‘The School For Good And Evil’: Review

Dir: Paul Feig. US. 2022. 147 mins

A fantasy film about fairy tales with very little magic of its own, The School For Good And Evil is a laboured adaptation of the Soman Chainani bestseller, its celebration of friendship overshadowed by convoluted plotting and subpar spectacle. Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie play outsiders who find themselves enrolled in the titular program, only to discover that the differences between heroism and wickedness can sometimes be murky. And although Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron try to inject a little hipness as the school’s administrators, unfortunately it’s failing grades for all involved.

There’s no happily ever after awaiting audiences at the film’s end

Good And Evil arrives on a very limited number of screens and on streaming through Netflix on October 19, and younger audiences may enjoy this Harry Potter-ish adventure — especially girls, who should appreciate director Paul Feig’s attempts to subvert the often patronising attitude toward women espoused in fairy tales. The supporting cast features Laurence Fishburne and Michelle Yeoh — and Cate Blanchett as the unseen narrator — but the film’s lack of advance buzz is indicative of the disappointing results. 

Quirky teenage best friends Sophie (Caruso) and Agatha (Wylie) live in the dreary, small-minded village of Gavaldon, both of them longing for something more exciting in their lives. Their wish is granted unexpectedly: they’re transported to The School For Good And Evil, which principally educates the children of the most famous characters from fairy tales. Always wanting to be a princess, Sophie is thrilled — until she realises she has been accepted at the School For Evil, run by the nefarious Lady Lesso (Theron). Meanwhile Agatha, who conveys a witchier personality, is chosen for the School For Good, led by the ebullient Professor Dovey (Washington). 

The picture’s magical academic setting mirrors Hogwarts’ far-off castle, but the Potter comparisons don’t do Good And Evil any favours. Feig (Bridesmaids) tries to layer comedic elements into the script, offering an irreverent spin on fairy tales and fantasy films, but the humour isn’t sharp enough. Just as troublesome, the world-building quickly grows tedious as we slowly unravel how The School For Good And Evil operates and what it would take for Sophie, who insists she has been assigned to the wrong program, to convince the all-knowing School Master (Fishburne) that he has made a mistake. 

Sophie’s quest requires her to find true love, which comes in the form of the gallant Tedros (Jamie Flatters), the son of King Arthur. But because the two schools are rivals, Sophie and Tedros may have difficulty being together, especially once Agatha starts to have feelings for him as well. That isn’t Agatha’s only concern, though: suspicious of the smugness rampant in the School For Good, she learns that storybook treatments of nobility may be overly simplistic, even problematic. 

Although the film is clearly geared towards tweens and teens, Feig isn’t afraid to let scarier tones come into play. There are dire consequences for pupils who fail their lessons, and myriad frightening forces dot the landscape, from carnivorous flowers to gigantic birds. At such moments, Good And Evil briefly comes to life, reminding viewers that childhood bedtime tales are often laced with menace. But Feig doesn’t show much of a knack for action scenes, and the fantasy sequences lack the wide-eyed wonder that would make them special. 

Caruso and Wylie have a bubbly rapport, which makes it a shame that their characters aren’t especially well-drawn. Sophie is a bland good girl who predictably gets in touch with her dark side, while the sarcastic Agatha sticks out at the squeaky-clean School For Good, although she’ll challenge their self-righteousness and hypocrisy. Neither actress has much chemistry with Flatters, who is meant to act as a comedic riff on the dully brave knight in shining armour — the problem is that Flatters doesn’t bring enough of a sly wink to his character’s musty stereotypes.

Theron arches an eyebrow while delivering Lesso’s oh-so-snide one-liners, and Washington plasters a storybook smile on her face as Dovey, who is painfully invested in letting everyone know how good her students are. But you sense the strain in both performances — which is also true of Yeoh, wasted as a School For Good instructor trying to teach her female pupils that being beautiful is all that matters. 

Feig has often focused on female friendship — and how women break out of restrictive roles society has placed on them — and so his interest in this material is understandable. But despite a few touching scenes in which Sophie and Agatha reassert their bond amidst handsome suiters and devious spells, Good And Evil ends up feeling both too busy and too underdeveloped to let their relationship blossom. There’s no happily ever after awaiting audiences at the film’s end.