Parents' Guide to Drugstore June

The filmmakers are using an electric comedy prod to poke Gen Z, but they're the ones in for the shock: Anyone who actually knows Gen Z knows they're not quite ready to laugh at themselves. (Perhaps to gain the trust of the age group they're targeting, June is called a millennial, which she definitely is not.) It's produced by and co-stars gruff comic Bill Burr, and it seems likely that older teens will find a movie about a lazy, self-obsessed, mid-tier influencer who asserts that everyone else is the problem to be "total cringe"—and then hate themselves for calling it that. But star/co-writer Povitsky does nail her absurdist portrayal, to the giggling amusement of those who will recognize her traits far too well. June is anti-aspirational, entitled, self-centered, a hypochondriac, and too "triggered" to take responsibility. It feels like she was extracted from a one-label prompt: "Gen Z."

While June does grow, her self-discovery lacks any emotional punch. And while the movie has some laughs, it's more an exercise in frustration, because the story isn't well-constructed. Part of the enjoyment of a whodunit is for viewers to try to figure out the mystery, too, but there aren't enough clues given here to play along, nor does it make any sense. But then again, nonsense appears to be what this production is going for.