Moxie
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): March 3, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
15
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 5, 2021
As a love letter from grown-up Riot grrrls to their growing-up daughters, it’s a lovely cross-generational gesture. Read full review
80
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Mar 3, 2021
Time will tell if it’s worthy of being talked about in the same breath as Easy A, Clueless, Booksmart and the like, but Amy Poehler’s teen comedy is smart, funny, likeable and winningly performed. Moxie by name, moxie by nature. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 3, 2021
Moxie doesn't have the satirical bite of, say, Mean Girls, nor does it have a particularly punk rock energy, but Poehler does an admirable job keeping things moving. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 2, 2021
This is a film that pulls off the difficult balancing act of carrying an important and uplifting message while delivering consistent laughs and introducing us to some wonderfully badass teens. Read full review
75
ConsequenceJenn AdamsMar 1, 2021
Moxie is an inspirational and cathartic journey, representing a dilemma most feminists have faced at one point in their lives. The question of how to use our voices is an important one and Moxie shows that the answers are as varied as the women and men making them. But it’s also an honest look at the challenges and frustrations on the road to gender equality. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 1, 2021
It’s great that Moxie addresses so many issues, but this is a story that might have been told more effectively in a series. Ultimately though, it has powerful moments and it’s hard to complain too much about anything that introduces zines, Bikini Kill and the riot grrrl movement to another generation at a time it really needs it. Read full review
70
VarietyTomris LafflyMar 1, 2021
It’s a welcome entry into a familiar genre that will resonate with young audiences burdened by the unwritten rules of their respective educational institutions. And that’s thanks in large part to an immensely likable ensemble cast guided by Poehler’s sure-handed energy behind the camera, as well as the film’s ambitious aims to be intersectional in its social and political themes. Read full review
65
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariMar 3, 2021
It’s tricky to give such a layered glimpse of high school in a movie that keeps its pace at a decent click. And while Moxie is just a small snapshot of those weird and wonderful years, it gives viewers a decent lesson in how to be an ally, without being preachy about it. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 5, 2021
True to its title, Moxie has a lot of moxie, and it’s an easy watch, smartly acted by a crew of young talents. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 3, 2021
It’s still an intensely likable and watchable dramedy, even if it never quite reaches that “generation defining comedy” thing. Read full review
60
Screen RantMolly FreemanMar 12, 2021
Moxie has some heart and teeth as its Riot Grrrl-inspired teens smash the patriarchy, but it's more love letter to Gen X than a call to arms for Gen Z. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeMar 7, 2021
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. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMar 2, 2021
For all its energy and charm, this overlong film contains its share of undermining missteps. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandMar 3, 2021
The film is entertaining enough for most viewers, although some audiences might balk at a perceived lack of comedy from comedic superstar Poehler. That’s not its aim, however, and the film is charming, even without big laughs. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeMar 1, 2021
There are worse fates than dorky earnestness, of course. But Moxie just isn’t all that funny either. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 4, 2021
A frustratingly bland young-adult feminist comedy without good jokes, Moxie is a cross between a hokey ’90s family sitcom and a vastly superior teen film, such as Lady Bird. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryMar 4, 2021
Late twists ratchet up the drama, but also make the movie feel as it has rushed toward a resolution. Read full review
50
TimeStephanie ZacharekMar 3, 2021
Moxie kicks off as a shout-out to riot grrrl spirit, only to give us an ending written in the cursive script of an inspirational mug. The walk from being a ‘zine maker to a scrapbooker is apparently a short one. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Jen ChaneyMar 3, 2021
It’s obvious that Poehler and her colleagues have taken great care to impart all the right civic and social lessons, and that’s good. But watching Moxie, you wish they could have exhaled more and allowed more unresolvable messiness to infiltrate the movie’s spaces. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneNina MetzMar 2, 2021
The end result is a movie that comes across as disappointingly vacant, a jumbled collection of good intentions gone wrong. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterInkoo KangMar 1, 2021
It’s the kind of movie that needs a feather-light touch or plenty of humor to avoid feeling overly parental. Moxie has neither. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 12, 2021
One hopes the golden age isn’t quite over yet, although as Moxie galumphs from one glib, soulless scene to the next, it’s hard not to fear the worst. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 4, 2021
If there’s anything more you need to know before deciding whether to watch this, I should tell you that it’s nothing like “Eighth Grade,” “Booksmart,” “Clueless” or “Election,” all astute studies of the high-school scene. The calculations of this screenplay, adapted by Tamara Chestna and Dylan Meyer from a young-adult novel by Jennifer Mathieu, are naked enough to qualify as nude scenes. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMar 3, 2021
Unfocused and too often unbelievable, Amy Poehler’s Moxie feels like a battle between two competing visions: go-girl crowd-pleaser and serious high-school harassment drama. Neither wins. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 1, 2021
The film is intensely, almost radically humourless, which is hard to ignore and in fact hard to bear, because of this film’s obvious resemblance to recent great movies like Booksmart or Lady Bird and particularly at times the hard-edged classic Election. Read full review
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