Not Okay is a 2022 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Quinn Shephard. It stars Zoey Deutch as a young woman who desperately wants to be famous and beloved on the Internet, succeeding when she pretends to be a survivor of a bombing. It also stars Mia Isaac, Nadia Alexander, Embeth Davidtz, Karan Soni, and Dylan O'Brien.
Not Okay was released on July 29, 2022, by Searchlight Pictures on Hulu. It received generally positive reviews from critics. A trigger warning at the beginning that mentioned an "unlikable female protagonist" as a possible issue for viewers, intended as a commentary on some viewers at test screenings questioning why a film with such a character had even been made, generated some controversy when viewers took it as seriously intended.
Plot
Danni Sanders is an aspiring writer who works as a photo editor for Depravity, an online magazine in New York City. Struggling with both her job and making friends, Danni, after getting high off a hit from her co-worker and social media influencer Colin, whom she has a crush on, lies about attending an upcoming writers' retreat in Paris to impress him. Danni spends the next week posting edited pictures of herself in Paris from her Brooklyn apartment and creates a website for the fake retreat. She gains a modest following on Instagram as a result, which includes Colin. A few days later, Danni posts an edited photo of herself by the Arc de Triomphe, but a few minutes later, several major Parisian landmarks, including the Arc, are bombed by terrorists. To uphold her lie, Danni claims she witnessed the bombing and fakes returning from Paris, joining up with her parents at the airport.
With her parents, co-workers, and online following believing she is a survivor of the terrorist attacks, Danni immediately garners widespread attention and sympathy, leading Danni to lean into the lie. At a trauma support group, she meets and befriends teenage anti-gun activist Rowan Aldren, a school shooting survivor who has a large social media following. Inspired by Rowan, Danni writes an article about her "experience" of being in a terrorist attack. This article, which includes the hashtag #IAmNotOkay, goes viral with Rowan's help and propels Danni to fame. Danni grows closer to Rowan, becoming a confidant and sisterly figure to her. Danni is invited to an influencer party with Colin, where they have a brief sexual encounter, which is unpleasant for Danni and requires her to take Plan B. She realizes the life of fame she wanted is not as desirable as simply being a good person.
Danni is invited to speak at a rally with Rowan. When counter-protestors set off fireworks, Rowan suffers a PTSD attack and is hospitalized. Danni, who has been having recurring hallucinations of the Paris bomber, feels increasingly guilty about deceiving Rowan. Meanwhile, Harper, a skeptical co-worker of Danni’s, uncovers her deception and gives Danni an ultimatum: either Harper will announce Danni’s fraud to the world, or she can come clean on her own terms. Danni reluctantly decides to publish a short apology detailing the truth and promising to change. This derails her life quickly; she becomes an online pariah, is fired from her job, has her friendship with Rowan tarnished, is forced to move in with her parents after her address gets leaked online by harassers, and she and her parents receive death threats and harassment in real life. Danni soon deactivates all of her social media accounts.
A month later, Danni is attending a support group for individuals who are victims of online shaming, where she is encouraged to make amends with those she hurt. Danni attends a spoken word event where Rowan speaks about how Danni exploited her, and that she will never be okay with what Danni did, cementing their destroyed friendship, which impresses Danni and earns cheers from the crowd. Upon realizing that amends would be for her own benefit rather than for Rowan's, Danni quietly exits the theater.
Cast
Production
In June 2021, Zoey Deutch was announced to star in the film, with Quinn Shephard directing from a screenplay she wrote, with Searchlight Pictures set to produce, and Hulu distributing. In August 2021, Dylan O'Brien, Mia Isaac, Embeth Davidtz, Nadia Alexander, Tia Dionne Hodge, Negin Farsad, Karan Soni and Dash Perry were announced to star in the film.
Principal photography began in July 2021 in New York City. Filming wrapped on September 12, 2021.