Honestly, if I hadn't seen the trailers, I would've thought this was a black comedy. Lines delivery is usually overemotional or under-emotional (with the latter frequently coming from Taylor/Emily), the plot is ridiculous and hard to take seriously, and the conflict is thoroughly unrealistic.
Let's start with the acting and cinematography. As mentioned earlier, no one involved seems to have realized this was a bad movie not to take seriously, and as a result the acting is comically over-the-top in several scenes. Kelly Rowan truly takes the cake, though, as her every other line is generic advice about computer safety, said perfectly seriously, without a trace of irony.
Emily Osment, meanwhile, has two facial expressions throughout: crying and being dully surprised by the latest "twist" the plot has taken. The other performances range from "average" to "clearly didn't care" (although the gay kid seemed to have some ability, he didn't have much to work with.) The cinematography was okay, but the jiggle cam around the beginning was irritating.
Next, the plot. I'll say this: cyberbullying, as with all other kinds of bullying, is a serious issue that causes severe emotional pain to all kinds of kids. I don't think it should be swept under the rug; wherever it is happening, there should be someone to prevent it. With that in mind, this movie's plot and premise were, to put it bluntly, laughable.
Why did her brother and his friends cause the initial hacking? Never explained. Why didn't she just make a new profile? Never explained. Why did her friend pretend to be someone else later on? Explained, but never elaborated to the point where it made sense. Why was the entire school so invested in what Taylor was dealing with? Never explained. Why did Lindsay hate Taylor so much? Never explained.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Too much of this movie's conflict made no sense, because the antagonists had no clear motive. Taylor had no discernible flaws, so she wasn't relatable and Lindsay had no reason to hate her. Moreover, the bullies were people she didn't know who were inexplicably invested in her life. Her friend's reason to pretend to be a boy who was interested in her (Taylor) was allegedly that she wanted to protect Taylor from another boy who was interested in her. The boy in question had done nothing to make her suspect he was a bad guy. Why did she assume the worst and bully her friend to the point of a suicide attempt? (Trigger warning) Suicidal feelings don't come on that suddenly. They build up slowly and gradually, and are not often caused by a single traumatic event. You might say all the bullying triggered it and so it was gradual. Was this shown at any point? Since it wasn't, I have no reason to believe her feelings were gradual. On a lighter note, why couldn't she get the cap off? She's 17 and grew up in a developed country. Her over-dramatic shouts just made me giggle and remark that I didn't care what happened to these people.
The computer stuff was clearly not done by anyone who's interacted with a real teenager. "Cliquesters?" Really? Also, I'm supposed to buy that guys use this site? What's wrong with Facebook? The typing was done very grammatically correctly, with plenty of correct punctuation.
So much was funny to me in this movie. Most of Kelly Rowan's dialog. The "I can't get the cap off" scene. The little brother's terrible acting.
Here's the thing about a movie with a message: the plot shouldn't be incidental to that message. If it is, it's difficult to take seriously because everything is building up to the moral, and whether I agree with it or not, if the plot is silly I will not take that message seriously. It should--to paraphrase Mark Twain--make me hate the bad characters and love the good ones. I didn't care about anybody. And that is the kiss of death for any work of fiction.
Let's start with the acting and cinematography. As mentioned earlier, no one involved seems to have realized this was a bad movie not to take seriously, and as a result the acting is comically over-the-top in several scenes. Kelly Rowan truly takes the cake, though, as her every other line is generic advice about computer safety, said perfectly seriously, without a trace of irony.
Emily Osment, meanwhile, has two facial expressions throughout: crying and being dully surprised by the latest "twist" the plot has taken. The other performances range from "average" to "clearly didn't care" (although the gay kid seemed to have some ability, he didn't have much to work with.) The cinematography was okay, but the jiggle cam around the beginning was irritating.
Next, the plot. I'll say this: cyberbullying, as with all other kinds of bullying, is a serious issue that causes severe emotional pain to all kinds of kids. I don't think it should be swept under the rug; wherever it is happening, there should be someone to prevent it. With that in mind, this movie's plot and premise were, to put it bluntly, laughable.
Why did her brother and his friends cause the initial hacking? Never explained. Why didn't she just make a new profile? Never explained. Why did her friend pretend to be someone else later on? Explained, but never elaborated to the point where it made sense. Why was the entire school so invested in what Taylor was dealing with? Never explained. Why did Lindsay hate Taylor so much? Never explained.
I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Too much of this movie's conflict made no sense, because the antagonists had no clear motive. Taylor had no discernible flaws, so she wasn't relatable and Lindsay had no reason to hate her. Moreover, the bullies were people she didn't know who were inexplicably invested in her life. Her friend's reason to pretend to be a boy who was interested in her (Taylor) was allegedly that she wanted to protect Taylor from another boy who was interested in her. The boy in question had done nothing to make her suspect he was a bad guy. Why did she assume the worst and bully her friend to the point of a suicide attempt? (Trigger warning) Suicidal feelings don't come on that suddenly. They build up slowly and gradually, and are not often caused by a single traumatic event. You might say all the bullying triggered it and so it was gradual. Was this shown at any point? Since it wasn't, I have no reason to believe her feelings were gradual. On a lighter note, why couldn't she get the cap off? She's 17 and grew up in a developed country. Her over-dramatic shouts just made me giggle and remark that I didn't care what happened to these people.
The computer stuff was clearly not done by anyone who's interacted with a real teenager. "Cliquesters?" Really? Also, I'm supposed to buy that guys use this site? What's wrong with Facebook? The typing was done very grammatically correctly, with plenty of correct punctuation.
So much was funny to me in this movie. Most of Kelly Rowan's dialog. The "I can't get the cap off" scene. The little brother's terrible acting.
Here's the thing about a movie with a message: the plot shouldn't be incidental to that message. If it is, it's difficult to take seriously because everything is building up to the moral, and whether I agree with it or not, if the plot is silly I will not take that message seriously. It should--to paraphrase Mark Twain--make me hate the bad characters and love the good ones. I didn't care about anybody. And that is the kiss of death for any work of fiction.