Darby and the Dead review: A comedy for the aging out of Disney crowd

Darby and the Dead, the latest teen movie to hit Hulu, is your typical YA fare with a ghostly twist. The titular character, Darby Harper (Riele Downs), can see the dead who haven’t passed on. Her abilities, which she uses to counsel ghosts, have given her a sense of purpose after her mom’s death but they’ve also turned her into a recluse.

Darby, who’s fond of all black everything, tries not to mix with her peers. She considers high school to be a hellhole full of people pretending to be something they’re not and obnoxiously leaning into the standard teen experience as if it’s something special. To her, ghosts are better company, though the new kid Alex (Chosen Jacobs) seems to be her particular brand of weird and try as she might not to be intrigued, she is.

This movie, however, is not a teen romcom. It’s a coming-of-age comedy and Darby’s story is intricately tied with head cheerleader Capri’s (Auli’i Cravalho). The two were friends in elementary school, they were even a part of the same cheer squad but their relationship fractured when Darby retreated into herself due to her mom’s passing.

The teens are thrown back into each other’s lives when Capri dies in a freak hair straightener accident at school just before her 17th birthday. Refusing to find peace without seeing her Sweet 17 party realized and thrown in her honor, Capri threatens to haunt Darby if she doesn’t make good on helping her. She’s serious, too, adapting quickly to the powers she’s developed in her afterlife.

Seeing no other choice but to do what Capri says, Darby undergoes a makeover to insert herself in the cheerleader’s social group to convince her friends to move forward with Capri’s plans despite her death. This in turn opens Darby’s world to new possibilities outside of spending all her time with the undead.

Darby and the Dead is a midtier teen movie and that’s okay

If the spoiler-free summary of this film sounds familiar, that’s because Darby and the Dead is a mix of teen movies that older generations have seen before. It’s Mean Girls, She’s All That, Clueless, you name a film geared toward teenagers and you could find a plot element that this Hulu original was inspired by.

It’s not breaking new ground outside of its casting which sees two leads of color, a Black actress and a mixed Native Hawaiian actress, at the center of the story. But not every film needs to shake the table or shift the culture.

Darby and the Dead isn’t for audiences who’ve encountered a coming-of-age story more times than they can list. It’s for young adult viewers who are transitioning out of children’s programming but aren’t anywhere near being ready to watch more mature teen content. Essentially, it’s giving Disney with a bumped up age rating. It’s clear that’s purposeful, you only have to take a look at the cast list and the movie poster to catch on to that.

Riele Downs is best known for her role as Charlotte on Nickelodeon’s Henry Danger.  Auli’i Cravalho voiced Moana and starred in Hulu’s sapphic teen romcom Crush (2022). The two male love interests, James (Asher Angel) and Alex, are also both played by Disney actors. Angel was best known as Jonah Beck on Andi Mack before stepping into the role of Billy Batson for the Shazam! film series. And Chosen Jacobs was El in Disney+’s Sneakerella.

This is a veritable who’s who of children’s media rounding out the cast of Darby and the Dead. You add Supergirl‘s Nicole Maines in a minor role as Piper, one of Capri’s friends, and you have another face that’s familiar to this movie’s target age group to draw them in.

The question though is whether recognizing the stars of the film is enough to hold the attention of its audience. My answer is yes because this teen ghost comedy is more than surface.

Darby is sarcastic and funny, she’s got a good head on her shoulders but also needs help to break out of her shell. That’s where Capri comes in. Seemingly shallow, the teen actually has more depth than she’s given credit for even if she does like indulging in silly matters like being considered the hottest girl in school or throwing the most epic party ever.

Yes, there’s a classic third act blow up that you can see coming from a mile away. You will have to suspend disbelief when it comes to how easily Darby is able to run with Capri’s crew after doing well at cheer tryouts. Not to mention characters seem to pick and choose when they notice Darby talking to the air. And we still haven’t escaped the fourth wall break in teen media but the movie uses it effectively and it’s an opportunity for the audience to feel like we’re on this ride with Darby and that she’s let us into her story.

Darby and the Dead also subverts certain tropes. While there is a misunderstanding involving Capri’s boyfriend, James, and Darby, you won’t be subjected to an ill-advised love triangle in the middle of the movie. Alex, the boy that’s taken an interest in our lead, doesn’t suffer a humiliation at Darby’s hands or her new friends’ that she’ll have to apologize for or explain, which is good.

If anything, the movie is truly about these two former friends who have preconceived notions about each other that formed over the years that their relationship soured. It’s also about grief, loss, and learning to move on while still being humorous and a nice weekend watch.

The target audience definitely is teens that are aging out of Disney. This is the inbetween content, more Heartstopper and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before than High School Musical: The Musical: The Series but not Riverdale at its steamiest or Gossip Girl (2021). Though there is strong language, hence the PG-13 rating.

Stream Darby and the Dead, it’s fun, less frothy than you’d think, and is exactly what it’s selling you in the trailer. The movie is a good time with a message and it’s not trying to be something it’s not. Appreciate the midtier teen movie because we need more midtier films that we can watch with friends while vegging out and laughing.