Imagine, if you will, a modern version of The Craft with the aesthetic of Mean Girls. That’s exactly what it felt like watching Forbidden Fruits in theaters.
Directed by Meredith Alloway, Forbidden Fruits follows a truthfully star-studded cast of women. Lili Reinhart and Lola Tung go head-to-head in this horror comedy film, flanked by Victoria Pedretti and Alexandra Shipp.
Their characters, each named after a fruit, make up the toxic girl group known as “The Fruits.” Over the course of the movie, Tung’s character, Pumpkin, is brought into the group and introduced to their controversial coven.
The movie, while it feels, at times, incomplete with its writing, introduces a fun, campy vibe to a well-known sub-genre: morally grey girl group with a touch of supernatural plots. Several reviews praise the film as being an instant cult classic feminist piece, while others criticize that it attempts to make itself into a cult classic.
What’s the Plot?
Have you ever walked into Free People and thought to yourself, “This feels sort of like a cult?” Forbidden Fruits is that exact scenario, but add a shiny veneer of girl power and pretty privilege.
The movie follows a group of girls, The Fruits, who work at a store called Free Eden. This group of girls is reminiscent of other iconic, yet toxic, girl groups throughout the years, from the Plastics to the Heathers. Soon, a new girl, Pumpkin, finds herself involved in their witchy, cult-like activities, leading to all kinds of shenanigans. Not the fun kind, though.
The movie has moments of gore, especially towards the end. This horror, however, is approached in a comedic light, with the humor coming from the sheer absurdity of the situation and the characters’ reactions.
The Fruits themselves are just as absurd, with their frequent references to current pop culture and youth culture in between discussions about murder and their worship of the divine feminine. Marilyn Monroe is their spiritual icon, with them holding confessionals to her in the changing room of Free Eden.
Over the course of the film, the tension in the group rises, leading to a particularly gory end… though I won’t spoil how.
What I Loved
I enjoyed several parts of the film. While not as deep in the horror genre as I’d hoped it would be, the film has its moments. The wardrobe, for one, is fantastic.
More than once, I turned to my friend who watched with me to say, “Oh my god, that outfit is so cute.” Nearly every scene, there was an outfit that I thought was perfect for the saturated, trend-based design they seemed to be going for.
One of the best parts of the film is, quite possibly, the powerhouse cast. Pedretti is truly memorable as the ditzy, Karen Smith-esque Cherry. My absolute favorite part of the movie was her monologue, which detailed the alienation and isolation she feels, even as she seeks connections.
Working through the grief of losing her family, she coats herself with fun clothes, makes out with boys, and brings gummy bears with her everywhere, but still feels like a ghost herself.
This is where the writing of the movie shines. The monologues each actress performs hold not only a tongue-in-cheek humor aligned with the rest of the film, but also a depth that I didn’t expect. Lines from these monologues hit like a gut punch, just before making me giggle, a balance that I greatly appreciated for the tone of the film.
Why I’m Still on the Fence
Despite the amazing writing of the monologues, several other parts of the film fall flat for me. The best possible way to describe why this might be is through the analogy I gave my friends immediately after we watched the movie.
To me, it feels as though the film started as a fun bit idea. From there, the monologues and a few plot twists were crafted. Then, they just tried connecting the dots between points as quickly as possible without further edits.
This feels especially apparent to me when considering the societal critiques the film seems to be trying to make. The Fruits are obsessed with the idea of tapping into their divine feminine, a concept that has risen in popularity thanks to trends on both TikTok and Instagram. Their obsession ties into their eventual conflict with one another, but the connection feels weak due to the lack of depth with which this topic is explored.
The pacing of the film prevents the story from diving into what I think could’ve been a truly hilarious and satirical representation of modern trend-culture on the internet. Instead, however, it felt more like a movie reliant on half-baked jokes that teetered on being clever.
The movie is, despite these faults, fun, especially with a group of friends to laugh with. It’s definitely a fun girls’ night movie, but I personally don’t think the film should be as lauded as others might suggest.
The aesthetic and cast make the movie truly enjoyable, and it’s one I’d encourage any movie-loving girl to watch to draw her own conclusions!
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