Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intercontinental romance has language, kissing, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Upgraded
What's the Story?
Ana Santos (Camila Mendes) is an educated and up-and-coming gallerist stuck in a training program at a luxury art auction house in UPGRADED. She's ready for a bigger role, and she gets her shot when she catches an error in a catalog and points it out at a crucial moment to her boss, Claire (Marisa Tomei). Claire promotes her and invites her on a work trip to London with two other assistants (Rachel Matthews and Fola Evans-Akingbola), who are happy to have someone below them to boss around. On her flight over, Ana meets handsome Will (Archie Renaux), who misunderstands her as having a more important job than she actually does. Ana lets him believe this, especially once they get to London and Will and his mom, actress Catherine (Lena Olin), wrap them into their high-class socialite life. But soon Ana's lies will begin to unravel, impacting both her personal and her professional worlds.
Is It Any Good?
The Devil Wears Prada for the art world, this film is predictable but no less fun for it, and it features a confident central performance by Camila Mendes. Upgraded portrays a world of luxury, wealth, and professional snarkiness that feels familiar on film (but not necessarily in the real world). That's okay, and it's refreshing to see a young female protagonist not shying away from challenges (she's decidedly more focused on work than romance) or throwing in the towel (dare we say quiet quitting?) when things don't work out immediately. Then again, she basically reaches her life goals by the end of the movie, so she doesn't have to toil for long. Marisa Tomei (with an unexplained accent) and Archie Renaux put in engaging supporting performances, but Lena Olin and Ted Lasso's Anthony Head play annoying caricatures of upper-class art-world socialites.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how wealth and luxury play into the story of Upgraded. What is an "upgrade"? In what ways is Ana looking to upgrade her life?
Ana's bosses treat their subordinates with disdain. Does this ring true to you as a portrayal of the professional workplace?
The opening scene has Ana waxing philosophical about a painting. What was the point of this scene?
Considering Ana is so much more focused on her work life than her romantic life, is this film a romance at heart? Is it more comedy or drama? How do you determine this?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : February 9, 2024
- Cast : Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei
- Director : Carlson Young
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s) , Indian/South Asian Movie Actor(s) , Multiracial Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Prime Video
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Friendship
- Run time : 104 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language and some nude art images
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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