Mixtape (film)

Mixtape is a 2021 American comedy film directed by Valerie Weiss from a screenplay by Stacey Menear. It stars Gemma Brooke Allen, Nick Thune, and Julie Bowen.

Plot
In the last months of 1999 in Spokane, Washington, middle schooler Beverly Moody lives with her grandmother Gail, a USPS mail carrier. She has been raised by her, since the death of her teen parents who died in a car accident when she was two years old.

Gail, who has not properly moved on from the death her daughter Kim (Beverly's mom), avoids Beverly's constant questions about her and fears that she could lose Beverly like she lost Kim. As a result, she is an outcast at school and regularly bullied by two boys.

One day, Beverly finds her parents’ mixtape “Love Riot,” but it ‘gets eaten’ by her Walkman, so cannot be played. She then sets out on a mission to track down the songs to find out more about her parents. With the reluctant help of unfriendly local record store owner Edward, aka "Anti", he puts the first song on tape for her. He explains that on a mixtape the order of songs is crucial, as well as the time between them and other details, as it's “a message from the maker".

Anti records for her the first song on the list, “Getting Nowhere Fast,” by Girls at Our Best. She then has to find more, in order, “Linda Linda” by the Blue Hearts, “I Got a Right” by the Stooges, and “Teacher’s Pet” by The Quick.

In the search for the songs, Beverly forms friendships with Ellen, a Taiwanese transfer student and resident tough girl Nicky, mostly bonding over their shared interest in music. The girls' developing friendship also includes creating music with Nicky's brother's band's instruments, inspired by the mixtape.

They have a delightful expedition to a magical abandoned place Beverly's parents had their first date to More than This. They track down a musician Kim knew, and pressure Anti to bring them to his gig. Afterwards, Beverly shows him a polaroid of him with Kim. Initially the musician doesn't bother to really look, but when he does he recalls her as being a great lyricist but then dismisses her as a loser for having a baby and seemingly abandoning music.

Upset, Beverly withdraws from the search, feeling it was all a mistake despite both Nicky and Ellen's pleas. She once again becomes subjected to being bullied. One particular time, having had enough, Beverly stands up to them. Stabbing the wheelchair-bound bullies' wheels results in her suspension.

Beverly finally hashes things out with her grandma, inspiring Gail to talk to Anti. Ellen and Nicky play for her The Kinks "Better Things". When Gail finds the mixtape list discarded by Beverly, it inspires her to finally talk about Kim. She brings out a recording of "The Wrong Song", written and sung by her mom and dad.

The film ends with the three girls performing as Us Dudes R Sisters songs inspired by the mixtape, in a New Year's Eve party that includes their three families and Anti.

Cast

 * Julie Bowen as Gail
 * Gemma Brooke Allen as Beverly Moody
 * Nick Thune as Anti
 * Jackson Rathbone as Wes
 * Olga Petsa as Nicky Jones
 * Audrey Hsieh as Ellen
 * Steph Song as Ellen's mother
 * Diego Mercado as Steven

Production
In June 2012, it was announced Tom Vaughan would direct the film, from a screenplay by Stacey Menear. In January 2021, Julie Bowen, Gemma Brooke Allen, Nick Thune, Jackson Rathbone, Olga Petsa, Audrey Hsieh and Diego Mercado joined the cast of the film, with Valerie Weiss set to direct the film replacing Vaughn, and Netflix set to distribute.

Principal photography began on February 8, 2021 and concluded on April 9, 2021 in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Release
The film was released on December 3, 2021 via Netflix.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.