Mello

so, I was looking for something to watch so I went to the goldmine of films better known as Tubi and I found something. it’s a 2014 indie comedy entitled Mello. originally, I was going to watch a little of it just because I was curious as to what it was. but, the first couple seconds were so bad that I had to stick around to see where this was going. in some ways, this movie reminded me of Gingerdead Man, which was awful but very entertaining and unintentionally funny. Mello was the same way, though not as over-the-top or funny. unlike Gingerdead Man, this movie actually had realism and a pretty solid plot. my investment in the story paired with the laughable dialogue/situations made me really enjoy the movie. so, the story is about this new boy in school named Darren. he is made fun of and bullied, especially by two girls Stephanie and Mandy. however, Stephanie is forced to work on a science project with Darren, which she’s not happy about. Darren, on the other hand, is extremely nice to Stephanie, for some reason. if I were Darren, I wouldn’t want to be spending my time with someone who clearly hates you and has said mean things about you. I probably would’ve been like Darren at first, when he was friendly to Stephanie and Mandy; but I wouldn’t keep on with this. you just have to move on from people who make it make it known you’re not wanted in their presence. so, you just need to move on to someone who actually enjoys your company. anyway, Stephanie doesn’t hate Darren for too long, because she suddenly develops feelings for him. they spend more and more time together as they work on the science project at his house. at first, whenever Stephanie and Darren would talk, she would make sure they were in private so no one would hear. she didn’t want to ruin her “reputation” by hanging out with a loser. like, girl, what reputation? Mandy is your only friend. it’s not like you’re the most popular girl in school lol. but, as the movie progresses, Stephanie loses this mindset, mostly because of Darren who helps her realize you don’t have to care so much about what other people think about you. also, as the movie goes on, Stephanie’s feelings increase; and she becomes more and more thirsty for Darren. there’s one scene that is so cringey I had to cover my eyes in secondhand embarrassment. Stephanie practically drools while watching him bend over and stretch, and she spills water on him then watches him change his shirt. while he’s changing, she notices a scar on his stomach. when she questions him about him, he snaps at her and avoids the question. this scar points to a plot point discussed throughout the movie. Darren is explained to have a “rough past,” and he was a file of the things he’s done before. however, it’s been years; and he’s a changed person. he doesn’t like to talk about his past, especially not with Stephanie. later in the movie, we learn Darren attempted to kill a classmate at his old school which resulted in his admittance to juvie. before this incident, he had already exhibited extreme anger issues and was known as the school bully. after his time at juvie, he became a pacifist and found meditation to cope with his anger issues. still, his least haunts him. other major characters are Darren’s bullies: Luke, Bruce, and Craig (The GOAT). they are such poorly-executed characters that it was funny. they were intended to be tough and intimidating, but they just came off as laughable. the way the movie presented the antagonists seemed like a sheltered kid who made what he thought “bad guys” were like, resulting in watered-down, unrealistic characters. speaking of the writers, I knew from the first conversation between Stephanie and Mandy that this was written by a man. you could just tell since it definitely didn’t sound like a real conversation between two girls. as the movie went on, several characters refer to Darren as a hippie, which just showed this was written by an OLD man. this also resulted in many instances of out-of-touch writing. the things these thirty-year-old teenagers were saying were not what real teenagers would say. I think I’ve touched on all the faults, so to finish I’ll tell my favorite part. Luke challenges Darren to a fight, but Darren refuses to fight him since he’s a pacifist remember. the whole school still shows up to this “fight location” to see the showdown between Luke and Darren. already, what got me laughing is the fact the “whole school” was at the fight; and there was only like five people in total. then, the actual fight was the weakest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Darren never actually threw any punches, but Luke did and he ended up breaking his hand after hitting a tree. Luke fell to the ground in pain as the “whole school” cheered for Darren. then, Bruce picked up Luke and carried him away, which was so funny. man, I loved this.