Do Revenge
Do Revenge is a 2022 American teen black comedy film directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, featuring Camila Mendes as Drea and Maya Hawke as Eleanor. The movie centers on two high school students from a posh private school who, after experiencing social downfalls due to different circumstances, decide to team up and execute revenge schemes on each other's tormentors. It satirizes classic 90s and early 2000s teen films while incorporating modern Gen Z sensibilities. The narrative explores themes of revenge, social hierarchy, and identity, presented through a darkly comedic lens. Overall, the film is geared towards mature teen and young adult audiences, given its themes and explicit content.
Concerns
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
HighThe film features prominent LGBTQ+ representation, with a central character, Eleanor, explicitly identified as a lesbian. Her backstory and motivation for revenge are directly linked to a past experience of being outed. The movie includes a romantic relationship between two female characters and portrays instances of homophobic bullying.
Eleanor Levetan's entire revenge plot is catalyzed by her past trauma of being outed as a lesbian at summer camp by Carissa when she was 13 years old. Eleanor engages in a romantic relationship with Max's twin sister, Gabbi, who is also openly lesbian, demonstrating same-sex affection and partnership within the narrative.
Romance and Sexual Content
HighSexual content is frequent, including discussions, suggestive language, implied sexual acts, and partial nudity. A key plot point revolves around the non-consensual distribution of a character's intimate video. While explicit sexual acts are not shown, the overall content is highly suggestive.
The film's central conflict begins with Drea's boyfriend, Max, non-consensually disseminating her private sexual video to the entire school, though the tape itself is not explicitly shown. A scene depicts a character pretending to receive oral sex, complete with moaning sounds, though explicit visual details are kept off-screen. Additionally, characters are frequently seen in revealing attire or undergarments.
Profanity
HighThe film contains extensive and strong profanity throughout, with frequent use of explicit curse words and offensive language by various characters in both casual and aggressive contexts.
The movie is described as 'rife with profanity,' including the repeated use of 'multiple F-bombs' by characters. Dialogue frequently features highly offensive terms such as 'c*nt' and 'motherf*cker,' used in a range of emotional expressions from anger to casual conversation.
Substance Use
HighThe movie features pervasive depiction of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, and cocaine. Characters frequently consume these substances at parties, and drug use is integrated into revenge plots, with some instances of glamorization.
Party scenes consistently show young characters consuming various drugs, including alcohol, cannabis, psychoactive mushrooms, and cocaine. A key part of a revenge scheme involves lacing food at a dinner party with psychedelic mushrooms to intoxicate the attendees. One scene explicitly depicts a student snorting cocaine off another character's stomach.
Disrespect & Rebellion
HighThe entire premise of the film is built upon elaborate acts of disrespect, manipulation, and rebellion against peers, social norms, and implied authority figures. Characters consistently engage in deceitful and vengeful behaviors without clear moral consequences for their actions.
Drea and Eleanor's alliance is formed specifically to 'do each other's revenge,' involving intricate plans of sabotage, lying, and emotional manipulation against multiple individuals at their school. Eleanor is portrayed as 'unrepentant' for her manipulative and harmful actions, including blackmailing Drea and initiating a car crash, highlighting a lack of moral accountability for rebellious behavior.
Violence
MediumWhile not graphically violent, the film's plot is built entirely around themes of retaliation and psychological warfare among high school students. It includes a scene of a deliberate car crash and addresses the emotional violence of non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
Eleanor deliberately T-bones Drea's car, causing a significant collision that results in Drea being sent to the hospital, framing it as a 'not-so-accidental car crash'. The movie's inciting incident involves Drea's ex-boyfriend, Max, leaking her private sexual video without her consent, leading to widespread humiliation and emotional distress for Drea.
Scary & Intense Content
MediumThe film contains intense emotional and psychological content centered on revenge, manipulation, and social cruelty. While not a horror film, it includes distressing themes such as public humiliation and a deliberate car crash causing injury.
The non-consensual leaking of Drea's private video leads to intense public humiliation and social ostracism, which forms a significant and emotionally distressing plot point for the main character. Eleanor intentionally crashes her car into Drea's vehicle, resulting in Drea's hospitalization, which is a physically intense and shocking event within the story.
Witchcraft & Occult
LowThere is no actual depiction of witchcraft, sorcery, or occult practices. The only reference is a casual mention of 'Instagram witches' as a cultural descriptor for a high school clique, not indicative of genuine supernatural elements.
The film includes a passing cultural reference to a high school clique identified as 'Instagram witches,' which denotes a social aesthetic rather than the practice of actual magic or occult rituals. There are no scenes involving spells, demons, supernatural occurrences, or any form of explicit occult activity portrayed in the narrative.
Anti-Christian Themes
LowThe film does not contain explicit anti-Christian themes, mockery, or sacrilege. A review notes the absence of a 'Come to Jesus moment' for a character, referring to a lack of moral reckoning or repentance, but this is a commentary on character development rather than an direct anti-Christian message.
The narrative does not include any scenes that directly mock Christian beliefs, depict sacrilegious acts, or promote anti-Christian messages. A critical review mentions that Eleanor's character has 'no Come to Jesus moment,' indicating her lack of a traditional moral transformation or repentance for her destructive actions, but this is an idiomatic expression about character arc, not an attack on Christianity itself.
Other Notes
Target Demographic
16 and up. The film is self-rated TV-MA by Netflix for strong language, pervasive substance use, and sexual content. Its mature themes of revenge, manipulation, and explicit portrayals of various concerns make it suitable for older teenagers and young adults.
Additional Notes
The film employs a satirical tone reminiscent of 90s teen comedies, which may require discernment for younger viewers to understand the exaggeration and critique of social behaviors rather than endorsement. The core themes of revenge and manipulation are central and consistently portrayed.
Related Reviews
Is Do Revenge right for your family?
These concerns are a starting point — what many Christian parents care about. Want to screen for other themes? Define your own concerns.
Screen any book, movie, or show — even titles no one else has reviewed.
“StoryScanner gives us clarity and confidence. It's become our go-to for checking books at the library and movies on family night.”
— Cristi & Brian, Dallas TX
“StoryScanner has been such a BLESSING for researching books for our children. You can set filters for your concerns, enter a book title, and it lets you know what's present.”
— Christian Book Reviews for Families (Facebook)
No credit card required