The
To Do List
Set in
1993, Aubrey
Plaza stars as Brandy Klark – the
ultimate straight-A class valedictorian growing up in Boise. However,
Brandy is starting to feel a bit embarrassed about her lack of
knowledge and experience in the sexual realm.
Not one to back down from a challenge, and feeling the pressure from
her friends to be “more worldly” before heading off
to Georgetown in the fall, the young lady makes a list of sexual
experiences she wishes to accomplish during the summer, and she is
leaping into the task with gusto.
How far is Brandy willing to go?
Will emotions get in the way?
In The To Do List,
Plaza proves she can handle heading up a movie and do something
different than playing the smoky, punk alt girl fantasy she plays on Parks
and Recreation. Instead of letting
Brandy fall into stereotype, she brings out the character’s
nerdy side as the whole assignment becomes more like an intimidating
science experiment which can be very analytical because of her studious
nature. It’s a great way to keep Brandy a relatable and more
innocent character.
Plus, writer/director Maggie Carey provides a movie that is
outrageously frank and funny with some grossness, but she’s
not exploitive about it. It feels more like a John Hughes movie than
some wild American Pie
romp. While certainly less innocent than
a true
1993 effort of this sort would be, Carey does show these teens as the
confused kids they really are as they struggle with sex, expectations,
boundaries and maintaining some desirable reputation.
The supporting cast makes The
To Do List one to watch. Clark
Gregg is hilarious as the uptight Dad who doesn’t even want
to believe his child has kissed a boy, let alone has the ability to
deal with this kind of list, while Connie Britton is the perfect
counter balance to Gregg as the mother who is more open about these
issues and willing to help out the daughter with advice, whether it is
wanted or not.
Then, Rachel Bilson is surprising as the bitchy older sister. She walks
a fine line showing how her Amber wants to torture her younger sister,
but also takes on a mentoring role when advice is needed from someone a
little closer in age.
The To Do List
has plenty of characters and other subplots that all could have
provided more depth to the movie, but we never get to spend much time
with them.
The
To Do List is rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content
including graphic dialogue, drug and alcohol use, and language - all
involving teens.
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