Film Review - The Deb
Images courtesy of Rialto Distribution.
Rebel Wilson, the Aussie superstar who became an international sensation thanks to the Pitch Perfect films, makes her directorial debut with musical comedy The Deb. The film’s release has been delayed since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, thanks to an infamous legal dispute between Wilson and the film’s producers. Now, it is finally seeing the light of day.
Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes), a cynical and self-righteous city girl, is expelled from her high school after a political stunt backfires and she is ‘cancelled’. As punishment, she is sent to the rural outback town of Dunburn to live with her cousin Taylah (Natalie Abbott) and uncle Rick (Shane Jacobson). Taylah is a social outcast who dreams of attending the upcoming debutante ball and finally being seen. She cannot get a date, and is constantly bullied by the town’s mean girls. Maeve finds the idea of the debutante tradition to be regressive, as well as the town itself, and struggles to adjust from modern city life. Desperate to go back home, Maeve sees an opportunity to get un-cancelled, and decides to secretly make a podcast about the town’s citizens and their backward ways. Taylah becomes the main focus of the podcast, but she and Maeve form an unexpected friendship along the way. While getting closer to Taylah and everyone else in town, Maeve realises she may have misjudged them, and that she might be the one who needs to work on herself.
Based on the stage musical of the same name, The Deb is loud, camp, and sometimes a little cringeworthy. It’s a musical for the Gen Z era, and the satirical edge is razor sharp, despite a few misses here and there. However, it has an undeniable endearing quality to it that makes it very hard not to like. Firstly, it’s great to see an Australian film that plays with a range of genres (comedy, musical, coming-of-age) and has universal appeal that still manages to be deeply rooted in its local setting. Leads MacInnes and Abbott are utterly charming and showcase their incredible vocals through a number of creative musical numbers. The songs can get a little repetitive and probably won’t be stuck in your head for days, but they are lyrically very witty and cheeky. The bond that grows between Maeve and Taylah is really well done and definitely casts a heartwarming energy over the story. It’s certainly the kind of film with the potential to become an Aussie classic over time like Muriel’s Wedding (1994), with Taylah’s arc even echoing Muriel’s. Aside from the legal turmoil that has overshadowed the film’s release, there are other elements that might prevent it reaching a wider audience upon release, including some uneven tone and direction on Wilson’s part, and a love interest for Maeve that adds absolutely nothing to the story. However, Wilson does bring some decent dry humour to her performance as the town’s beautician Janette, and it is an absolute delight to see a surprise cameo from the late Julian McMahon as well.
Despite its flaws, The Deb is a very solid Aussie crowd pleaser that will hopefully reach more audiences as the years go on.
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The Deb is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.