As someone who grew up as a comic-book-reading, video-game-playing, silent type, I was decidedly not one of the popular kids in school. Kids like us naturally would daydream about what it would be like to be popular, akin to being a local celebrity. The favors, the compliments, the attention from the opposite sex (which is the main thing at that formidable age), and all of the other perks from being well-liked by your peers seemed like such a foreign and unattainable prospect.
Enter the independent high school comedy by director Nayip Ramos, Almost Popular, written by Pamela Duffy-Little and Eleni Rivera, which is billed as Dumb and Dumber meets Mean Girls, about two teenagers who try to game the social media system in order to become part of the cool crowd (aka the POP Girls) in school.
Susie Quinn (Ruby Rose Turner) and Bobby Roberts (Reid Miller) are just a couple of weird, unpopular kids who are looking to turn things around at school in this digital age we live in. These two are supposed to be Dumb and Dumber, although they seem more silly and embarrassing than actually dumb. Bobby is gay and loves to make political references and wear ruby slippers like Dorothy, while Susie dances like Elaine from Seinfeld and accidentally farts or gags at the most inopportune times. It’s pretty apparent why no group at school wants anything to do with them, let alone the POP Girls.
“…two teenagers who try to game the social media system in order to become part of the cool crowd”
The POP Girls and high school are led by coveted center position holder Vicki Reinhard (Ellodee Carpenter), who proclaims that she has the most social media followers of anyone in school and is the typical “mean girl.” She is flanked by Ginger Martin (Victoria Caro) on her left and Renee Lalita (Isabella Ferreira) on her right.
Renee has a crush on Dave Simon (Elijah M. Cooper), a jock with a heart of gold. She secretly mentors Bobby and Susie on how to be cool, feeling sorry for them, and also notices how Dave likes them by inviting them to his big party.
Bobby and Susie have a hilarious exchange with Siri early on in the film, asking the iPhone AI tips on how to become popular. After some misunderstanding (by Siri, of course), Susie gets the bright idea to buy a million TikTok followers each for her and Bobby (for the steal of a deal of $9.99). The odd pair becomes popular at school overnight, getting invited to Dave’s aforementioned party and being featured on the school announcements show. They don’t even get their fifteen minutes of fame when they’re called out on the show for buying fake followers, and then have to start at less than square one.
Almost Popular is a fun, light-hearted teen comedy that features a fantastic cast and some laughs. Ruby Rose Turner and Isabella Ferreira both show that they have the chops and charisma to be magnetic on the big screen. Sadly, the teen high school comedy, much like the rom-com, has been a comedy subgenre that is on life support in theaters. This is a return to that Mean Girls form (but a fresh indie movie version) that we could all use right now.
"…Dumb and Dumber meets Mean Girls..."
