Writer-director Augustine Frizzell‘s wild comedy is what you’d get if A24‘s trio of sun-soaked tales of teenage rebellion – “Spring Breakers,” “The Bling Ring,” and “American Honey” – had an unprotected, coke-fueled hookup with “Superbad.” Anarchic and daring, “Never Goin’ Back” is a tale of adolescent female friendship that is somehow ballsier than your standard dude-driven buddy comedy. Frizzell’s film is as fearless as her heroines, and it refuses to judge them for their bad behavior.
For her best friend’s 17th birthday, Angela (Maia Mitchell) books a Galveston beach house to celebrate with Jessie (Camila Morrone). But – because Angela is a 16-year-old high school dropout with … questionable decision-making skills – she pays for the vacation with their rent money. They share an apartment with Jessie’s brother Dustin (Joel Allen), and his attempts at drug dealing have left him short on the rent this month, too. At least their fourth roommate Brandon (Kyle Mooney) keeps them fed, with free sandwiches from the shop where he works. Angela and Jessie take on extra shifts as servers at the Buttermilk Cafe to make cash, but they struggle to show up – and show up sober. Over the course of a few days, the BFFs wreak havoc throughout Fort Worth, dancing, snorting and living a largely carefree life with brief interjections from angry neighbors, judgmental coworkers, and random concerned citizens.
“Never Goin’ Back” isn’t interested in presenting the girls’ backstory. We never learn why they’re on their own at 16 or what led them to Fort Worth, the Buttermilk Cafe or even each other. Instead, like the friends themselves, Frizzell’s movie is only interested in this moment and the promise of Galveston’s beaches. All the trouble they get into should serve as a cautionary tale to teens, parents of teens and society at large, but “Never Goin’ Back” doesn’t concern itself with that either.
Frizzell based the screenplay on her own experiences as an independent teen, living and working at IHOP with her best friend, and it’s the friendship between Angela and Jessie that lies at the fast-beating heart of her film, with Mitchell and Morrone’s chemistry and strong performances making everything click. The girls’ relationship isn’t easily defined, as the borders between them blur. Frizzell, Mitchell, and Morrone do good work in differentiating the characters, but they’re inseparable in their near-constant connection. They work at the same restaurant, share a bed and make out while also being interested in guys, and “Never Goin’ Back” doesn’t make it a thing.
In other hands, the film could have a dour tone, warning about the dangers of teens living on their own with real consequences for everything Angela and Jessie do. But Frizzell keeps it intentionally light and bouncy, buoyed by a sunny pop soundtrack largely filled with songs by Sarah Jaffe. It has a different energy than slicker studio offerings like “Superbad,” and it has no problem getting grimy. Angela and Jessie’s apartment feels lived in – and lived in by teenagers who don’t have parents around – and it adds a further air of authenticity to the film. “Never Goin’ Back” will likely turn off some viewers with its countless jokes about bodily functions, as well as with its aimless plot and the girls’ ridiculous antics. Your enjoyment of the film is directly proportional to your ability to find Angela and Jessie’s bad behavior and even worse ideas entertaining.
This is an A24 movie through and through, and it’s not surprising it was acquired by the distributor after it premiered at Sundance this year. Beyond its ease of fitting into a programmed film series with past favorites like “Spring Breakers,” it’s a bold offering from a filmmaker with a distinct voice. Frizzell doesn’t appear to care if you like her film or her heroines, which makes it all the more likely that you will. [B]