Camila Mendes participates in one of my favorite rom-coms of this decade, Palm Springs, and co-stars with Maya Hawke in the highly enjoyable dark comedy, Do Revenge. In both films, the actress has shown talent and potential beyond her years, so the only expectation for Upgraded was precisely to witness another commendable performance that could elevate a movie that seemed to be heading towards an extremely formulaic journey with little to no surprises…

Ana Santos (Mendes) is an ambitious intern who dreams of a career in the art world while trying to impress her tough boss, Claire Dupont (Marisa Tomei). After a fortuitous upgrade to first class on a business flight, she meets Will (Archie Renaux) who mistakes her for his boss – a white lie that triggers a series of events, romance, and golden opportunities for the protagonist to achieve her lifelong dreams. But of course, luck doesn’t last forever…

Upgraded Critique

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This premise is merely a variation of the most basic formula of this famous combination of genres. Even without seeing a single minute of the film, any viewer with a minimum of experience with this type of story can predict almost every detail of what will happen. If there are any doubts, the first few minutes of Upgraded fully clarify its intentions, pushing the audience into a narrative that draws inspiration from hundreds of other narratives but lacks the ability to execute similar plot points with the same interest and impact.

Christine Lenig, Justin Matthews, and Luke Spencer Roberts are the three screenwriters of Upgraded, and none bring creativity to a script devoid of originality, imagination, and, above all, an important message or significant central theme – this last point is, in fact, the major problem of the whole movie. Director Carlson Young (The Blazing World) also fails to bring a unique vision or any kind of stylistic novelty, making his film resemble so many other forgettable rom-coms.

Without standout technical aspects, the success of Upgraded is entirely dependent on its storytelling, but as mentioned above, the generic narrative suffers from a lack of innovation and better execution. Typically, this would be insufficient to declare the film a disaster, but the thematically inconsistent and inconsequential conclusion left me extremely frustrated. The protagonist goes through the typical arc of succumbing to the good things that the harmless lie brings her until inevitably, luck runs out and she finds herself in a position of shame and regret.

However, Upgraded‘s final message is precisely that lying pays off and that any negative consequence lasts no more than a few minutes of screen time. The third act shifts from the usual negative spiral that ‘wakes up’ the protagonist, making her realize the errors of the past, to a conclusion that applauds these deceitful attitudes and rewards them with everything Ana has ever desired – including stealing futile objects from a plane just because ‘they look cute’ – without ever truly dealing with the severity of what she did. The quick, painless resolution of all her regrets is ridiculously simplistic.

Mendes and Tomei (Spider-Man: No Way Home) are the saving grace of Upgraded, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into their roles. The former proves once again her ability to ‘select’ the necessary emotions effortlessly, while the latter genuinely seems to be enjoying herself with a pompous character with a pretentious accent – her scenes are among the few moments of true entertainment in a film that doesn’t even justify its entire runtime. These talented actresses deserve much better.

In Conclusion

Upgraded could have been an inoffensively formulaic, forgettable rom-com that borrows from hundreds of other similar movies, but the frustratingly simplistic conclusion with terrible messaging – basically conveying the idea that lying has no negative consequences, quite the opposite – ruins the hopes of a recommendation for fans of the genre. A predictable story from the first second without an ounce of creativity and with a complacent resolution to all the protagonist’s problems. Camila Mendes and Marisa Tomei deserve more than the worst film of 2024 to date.

2/10

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