Freshman Boy Reviews “Promising Young Woman” **Spoiler Free**

After months of delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut “Promising Young Woman” has finally hit streaming services. “Promising Young Woman” is a pastel soaked black comedy that tells the story of Cassie, a young woman and medical school drop-out who spends her evenings baiting predatory men into taking advantage of her feigned drunken state at bars. In the midst of an era of progressive feminist activism, the film provides interesting commentary on society’s evolving understanding of consent and the blurred lines that men often claim in defense of questionable actions.

To get more insight into the film and its meaning to women in the #MeToo era of Hollywood, we sat down with freshman IM Lacrosse player Conner Bradshaw, who we caught on his way out of his Introduction to Film class. “Yeah, the film was alright. The color palette was really interesting, though I tend to prefer a more blue-ish orange color grade. They’re complimentary, you know,” Bradshaw said, sporting an A24 hat he bought with his mom’s credit card. “Women shouldn’t be over twenty-five in film. There was also a lack of believability for me. I mean, who would really want to bone Carey Mulligan that bad? If it was Margot Robbie, then I might understand.”  

Professor Weiss Oldbottom chimed in on the matter, stating, “Some students wanted to cover this whole “Promising Young Woman” garbage in class and I just do not understand it. What happened to the good old days when women could not appear in a film unless they were pining over the male lead or looking hot for my enjoyment?” He said as he criticized the women in his class for liking a movie like “Midsommar” with its “unwarranted” and “unrealistic” commentary on men. “I understand that it’s 2021 and I guess women can have an opinion--thanks Greta Gerwig--but men really understand film better. It’s wired into our brains. All the men in my class have such great insights and know all the greatest directors like Michael Bay and Quentin Tarantino. Now THAT is cinema.”

After it was all said and done, Bradshaw proceeded to log a review in his Letterboxd account giving the film 2 out of 5 stars, stating “not enough tits.” Despite the apparent controversy and nationwide closure of movie theaters, “Promising Young Woman” has grossed over $8 million and continues to do so as people rent the film on YouTube and Amazon Prime. So sit down, crack open a bottle of wine and an appreciation for revenge, and enjoy the art that Emerald Fennell gave us. In conclusion: women.