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The word “formulaic” has a certain negative connotation when it comes to movies. Formulaic usually means it does not deviate greatly from what an audience should expect from a movie. When an audience sees a superhero origin movie, there is usually a formula to it. The hero needs to accept the call to action, usually after trying it once, have a death of someone important to them, hit rock bottom by the midpoint, then come back stronger from that with the resolve to punch the bad guy. Stories with a fantasy element tend to follow a Campbellian Hero’s Journey as outlined in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, while drama movies tend to follow the outline set up in Syd Field’s Screenplay
for basic narrative beats in a three-act structured story.
Mixtape does not break any new ground as a coming-of-age story, but it does not feel like it was trying to. Not every movie needs to shake up the formula, not every movie needs to break new ground. If a movie follows the formula, and does it well, there is nothing wrong with following the formula. The story follows 12-year-old Bev who lost both her parents when she was two in a tragic car accident and as such has no memories of them. She is being raised by her grandmother Gail (played by Modern Family’s Julie Bowen) when Bev comes across a mixtape her parents made before she died. Over the course of the movie, Bev develops her own identity, makes friends and learns to relate with her grandmother. The movie does not need to break the mold, it just needs to do this story well to be great.
There is one problem with the movie, and it is more of a technical issue than something wrong with plot or pacing or some other aspect that can be jarring. The only real issue is that there are a few questionable cuts and alternate dubbed over line readings that don’t quite mesh with the scene they appear in. There were at least two moments that this was noticeable, and if it’s noticeable, it is an error in editing. It’s like playing a video game and discovering a glitch in the final edition, these errors should not be there.
Aside from that, the movie is great and is an example of how Netflix has been the new market for the low budget drama movie that, even into the 2000s, would have been released in theaters. Like other movies (The Kissing Booth, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, etc.), in a different era, this movie would have been released in theaters, but Netflix allows for more low budget, non-blockbuster movies. The movie executes what it needs to and does it well. There is nothing more that really needs to be done by this movie. The acting among the younger cast is great and Julie Bowen has some truly emotional moments where she gets to use the full extent of her talent. It is worth a watch, especially since it’s available on Netflix and is only an hour and a half.
Final Rating: 8/10
