Senior Year Parent Guide

Back in 2002, Steph (Angourie Rice) had only one goal: to be prom queen. But a few days before from prom a cheerleading stunt went wrong, putting her in a coma for twenty years. Now in 2022, Steph (Rebel Wilson) wakes up: she’s physically 37 years old but mentally, she’s still 17. Despite her bizarre circumstances, Steph is still determined to wear the sash and tiara at prom, even if it means going back to high school to reach her goal.

Crass high school comedies featuring an adult protagonist have been done before and done better. They have also been done worse. I had very low expectations of this movie, but I did not hate it as much as I expected. That doesn’t mean it’s good; it’s just not terrible. Taking the content concerns out of consideration for a moment (we’ll get to those later), Senior Year isn’t terribly funny, but it does have some heart behind it and ends up with some surprisingly touching messages.

Occasional heartwarming messages aside, there’s nothing exceptional in this flick. The performances are fine, the writing is fine, the production values are fine. Again, it’s not good but it’s not unwatchably dreadful either. In fact, for what’s supposed to be a raunchy comedy, Senior Year is weirdly bland. It also contains an unusually high number of dance sequences which leaves me wondering if this was originally a musical that got edited down to its current runtime? The world may never know. There are a couple of fun celebrity cameos which help perk up the third act, and Chris Parnell (who plays Steph’s dad) is always welcome on my screen. The messaging around cherishing the people who love you and embracing your authentic self are well done and actually get into some believable emotional territory. It’s sweet but not saccharine and is a good message for people of any age.

Overall, I have very neutral feelings towards Senior Year, that is, until I take the content concerns into account. I expected the movie to be dirtier than it was, which really says something about this genre. The level of objectionable language is probably the biggest consideration for most viewers, as well as the excessive level of sexual references and innuendo. There is also a scene of teen drinking, but the party is quickly broken up by police and some of the teens are arrested, showing a very real consequences for their actions.

Whether you care about negative content or not, I don’t recommend this film. Again, it’s not terrible, but in some ways that actually makes it worse. At least a bad movie can have some entertainment value, but Senior Year is so unremarkable I’ve already forgotten that I watched it. Sort of like how I’ve forgotten most of my own senior year.