Be warned: SPOILERS are ahead for Do Revenge, now streaming with a Netflix subscription.
I’ll be right back, I’ve decided I need a whole new wardrobe after seeing Netflix’s Do Revenge, because Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes slayed way too hard in this week’s trending streaming release. Then again, it wasn’t just all the marvelous getups they wore, it was their instantly iconic performances and all the fun teen movie references that fueled this film that has me obsessed with Drea and Eleanor.
And y’all, there are so many teen movie homages in Do Revenge. Let’s talk about them:
Freaking Sarah Michelle Gellar
The queen of teen movies (and a beloved TV show) in the ‘90s was Sarah Michelle Gellar for I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Cruel Intentions and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, obviously. So her Do Revenge casting as Rosehill Country Day School’s headmaster is truly inspired casting, along with being one of so many homages to the teen movie genre. Gellar’s character is the head of the school that oozes teen movie nostalgia, I mean it’s perfect.
All The Cruel Intentions
Aside from the star of Cruel Intentions, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s presence in Do Revenge, there’s a few more references to 1999’s Cruel Intentions. For example, as pictured above, Talia Ryder’s Gabbi is reading Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the novel Cruel Intentions is based upon during the school assembly. There’s a lot of plot elements that also scream Cruel Intentions too, including the end of the film when Drea and Eleanor skip out on graduation to ride off in a convertible, much like Annette does in the '90s classic.
The Scream Fountain At Rosehill Country Day School
If Drea’s former besties eating grapes at Rosehill gave you deja vu, it’s probably because you’ve seen it before in 1996’s Scream. Director and co-write Jennifer Kaytin Robinson told Vanity Fair that they built a fountain on the set to pay homage to the teen slasher. Robinson found the moment when Neve Campbell and the other stars of the movie hang out on the fountain to be an “iconic frame” she wanted to emulate in Do Revenge.
The Clique Tour, A La Mean Girls
How can we forget the scene in Mean Girls, when Lindsay Lohan’s Cady gets a tour of all the clique tables at school? Do Revenge also emulates Mean Girls when Gabbi shows Eleanor all the different groups at Rosehill Country Day School. Additionally, when Drea and Eleanor release Max’s texts with other girls at school later in the film, it’s giving Burn Book energy as the school halls become chaotic as a result before Mr. Popular is able to spin the circumstance in his favor.
A Makeover Montage, Of Course
Whether it’s She’s All That, Clueless or The Princess Diaries, the makeover montage is a common occurrence in teen movies in particular. So of course, Do Revenge had to do it to ‘em. Once Drea and Eleanor decide to do each other’s revenge, Drea dresses Eleanor up into a “cool girl” with a fun sequence where Mendes’ character changes up her new partner’s look.
The Paintball Date In 10 Things I Hate About You
Before Drea and Rish Shah’s Russ threw paintballs at each other before sharing their first kiss in an adorable date in Do Revenge, 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You did it first when Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger’s Kat and Patrick went paintball fighting, sparking their love-hate relationship into a lot more love. The scene also reminds us a bit of a scene in The Princess Diaries, where Mia throws darts at a paintball canvas with her mom.
Cher’s Fluffy Pink Pen From Clueless
Do Revenge also has a lot of parallels to one of the most beloved teen flicks, Clueless, from the school uniforms having an edge to them to its main character taking a new student under her wing, Drea and Cher have a lot in common. In reference to that, there’s a scene midway through the movie where Drea writes with a pink fluffy pen just like Alicia Silverstone’s character did in Clueless.
Max’s John Tucker Must Die Parallels
Anyone remember 2006’s John Tucker Must Die? The teen comedy is about three girls who get revenge on the school’s basketball star after they learned he was secretly dating them all at once. Austin Abrams’ Max draws numerous parallels to the antagonist of John Tucker Must Die, including dating girls from different cliques in high school and coming out of the whole thing rather unscathed.
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion Fashion
Of course we had to go back to Do Revenge’s incredible outfits. There’s a lot of references within the fashion picks we could spend a lot of time with (including Drea going “...Baby One More Time” with her outfit at tennis camp). However, one major inspiration was 1997’s Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Robinson told Tudum that the movie came up “a lot” when “finding the visual language and the vibes for the costumes.” That is especially apparent in Drea’s yellow fluffy jacket, which reminds of Lisa Kudrow’s blue one in the ‘90s movie.
And, THAT Soundtrack Too!!
Finally, the Do Revenge soundtrack, which is thankfully all on Spotify, gives total teen movie energy. Remember the days when we used to watch teen movies and learn about new songs and associate them with the scenes in the movies? It feels like that doesn’t happen much anymore. However, Do Revenge is full of teen angst bangers, from Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal” along with some nostalgic ‘90s hits like “Dreams” by The Cranberries. The whole spirit of the soundtrack takes us back to classic teen movies, along with yet another reference to Clueless with “Kids In America” playing during the film after being part of that soundtrack as well.
Do Revenge knows what it is and went all out with the teen movie references. In one sequence in the film, Maya Hawke’s Eleanor even calls herself “a disciple of the ’90s teen movie.” After seeing the new Netflix comedy and finding all these homages, we have a list of films to marathon next. This was the best mix of subliminal messages we could receive.
