After a rare accident as a child, Darby Harper (Riele Downs), an outcast, has the ability to communicate with spirits. She withdraws from the high school social scene as a result of her extreme lack of interaction with the living. Enter Capri, the popular teen who used to be Darby's best friend and is now the queen bee cheerleader (Moana's Auli'i Cravalho). The self-centered cheerleader had an accident right before she turns 17 that ultimately results in her death. Who just so happens to be the closest medium to help Capri take care of her unfinished business before ascending to heaven? Darby, the adolescent ghost-hunter. The outsider needs to become popular and organise the unforgettable Sweet 17 party that Capri has been organising for months in order to assist the cheerleader in dying. The two come to an agreement, but the price will be far more expensive than attending a party.

The Darby and the Dead synopsis most definitely sounds quite familiar if that makes sense. Despite having a different narrative than other recent living-ghost-bond-over-death comedies, including victoria Justice's Afterlife of the party and Lana Condor's Boo, Bitch, Darby and the Dead fits in nicely with this genre. The 2011 ABC Family (now Freeform) film Young Spirit, in which a teen cheerleader is entrusted with making the unpopular girl prom queen to pass on to heaven, may also be recalled by those of a certain generation. This idea is obviously not new, but Darby and the Dead highlights how simple it is to slip into overused traps.

It is clear from the opening scene how the story of Darby and the Dead would proceed beat for beat. However, Auli'i Cravalho and Riele Downs are equally dynamic leads. The two have fantastic chemistry and manage to salvage a lacklustre remake of well-worn cliches and plotlines. Beggars can't be choosers, thus there is a desire to watch the two women experiment with funnier dialogue. Although the script by Becca Greene (adapted from a novella by Wenonah Wilms) has some charm, it is difficult to ignore the cliches that stifle an interesting idea.

The movie team could have been better served adapting Meg Cabot's underappreciated YA series The Mediator rather than attempting to create an original plot. Darby and the Dead, on the other hand, has a fantastic leading couple who make the most of the script, so it has enough to occasionally move and amuse audiences, though it's not obvious if it can entice them to see it again. The only thing that is certain is that Downs and Cravalho work well together and ought to be given the opportunity to manage more projects.


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