dir. Paul Feig
There was a lot of buzz for this movie before it was released. A well-regarded director and a cast including the likes of Cate Blanchett, Laurence Fishburne, Charlize Theron and Michelle Yeoh, bringing to life the first in a highly popular series of books. Unfortunately, The School for Good and Evil has ambitions far beyond its capabilities. There is promise in the story: best friends Agatha (Sofia Wylie) and Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) have always been stereotyped as a witch and a princess, respectively. But when transported to the School for Good and Evil, Agatha is told she is “Good”, while Sophie is crestfallen to be cast as “Evil”. The story’s obvious intention is to obliterate the idea that good and evil are a hard binary, but unfortunately much of what it does only serves to reinforce the clichés. Agatha has very little personality beyond trying to help Sophie, while Sophie’s descent into “Evil” is largely defined by eyeliner and short hair. None of the school’s origins or processes make much sense, and besides approximately two or three funny lines, the dialogue is bland and expositional. And of course, there is a pretty straightforward happy ending. Perhaps the source material deals with the premise’s complexities better, and maybe this is why the movie attracted such a high-profile cast and director. But The School for Good and Evil just winds up being another tired example of the very tropes it’s trying to demolish.
BMDb 