Directing her second feature for Netflix, Amy Poehler has fashioned a likable, if somewhat overstuffed, high school fantasy of girl empowerment in this adaptation of Jennifer Mathieu’s 2015 YA novel. The protagonist is Vivian (amiable Hadley Robinson), a shy kid who, along with her best bud since childhood, ultra-cautious Claudia (amusingly dour Lauren Tsai), aims to hunker down while campus drama swirls under the gaze of obtuse Principal Shelly (Marcia Gay Harden in comically rigorous mode).
Vivian is roused from her customary non-interventionism in English class when a new transfer (Alycia Pascual-Peña) challenges a reading list that prizes “classics” over socially relevant contemporary writing, only to be condescendingly shot down by arrogant jock and campus heartthrob Mitchell (Patrick Schwarzenegger).
When further evidence of the school’s casual sexism becomes apparent, Vivian opts to follow the example of her once-rebellious mother Lisa (Poehler) and take a stand by compiling a comic-book-like feminist manifesto titled Moxie, running off copies and distributing them surreptitiously around campus.
It ignites a movement among not only the girls but a few sensitive guys like Seth (Nico Hiraga) by first calling for modest gestures of defiance before escalating its demands over time and irking ostentatiously macho dudes like Mitchell. And when Shelly appears to favor the male student body and threaten the female rebels, it hits Vivian hard, causing a rift in her relationships with her mother and supportive Seth.
Those are only a few of the complications that arise as the plot ramifies to include tension in Vivian’s friendship with Claudia and subplots about other female classmates who feel disrespected in the male-dominated environment—the soccer team captain denied the recognition given the football quarterback, the talented singer shut out of auditions for the school musical, the full-figured girl, the cheerleader described by guys as “easy,” the transgender girl, the wheelchair-bound band member.
While it is heartening that so many forms of sexism are addressed, however perfunctorily, it gives the film a scattershot feel that becomes evident in a big rally sequence that serves as the upbeat finale where Vivian finally embraces her role publicly as Moxie with a beaming Lisa looking on. It also takes a decidedly serious turn when one girl issues a startling accusation that brings the generally light tone to an abrupt halt—only to leave the matter unresolved.
Though one can regret the feeling of narrative drift or argue that the subject might have benefited from an edgier approach, Moxie provides a generally good time, anchored by Robinson’s likable presence and an ingratiating turn from Hiraga as her laid-back romantic interest. It also shows that Poehler is a deft filmmaker as well as an accomplished comedienne. Recommended.