Parents' Guide to

The Never List

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Teen acts out after friend's death; language, drugs.

Movie R 2020 102 minutes
The Never List Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • The Never List Movie: Scene # 1
  • The Never List Movie: Scene # 2
  • The Never List Movie: Scene # 3

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What's the Story?

THE NEVER LIST was compiled over the years by Eva (Fivel Stewart) and her longtime best friend Liz (Brenna D'Amico), a catalog of daring and outrageous acts that they, great students and well-behaved teens, would never do but that Vicki and Veronica, their cartoon alter-egos, would. When Liz dies in a car crash and leaves the grieving Eva behind, Eva implausibly decides that ticking every item off the list, no matter how self-destructive or hurtful to others, will honor her friend. She steals a car, smokes marijuana, bakes it into brownies, and sells them. She sneaks out her bedroom window to see a boy. She lies to a good friend. She gets a tattoo and then fails to study, resulting in a low grade on a test. She drugs the boy running against her for class president, which results in his school-wide humiliation. She feels bad about all the damage she does, but nevertheless continues to behave insensitively. Suddenly, although she has felt bad about her actions from the start, she publicly admits her wrongdoing and seems to be back to her old, normal, high-achieving self.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

While Fivel Stewart is a compelling performer, even she cannot inject sense into the insensible. After each time Eva does something she and her friend Liz clearly stated they would never, ever do, the movie's implausibility increases. Ridiculousness piles on, thwarting our efforts to remain interested in Eva and her antisocial and self-destructive acts. The worse she feels about what she's done and the less credible her actions seem, the more our desire to follow her diminishes. By the time she has unwittingly outed a classmate in the most humiliating way possible, it's difficult to empathize and follow her on her journey.

Teens do try on many personalities as they experiment their way to self-hood, but this high-concept gambit asks us to believe the school's most serious, rule-following, nice girl would recklessly act out, and it's unlikely anyone will buy it. Most implausible of all: Eva pretends great reluctance to cross the last item off the list, to "be a rock star," which apparently can be accomplished by singing one song on a stage in front of people. She acts as if she's terrified and unequipped, then goes ahead and belts out a well-rehearsed song in perfect voice.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about all the ways extreme grief can make people act. Do you think that deep grief could make a decent person behave badly? Does the movie persuade you that Eva would become her own opposite during emotional turmoil? Why, or why not?

  • As the plot focuses on Eva's rebellious antisocial acts, does it also underscore her basic decency? Can you think of an example?

  • When Eva steals a car and gets a tattoo, do her actions seem believable? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

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