TIFF 2024 Review: The Deb – “a solid debut and full of catchy tunes”

Image Credit: John Platt

Musicals can be a hard market to crack.  Those who love them (like me) are truly excited when something new comes to the big screen.  But, there’s a lot of audience out there that stays away from these films – hence the marketing for the recent musical adaptation of Mean Girls that basically erased any of the music from its advertising.  I mean, the film earned over $100 million at the global box office, $70 million domestically, so I guess that scheme worked.  Yet, could we be seeing more musicals in our future? The fact that The Deb was my third musical this year at the Toronto International Film Festival (Emilia Pérez and The End being the other two) is pretty unusual.  The Deb is certainly the most traditional of the three, but Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut is pure delight.

Wilson is no stranger to movies with music, starring in the Pitch Perfect franchise, but she’s also performed in the musical Guys and Dolls on London’s West End.  No doubt her experience in these helped influence her behind the camera.  A musical for your directorial debut is somewhat ambitious, especially as an independent Australian film that surely didn’t allow for much wiggle room in the budget.  But, start with what you know.  Wilson gets us there through the musical numbers big and small with help from some great choreography by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford, and music by Meg Washington with lyrics also by Washington and Hannah Reilly.

The film starts with a number that still is embedded in my brain.  You can experience ‘FML’ on Rebel Wilson’s Instagram page now, but I’ll warn you it’s an earworm.  It introduces us to Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes), a privileged, private school girl who sings with her friends about needing more than $1,000 a day on their credit cards.  She’s also a girl who wants to take down the patriarchy and the strict dress code her school imparts.  “All I need is a phone and thirty seconds to make an impact,” Maeve claims.  So, when she flashes her breasts in protest at a school assembly, her mother sends her to the Outback town of Dunburn to live with her uncle and cousin Taylah (Natalie Abbott) in the hopes it will teach her a lesson.

Taylah couldn’t be further from Maeve’s polished, privileged exterior or progressive, TikTok-influenced ways.  She’s grown up on a farm with her dad, having lost her mother to illness years before.  But she dreams of the day when she will get to dress up and feel pretty at the town’s debutante ball.  If only she could find a date.  Not so easy when the town’s mean girls keep dragging her down.  While Maeve initially calls out the ball as “heteronormative bullshit” she eventually agrees to help Taylah attain her dreams.  In her own way.  After all, Maeve thinks she, “may be the feminist voice of my generation.”  But, along the way, both girls learn some important lessons and find a common ground.

The Deb benefits from MacInnes and Abbott whose voices blend incredibly well and whose singing talents are on full display.  Both are incredibly likeable characters.  Yes, I understand that you might doubt that from Maeve’s description above but MacInnes makes her difficult to detest.  Wilson herself has a small role as Janette, the owner of the town beauty salon called Curl Up ‘N Dye.  She seems to have a lot of fun in this supporting role and adds some comedic flare when it’s needed.

Make no mistake, The Deb is full of Australian references, like Tim Tams, XXXX beer, and bogans that will likely endear itself to Aussie audiences.  I personally loved these touches.  But, this film is also pretty formulaic and kind of full of clichés so your enjoyment of it will likely be dictated on whether or not you can overlook these things.  The Deb isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, but it’s a solid debut and full of catchy tunes that make it a lot of damn fun to watch.  Perhaps this came just at the right time during the festival when I needed a pick-me-up, but it had me smiling ear to ear despite some of its pitfalls.  Here’s hoping this film finds a home and a distributor so others can experience its joy.

The Deb had its world premiere as the closing gala of the Toronto International Film Festival, September 14, 2024.  For more information head to tiff.net.