In this Netflix movie, 28-year-old Lucy Hale plays Lily, a Junior/Senior high school student (the movie spans over two years). It is kind of a stretch, but Hale pulls it off with ease, her acting closely mirroring her role in "Pretty Little Liars".
While still a junior, Lily is shown to be in love with James, the brother of one of her friends. However, right at the beginning, James dies in a car accident, and the plot stems from the consequences of his death on Lily. Unfortunately, they share less than 3 minutes of on-screen time together before his death, making it too brief to forge a connection with them and to truly feel the impact of his loss on Lily. As a result, the ensuing rollercoaster of fights with friends, parties, and drug use in Lily's life feels misplaced. It's meant to portray her self-destructive way of coping with James's death, but the lack of a previously established deep connection makes it hard to really get why she's acting this way. The fact that the movie tries to juggle comedy with drama doesn't really help either. Striking the right balance between the two is always tricky, and, in the case of "Dudes", it just doesn't work out. The jokes thrown in throughout make it even harder to connect with Lily's pain. In most cases, they fall flat, either because they clash with the movie's dramatic side or just don't land at all. For example, there's this scene where a girl asks to leave a meeting because she's on her period, and the guy leading the meeting goes, "Menstruation is a miracle. I'm jealous I can't experience it myself".
Throughout the movie, we meet Noah, who has a clear interest in Lily. He makes a grand gesture by writing and performing a song to ask her to prom. Initially, she turns him down, but after they bump into each other at a party, things heat up, and eventually, they sleep together. It seems like they both really connect, both physically and emotionally. However, after that, Lily hooks up with another guy and Noah returns to his "crazy ex", in his own words. Fast forward to the end, Noah's at a party with his girlfriend, and they get into a fight because she wants to snoop through his phone messages. She storms off (hinting they're done for good), and it doesn't take long for Noah and Lily to find their way back to each other. But again, it's hard to buy into their relationship. It feels like they end up together more because of how things unfold than any deep realization of how much they mean to each other.
In summary, "Dudes" struggles with its plot development, awkwardly navigating the line between comedy and drama. On the other hand, Lucy Hale delivers a striking performance.
While still a junior, Lily is shown to be in love with James, the brother of one of her friends. However, right at the beginning, James dies in a car accident, and the plot stems from the consequences of his death on Lily. Unfortunately, they share less than 3 minutes of on-screen time together before his death, making it too brief to forge a connection with them and to truly feel the impact of his loss on Lily. As a result, the ensuing rollercoaster of fights with friends, parties, and drug use in Lily's life feels misplaced. It's meant to portray her self-destructive way of coping with James's death, but the lack of a previously established deep connection makes it hard to really get why she's acting this way. The fact that the movie tries to juggle comedy with drama doesn't really help either. Striking the right balance between the two is always tricky, and, in the case of "Dudes", it just doesn't work out. The jokes thrown in throughout make it even harder to connect with Lily's pain. In most cases, they fall flat, either because they clash with the movie's dramatic side or just don't land at all. For example, there's this scene where a girl asks to leave a meeting because she's on her period, and the guy leading the meeting goes, "Menstruation is a miracle. I'm jealous I can't experience it myself".
Throughout the movie, we meet Noah, who has a clear interest in Lily. He makes a grand gesture by writing and performing a song to ask her to prom. Initially, she turns him down, but after they bump into each other at a party, things heat up, and eventually, they sleep together. It seems like they both really connect, both physically and emotionally. However, after that, Lily hooks up with another guy and Noah returns to his "crazy ex", in his own words. Fast forward to the end, Noah's at a party with his girlfriend, and they get into a fight because she wants to snoop through his phone messages. She storms off (hinting they're done for good), and it doesn't take long for Noah and Lily to find their way back to each other. But again, it's hard to buy into their relationship. It feels like they end up together more because of how things unfold than any deep realization of how much they mean to each other.
In summary, "Dudes" struggles with its plot development, awkwardly navigating the line between comedy and drama. On the other hand, Lucy Hale delivers a striking performance.