YouTube stars have been a growing phenomenon in the past 11 years and there doesn’t seem to be any end in site. First it was books; every big YouTuber has a book that is usually just as entertaining as their videos. Now, everyone’s got movies. What do you expect from people creative enough to hook millions of people into watching them talk to a camera. Creative people have found their outlet with YouTube and have been lucky enough and talented enough to create an entertainment career. This is where Electra Woman and Dyna Girl comes in.
The two stars, Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart, are two opposite ends of the YouTube spectrum. Grace went to college hoping to find work in television but found YouTube to be a place where she could post her material. Hannah Hart has a degree in a complete different skill set (language translation) and posted a video for a friend. Both have massive followings on YouTube now and made a movie with another creative-careered YouTube star Mamrie Hart (Camp Takota). Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is the next step in their movie adventure and Legendary Pictures’ first step into the superhero world. For both of them, it’s been a rough step.
This ’70s TV show (of the same name) turned web-series/online movie tells the story of Judy and Lori. They are two girls who aspire to be superheroes in a world filled with superheroes. They have the costumes and drive to around town looking for bad guys to take down. They get their lucky break after they are filmed stopping an armed robbery at their favorite slushie stop, and the video goes viral. They are invited to a superhero management agency in Los Angeles and offered lucrative contracts with the company.
Now, you may be wondering what all these superheroes do in this world. The answer is nothing really. All the super villains were wiped out in a great war between heroes and villains, and most superheroes now are sponsors for energy drinks.
The real problems arise when a super villain, the first super villain in years, shows up and starts killing people. All other superheroes run away scared or die and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl are the only ones who can take this evil down.
I love superheroes, especially Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart with all my…heart. So when this movie was announced, I was all for it. However it has trouble finding a release date and after months of waiting for a release date, a lot of fans were angry and had lost interest. The movie was not worth the long wait.
The best part of the movie? The analytic undertones about the world of YouTube today. It showed that a lot of people are in it to get endorsement deals. They don’t really care about the content they are producing and only want to get famous. Basically, the super villain is an analogy for vapid entertainment, and most creators just run away, soon to disappear into the ether. A giant burn to a group of online creators.
I also really liked how the movie put women in the forefront. Much in the way of the new Ghostbusters, Dyna Girl treats women like women and shows the two stars just as awkwardly as they portray themselves online. They’re not beauty, they’re not grace, and they will definitely punch you in the face. Well, they are pretty and one of them is actually named Grace, but here’s the point: they let these women be themselves with pre-written lines.
Also, neither of them had a love story; their focus was on beating the bad guy and their friendship. When you’re sold-out superheroes, there’s no time for dating.
While the movie is forward-thinking, it did fall back on a lot of clichés. These are two friends who make it big, and it hurts their friendship. Then they come together to try and save the day in the end. The villain is a surprise reveal but falls back on an obvious storyline as well. The plot is anti-climatic and the ending a bit silly.
In a way it works for this movie. They were making a movie about YouTube in a superhero world. The problem is, YouTubers don’t have superhero skills. They finished their analytic storyline, and the big ending fight scene is just a way to tie up the superhero plot. It was a means to an end and left me wanting more.
I enjoyed the idea of this movie, the future media to which this movie will be a stepping stone. It just could have been better. It is a remake, after all. Maybe in a few years someone will remake it again and it will be even better. As for right now, Legendary is taking baby steps into a new genre, showing Youtube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart getting out of their comfort zones a little. It is an enjoyable watch for fans of the two internet stars but not something for mass audiences–even mass audiences online.
Theatrical Review
For The Fans