Netflix – I Am Not Okay With This Review

This post was originally published on March 15, 2020
The latest update to this post was made 5 years ago.

Netflix has several original movies and series streaming for all to enjoy. Many are really good while others fall short of good expectations. One new series, I Am Not Okay With This (IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9446688), is worth a watch even if it starts out slow then revs up towards the end.

The cast is enthusiastic and easy to follow. The teenage angst is true to real life and is not overplayed to boredom. Sophia Lillis who plays Sydney Novak performance is good at the torn and confused teenager. The story starts out slow with the death of Sydney’s father. Her friends are slowly introduced with their backstories that help explain actions. Sydney’s mother and younger brother are slowly introduced and their dysfunctional dynamic unfolds. Sydney’s powers are discovered by her with a confusing scene that explains itself a few episodes later.

Sydney is trying to figure out her own powers and understand them while navigating through the normal teenage love, school friends, friends, being accepted, bullies and family. The term “Dear Diary” will hold new meaning after watching this series.

There are comical scenes throughout the series as well that help with the sometimes dark and uncomfortable scenes. Sydney has a boyfriend, Stanley who is an awkward youth with no care of what others think of him. Sydney’s best friend, Dina, is becoming friends with the popular crowd and has a boyfriend, Brad.

Brad is a star football player and in his opinion Sydney is odd. He is not too far off in that call. Sydney does not like Brad and it almost seems like jealously in a few scenes. Brad wants Dina to spend less time with Sydney and more time with him, here comes in the teenage angst. Dina is oblivious to anything going on around her until Sydney kisses her.

Sydney lets her boyfriend down easy and tells him she can never return his feelings. Stanley is a true friend and stays by her side to help her with the newly discovered powers. There are several twists and turns that pop up dealing with Sydney’s father death. She discovers her father may have had powers too.

The last episode is fast paced and has several cliffhangers. The episode ends with a bloodied Sydney being chased by the police. Nothing will be spilled as to why she is being chased, so no spoilers. I Am Not Okay With This is worth a watch. There will definitely be a second season and I will be watching.

Tags: #netflix #iamnotokwiththis #netflixoriginal