Asking for It (2022)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Bury Men

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

While the bloody, satirical Asking for It depicts terrifying and relevant examples of toxic masculinity and abuse, the movie itself seems satisfied being thin, shallow drive-in fluff, dancing thoughtlessly around serious matters.

Joey (Kiersey Clemons) is a bubbly server at a local cafe who goes out with a friend one night. Unfortunately, the evening ends with Joey raped while unconscious. She loses her happy glow, showing up to work sullen and defeated. Cafe patron Regina (Alexandra Shipp) notices and befriends the suffering server.

Regina introduces Joey to her group of colleagues, an all-women army, armed to the teeth and bent on revenge on toxic males. Sal (Radha Mitchell) is the leader, and Lily (Leslie Stratton) and Beatrice (Vanessa Hudgens) are members, all victims of prior abuse. Their next target is Mark Vanderhill (Ezra Miller), the vile leader of a brainwashed, but dangerous, group that preaches male dominance.

Written and directed by Eamon O'Rourke, Asking for It goes even darker than Promising Young Woman in depicting just how despicable certain men can be, with a date rape being among the least offensive. Most terrifying is the Mark Vanderhill character, who has turned his toxic masculinity into a cult, demonstrating how shouting lies loudly and repeatedly can convince people of almost anything.

Unfortunately, despite the great cast playing women who take charge of their destinies, the movie's answer is violence and revenge. And not just any violence and revenge, but "B" movie-style, over-the-top and designed to elicit cheers. Truthfully, it can be temporarily satisfying in Asking for It to see these terrible men get their comeuppance, but, in the end, it doesn't mean anything, and any chance to start a useful discourse has evaporated.