From Superbad to Good Boys, the buddy comedy genre is chock-full of films where two best friends—the dorkier the pair, the better—go on an adventure, full of mishaps and hijinks, usually taking place over one long, chaotic day with one specific goal in mind. Recent additions like Booksmart have paved the way for more women, but Natalie Morales’s Plan B surpasses its predecessors as one of the most progressive, star-making teen films in years. After goody-two-shoes Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) impulsively loses her virginity, she and her slacker best friend, Lupe (Victoria Moroles), go hunting for a morning-after pill before Sunny’s 24-hour window closes. Just as in 2020’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the girls live in a community that is not so fond of reproductive rights, forcing them to travel from their small South Dakota town to Rapid City in the hopes of finding a Planned Parenthood. Our two leads of color more than pull their own weight: Verma is immediately lovable and Moroles bursts through the screen with the energy of a balloon that was untied and let fly. It’s hilarious, it’s heartwarming—keeping things light but not shying away from the dangerous lengths some girls in these situations must go to, all while delivering a Brown girl buddy comedy for the ages.
Plan B
1 hour 48 min
