Netflix's Moxie is full of declarations of strength, equality and fighting for what's right, and these 10 quotes make the movie's message very clear.
Netflix's new teen movie, Moxie, is a fun yet thought-provoking movie directed by the beloved Amy Poehler. Filled with memorable lines, moments, and scenes, this teen movie takes on sexism and misogyny head-on. With the right mix of humor and emotion, much of the dialogue from this movie is inspirational with the revolutionary spirit needed to make high school a better place, for girls especially.
Adapted from the novel of the same name, this Netflix movie is quite amazing in capturing the tone of teenagers, filled with attitude and passion.
"Unless One Of You Young People Fixed Global Warming, Your Summer Vacations Were Boring."
The English teacher Mr. Davies enters the high school classroom to a babble of the voices of students just back from their summer vacations. While all of them are busy talking and catching up with each other about what happened during the summer, Mr. Davies brings order to the room by saying the above line.
With deadpan delivery, this rather funny line essentially helps him bring some decorum to the classroom.
"Well, I Think The Real Question Is, Why Are We Still Reading This Book?"
When the class starts to discuss The Great Gatsby during their English class, Lucy raises some important questions about the nature of the readings set for their curriculum.
She draws attention to what she thinks is a very trivial narrative of the "American Dream," pointing out several other stories that would be better suited for studying, which also weren't "written by some rich white, about some rich white guy." This line essentially sets the tone for the movie as one that constantly questions the status quo.
"Thanks For The Advice, But I'm Gonna Keep My Head Up High."
Vivian advises Lucy to keep her head down when she sees Mitchell harassing her. She says that if Lucy just keeps her head down, Mitchell will stop bothering her and move on to someone else. Lucy cleverly uses wordplay here to state what's on her mind.
She thanks Vivian for the advice, but she very clearly knows that she's right and says that she'll keep her head high at all times, and not keep it down for people like Mitchell.
"When I Was 16, All I Cared About Was Smashing The Patriarchy And Burning It All Down."
When Vivian very sincerely asks her mother what 16-year-olds care about to get some ideas for her college essay, her mother, played by Amy Poehler, replies back with the above line without much thought.
This quote is one of the triggers for Vivian to change her worldview and stop accepting things as they are. Even though she was already quite uncomfortable with a lot of the things that were happening around her, this was when she realized that she should start doing something to change things.
"Why Have We Accepted It? Like, No One Even Blinks."
When "the list" comes out during the pep rally, everyone starts discussing it as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Some people are clearly unhappy with the things written on it, and some people just think of it as a funny high school thing.
But Vivian is clearly uncomfortable and starts wondering why they have all accepted it. She looks around to see how visibly upset many of her peers are, but yet notices that everyone just assumes it's "normal," when it clearly is not.
"I Need A Shi*load Of Copies."
This is an especially funny moment from the show. An extremely passionate Vivian cycles to the copy shop in the rain, rushes in quite dramatically, and says the above line to the U-copy clerk.
But this extremely dramatic moment is undercut when he asks her "how many is that?" While the feeling comes through in the above quote, she clarifies that she wants 50 copies.
"Hey, Ladies First. Can I Say That? Do You Wanna Go First? ... Abso-fruitly"
Seth is one of the nicest male characters written for a high school movie and he is also the perfect gentleman. When Vivian is at the door, he starts with the classic, "Ladies first" line, but then realizes that it probably might not be very appropriate, and then simply goes on to ask her very simply if she just wants to go first.
The awkward yet respectful nature of Seth comes thought very clearly in this quote.
"Revolution, Baby."
Lucy's catchphrase from the movie, this succinct line captures exactly what the Moxie! zine and the group set out to do in the movie. They want a change, they are unwilling to accept things as they are, and they literally are at the forefront of a revolution in their high school.
It's a small yet brilliant quote that captures all of the passion, enthusiasm, and courage of this teenager.
"If You're Doing Nothing, You're Part Of The Problem."
When Mr. Davies tries to sidestep the issue of the dress code by saying it's a "women's issue," Kaitlynn almost decimates him with a powerful monologue, the most significant line of which is the quote above.
She says that it's so easy for him to say that it's a "women's issue" and use that excuse to do nothing to help the situation. She's quite straightforward when she says that by doing nothing, he becomes part of the problem.
"It's Me. I Started Moxie. I Am Moxie."
This is Vivian's moment when she completely breaks out from her "introverted" shell and addresses the school once they walk out from their classes to protest.
The author of Moxie! had been a mystery up until now to most people and by claiming ownership of this zine, she has a very powerful moment here. Vivian proves once and for all that not only does she have moxie but also that she is Moxie.
