Moxie review – upbeat defiance wins out in Amy Poehler’s rebel girl comedy

A quiet student finds her voice in print, battling everyday sexism at her high school in Poehler’s forthright but fun #MeToo dramaA breezy tale of riot grrrl power passed down from mother to daughter, Amy Poehler’s return to the director’s chair (after 2019’s Wine Country) is a winningly optimistic high-school romp with timely #MeToo-era themes.

Adapted by screenwriters Tamara Chestna and Dylan Meyer from the hit YA novel by Jennifer Mathieu, it may lack the depth of Eighth Grade or the punch of Booksmart, but it’s still blessed with enough post-punk energy to raise a smile, several chuckles and the occasional fist-punching cheer.Hadley Robinson is Vivian, a head-down student (“It’s so nice not to be on anyone’s radar”) voted “most obedient” in the crass list compiled by high-school jocks, grotesquely ranking girls in categories including “best rack” and “most bangable”.

Like the majority of her female schoolmates,

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