Asking For It

The premise is promising: a collective of feminists exact revenge on criminal misogynists ranging from rapey frat boys to violent men’s rights activists, but the delivery is beyond disappointing. Asking For It gets progressively worse as the film drones on, and even the heroes lose their appeal.

In the aftermath of sexual assault at the hands of someone she thought was a friend, Joey (Kiersey Clemons, Hearts Beat Loud) starts to exhibit symptoms of PTSD. A regular patron (Alexandra Shipp, tick,tick...BOOM!) at the diner where she works notices the shift in behavior and invites Joey to join up with her and a team of neopunk, futuristic women (played by Vanessa Hudgens and Gabourey Sidibe, among others) to take down a notorious alt-right men’s rights group through biological terrorism.

The diversity of the cast is encouraging on a basic level, but ends up feeling tokenistic as the white, male gaze of writer/director Eamon O’Rourke takes hold. And from the film’s onset, its glitched-out, sped-up edits and repetitive photo montages persistently interrupt the central narrative, dousing the proceedings with a juvenile, amateur tone. 

Every aspect of the editing feels extremely early-2000s. (Even the fashion is dated.) Perhaps this style is an attempt to seem edgy and alternative, but it misses the mark, feeling more like a parody of counterculture, while the obvious intention is not satirical in the least. 

In turn, the talented ensemble can only do so much with the subpar material and struggles with O’Rourke’s terrible dialogue, forcing numbed viewers to sit and wait for the damn thing to end. Promising Young Woman this most certainly is not.

Grade: D-plus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming platforms.

(Photo: Paramount Home Entertainment)