Afterlife of the party, the review of the new Netflix movie

Afterlife of the party

Afterlife of the party, Netflix's new supernatural comedy starring Victoria Justice, is now available for streaming! The Nickelodeon star lands on the streaming giant as Cassie, a very exuberant girl and perhaps a little too self-centered, all parties and fun. In short, what they say is the soul of the party! However, an accident totally changes her future plans, making her confront her past and her feelings.

The soul… after the party

The story of Afterlife of the party begins with introducing us to Cassie (played by Victoria Justice), the protagonist of the film. She is a young event organizer who juggles her job and the worldly life of which she is a passionate follower. It is the week of her birthday and as usual, she usually celebrates in style, dragging her best friend and roommate Lisa (Midori Francis) to the parties.

Unlike Cassie, Lisa is introverted, dedicated to her work as a paleontologist and very focused on her career, so much so that she eliminates the time devoted to entertainment. The differences between the two friends are so wide that they have a fight on the very same evening during the celebrations, highlighting the differences between the lifestyles of Cassie and Lisa, which severely sever their friendship. The story, however, takes an unexpected turn the next day when Cassie, waking up dazed by the celebrations of the night before, staggers to the bathroom, ending up slipping, hitting her head on the toilet and… dying. Cassie wakes up shortly after, or so she seems to her, in a room furnished to her taste. Val (Robyn Scott), her temporary guardian angel, briefs her on what happened during her absence on Earth and informs her that she is in limbo due to some unresolved situations on earth.

La list includes the people closest to Cassie: Lisa, her best friend with an almost absent love life and a lot of self-doubt; her father (Adam Garcia) yoga instructor, who can't go on after the disappearance of her only daughter, and finally her mother (Gloria Garcia), who abandoned her when she was just a child . But will Cassie be able to secure a place in Heaven, putting aside her pride and feelings, to focus on her loved ones and help them in their lives?

Many clichés and few pretensions

In the two scarce hours in duration, Afterlife of the party is exactly what you expect to see: the classic American comedy, full of good feelings, sparkling clothes and pop songs perhaps more suited to a range of adolescents than to that of young adults. Some of the characters are total representations of clichés widely used in cinema, starting with the protagonist, Cassie. A classic American girl all parties and frivolities, contrasted with the cinematic idea of ​​the "nerd" on duty (Lisa), or the cute but infinitely awkward nerd played by Timothy Renouf.

The theme of second chances to tell one's loved ones what one feels or to forgive some wrongdoing, it is definitely recurring in American comedies. Just think of Il Paradiso can wait or its remake with Chris Rock Return from Heaven, or the famous Ghost. If, however, in these films, it was possible to give ample space to the plot and the salient points that held the spirit on Earth, in Afterlife of the party everything is resolved in a rather hasty and superficial way, despite the fact that during the film they acquire a weight well larger than demonstrated. However, despite these flaws and the fairly predictable plot, Afterlife of the party does not pretend to be more than what it really is: a light pastime for an evening at home, perhaps with friends. The pace is sustained and very pressing, even if there is nothing that actually keeps the viewer with a high interest glued to the screen. However, it manages to be pleasant and at times funny, with a slight moral pitted in the background, in an almost subliminal way.

Overall, it can almost be said that the cast reflects a bit what Afterlife of the party is: nothing superlative or extremely exciting, while still being suitable for the role. Midori Francis, playing Cassie's best friend, is the only one of the secondary performers who stands out a little more than the others, but maybe it's also because her time in history almost equals that of the protagonist.

Without a doubt, however, the actress who has actually managed to stand out among all is Victoria Justice, interpreter of Cassie, and not only because she is the protagonist of the film. The sparkling vein that characterizes her acting is one that manages to drag and tie all the other characters well, even if she can't do much more for the film. This peculiarity of hers is also what defined her background in Nickelodeon, taking her from being one of the recurring characters in Zoey 101 to being the protagonist of a television series in Victorious, in which she plays a teenager who attends an art academy. Los Angeles show. Afterlife of the party isn't exactly a movie full of thrills or twists that can keep you in suspense. After all, being a comedy that's not its purpose. It therefore turns out to be the perfect background for a quiet evening, capable of giving a few smiles and laughter from time to time, without taking itself too seriously.