I have always had a soft spot for dark comedies, as there is just something about them that warm my heart. I mean don’t get me wrong I enjoy all comedies, but it’s the seriousness of the dark ones that get me. Growing up, one of my favorite films was “Heathers”, in which a couple of teens who don’t quite fit in help off the popular kids in school. I mean raise your hand if you didn’t think of doing that when you were in school. I am glad no one raised his or her hands, because that would just be evil?
You know though who could fit into that category? Lily( Ayna Taylor-Joy) , which seems to be not too rare of a thing when it comes to feeling towards stepfathers. Lily though might only think of doing that, but all we ever need sometimes is a little push to carry through. That push comes in the form of an old friend in Amanda (Olivia Cooke), who Lily has gotten reacquainted with after few years of ignoring her. It didn’t start off as a dark act that brought the girls back together, instead it was Amanda’s mother asking Lily to help Amanda study. It is during those study sessions, with Amanda’s total lack of emotions that Lily tells Amanda how she really feels about her. With her newfound appreciation of honesty, Amanda is able to get the truth out of how Lily really feels about her stepfather Mark (Paul Sparks). So together Lily and Amanda come up with a plan to get rid of him, all they need is a fall guy. They find that guy in Tim (Anton Yelchin), a small time drug dealer, who the girls try and blackmail to carry out their deed. When that fails a new course is taken, decisions must be made for Lily to get what she wants, no matter the cost.
For a good dark comedy a lot of things have to come together. You have to start with the story, but that all would be for nothing if you don’t get the right cast. Writer/director Cory Finley, who had written the film as a play originally, delivers the goods when it comes to a story. While in its earlier forms the story was more of a family drama, as Finley wrote it, two characters stood out from the rest. Cooke and Taylor-Joy, who couldn’t be more perfect, bringing those two characters to life. The chemistry is there and those two bounce off one another so very well making their scenes together delightfully dark. Fun, wicked, and entertaining are three perfect words to describe “Thoroughbreds” and the perfect movie to put your money on.
