a coven that meets after hours, conducting the occasional ritual whilst confessing their sins to the spirit of Marilyn Monroe and placing an emphasis on sisterhood. When Pumpkin begins to challenge their sisterhood, things begin to unravel for the fruits.
I can see this being a movie that isn't quite what people expect. Despite the bright fashion and no holds barred feminist energy, this isn't the fast paced horror-comedy you may expect. If you go in expecting Hocus Pocus you'll be disappointed by how the film actually tackles witchcraft. The film is largely just vibing with these characters, with a fairly thin plotline pulling things along until the more exciting final act. As someone that enjoys a good hangout movie, I really enjoyed just soaking up the dynamics between the characters. It certainly helps that Alloway and Lily Houghton's script is constantly hilarious, allowing things to be entertaining even when not that much is actually happening. There's an underlying mystery of where the narrative is going that also aids in keeping the film interesting. Part of me does wish the film leaned a bit more into the supernatural, but using witchcraft mostly as a means of sisterhood was an interesting look at it that I enjoyed.
Another thing I love about the film is how clearly Mean Girls-coded it is, and that's thanks in large part to the quartet at the heart of everything. Lili Reinhart plays the Regina George of the group and delivers hands down the best work I've seen from her. She perfectly embodies the alpha persona with a hard cold demeanor, but that intensity also makes her more comedic moments pop even more. The matter of factness in which she delivers killer one liners is truly something special. I also adored Victoria Pedretti here. She's the naive and somewhat airheaded one of the group, similar to Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls, but that allows her to be ridiculously lovable and even funnier than Reinhart. Any moments with her cat are among the film's best. Alexandra Shipp has the least to do of the initial three, but I still did love her character. Lola Tung is where I'm the most torn. She's the one that probably has the most screen time, but I just didn't find Pumpkin to be as entertaining as the others. Part of this is her role as the group's unraveller, a role that winds up working well within the story thanks to a twist that felt a lot more earned than I was expecting, but that does leave her as the one who delivers the least laughs.
If you love Mean Girls or Jennifer's Body, or recent feminist comedies like Emma Seligman's work, or even if you just love classic campy feminist horror like The Craft or Ginger Snaps, I would definitely recommend this one. I can see the campy comedy and the lack of a clear storyline to turn people away from this, but if hanging out with a bunch of witches dressed in the year's best costumes, then this might just be for you. 4/5
Comments
Post a Comment