Ready for a new screen adaptation of a hugely popular YA novel about the students of magical school? No, you’re thinking of something else. We’re talking about The School for Good and Evil, which is streaming exclusively on Netflix now.
Based on the beloved book series by author Soman Chainani and directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids). The School for Good and Evil posits a world where reality sort of runs on fairytales. The titular school is where young prospective heroes and villains bon up on the skills needed to take their rightful place in the narrative.
Into this world come village besties Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), who are rent asunder when girly girl Sophie gets lumped in with the evil kids while moody introvert Agatha is surprised to find herself being trained up for princess duties (this is accomplished by means of a giant magical bird rather than any mouthy headgear). But are they stuck in the roles assigned to them, or is this whole thing a false binary? (I’d bet on the latter).
An impressive supporting cast show up for this one, including Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, and Mark Heap as various members of the school faculty, plus Cate Blanchett on narration.
The question is whether we want or need another magical school-themed YA adaptation on our screens. Certainly, the Harry Potter franchise was an undeniable phenomenon, but the bloom is off that particular rose and the once-fertile YA-book-to-blockbuster-movie pipeline that gave us everything from Potter to The Hunger Games to The Maze Runner has slowed to a trickle in recent years. Still, there’s always an audience for a bit of fantastical derring-do and teen angst, and if you count yourself among that number, Orientation Day is happening on Netflix as we speak.
