The A-List is an anomalous attempt to make a quirky teen comedy out of a melancholic story about an unethical and mentally imbalanced guidance counselor who now works at her former high school. A two decades old heartbreak - stemming from a nice, popular male student's gentle rejection to date her - has somehow devolved into an unfathomable victimization of a teen student, who is the son of the aforementioned high schooler.
In this film's alternate reality, a school-sanctioned popularity list is a daily concern amongst attractive, accomplished honor students. Apparently, it's not enough to be popular based on appearance, wealth, grades, and extracurricular activities; ranking on the A-List is of primary importance to either their narcissism or perceived self-worth. The few cheap laughs (more like snickers) and mostly talented cast add little to this sordid fantasy of a teen boy pimped out (exploited) under threat, to complete a predatory woman's old high school bucket list.
At the film's "happy" end, when the superficiality of their A-List is revealed (paging Captain Obvious), we are supposed to believe that everybody is better off after the stalking, blackmail, and passive-aggressive cruelty that was launched by a disturbed authority figure. The supporting characters of student narcissists and sociopaths, and creepers like the school's male principal with a proclivity for naughty talk to teens, ultimately leads nowhere...
but somewhere, John Hughes is metaphorically rolling in his grave.
In this film's alternate reality, a school-sanctioned popularity list is a daily concern amongst attractive, accomplished honor students. Apparently, it's not enough to be popular based on appearance, wealth, grades, and extracurricular activities; ranking on the A-List is of primary importance to either their narcissism or perceived self-worth. The few cheap laughs (more like snickers) and mostly talented cast add little to this sordid fantasy of a teen boy pimped out (exploited) under threat, to complete a predatory woman's old high school bucket list.
At the film's "happy" end, when the superficiality of their A-List is revealed (paging Captain Obvious), we are supposed to believe that everybody is better off after the stalking, blackmail, and passive-aggressive cruelty that was launched by a disturbed authority figure. The supporting characters of student narcissists and sociopaths, and creepers like the school's male principal with a proclivity for naughty talk to teens, ultimately leads nowhere...
but somewhere, John Hughes is metaphorically rolling in his grave.