Zola

Movie review by Jordan Elizabeth, Common Sense Media
Zola Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 16+

Sex-trafficked stripper takes a wild, glamorized road trip.

R 2021 86 minutes
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Parents say

age 17+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 16+

Based on 4 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Zola is a dramedy inspired by real-life tweets about a sex-trafficked exotic dancer, told as a glamorized, comedic road-trip movie. It follows Zola (Taylour Paige), a former stripper who decides to dance again when she's invited to a lucrative Florida strip club by new friend Stefani (Riley Keough). But once they're on the road, Zola is forced into sex work she didn't sign up for. Mature content includes frequent use of the the "N" word, plus "bitch," "f--k," and "s--t." There's also gun violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted suicide, as well as depictions of sex work, pole dancing, and lower-body male nudity (including a montage of genitals). While you can argue that it offers positive messages on resilience in the face of adversity, that adversity is trivialized through the movie's glamorized, comedic tone.

Community Reviews

doctora
doctora Adult
June 16, 2022
age 16+

"A" game character portrayals of a wild ride of a road trip!

Paige and Keough are tone perfect in their portrayals and Bravo's direction is superb. She captures the twitter feed story and its exaggerations with deft precision. The blackface portrayal by Keough offers maximum cringe. Paige's facial expressions speak volumes about the circumstances that she finds herself in as she works to survive amidst the violence, absurdity, and always connected yet also alone circumstances she finds herself in. Everyone is bringing their "A" game to the character portrayals. An epic road trip.
Annaloretta
Annaloretta Adult
August 19, 2021
age 18+

Unnecessary visuals of complex sexual situations

You can’t unsee some of this, it is very hard to watch on so many levels and the type of tension that it builds is anxiety producing. Far too layered for kids, potentially traumatizing to watch and the gratuitous and sometimes lengthy sexual scenes just feel unnecessary.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In ZOLA, former strippers Zola (Taylour Paige) becomes fast friends with Stefani (Riley Keough), who invites her to come on a road trip to a lucrative strip club in Florida. On the drive, they're joined by Stefani's boyfriend and a man who "takes care" of Stefani named Johnathan (Nasir Rahim). Stefani proceeds to post photos of her and Zola on an escort website without Zola's consent. Zola tries to escape but is threatened by Johnathan and forced into looking after Stefani while she works. When Zola realizes how little Stefani charges, she ups her rate on the website and takes a cut of the earnings. Later, the group members are robbed, and Zola is sexually assaulted -- which is facilitated by Johnathan as a ploy for their escape. But can she make it home?

Is It Any Good?

There's something refreshing about a story centering the experience of a Black stripper that's not about moral failure, tragic origin stories, or being "saved." Zola is a character whose story is too often marginalized; women like her are rarely intended for audiences to care about or empathize with.

Zola, it seems, is a movie that wants to change that. But it does so by glamorizing the non-consensual situations Zola finds herself in -- sex trafficking, kidnapping, gun violence. Zola and Stefani are shown perfectly coiffed, fashionably styled, and sometimes exhibiting Kardashian-level calmness as they navigate serious situations. Zola has the difficult task of striking a delicate tonal balance between not victimizing its main character while also not trivializing her experiences, particularly when many of her experiences are steeped in the discriminatory and violent behavior historically inflicted upon Black women.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Zola handles the topic of sex trafficking. Do you think it's realistic? Glamorized? Why might filmmakers choose to glamorize something that's so tragic in real life?

  • Would you characterize Zola as a comedy? Why, or why not?

  • What role does friendship play in Zola?

  • What does sex mean to the movie's characters? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: June 30, 2021
  • On DVD or streaming: July 21, 2021
  • Cast: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun
  • Director: Janicza Bravo
  • Studio: A24
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 86 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: strong sexual content and language throughout, graphic nudity, and violence including a sexual assault
  • Last updated: July 1, 2022

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