Paul Feig’s adaptation of The School for Good and Evil has a stacked cast—just the promise of Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington as evil and good schoolmasters is quite appealing—and yet in every trailer, it seems more like a tale of magic most basic: good, evil, friends, enemies, possibly learning that there’s more to life than false binaries. Will anyone get to have any fun in this magical romp?
Netflix’s summary is quite detailed:
In the village of Gavaldon, two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie), share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a golden-haired seamstress, dreams of escaping her dreary life to become a princess, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and offbeat mother, has the makings of a real witch. One night under a blood red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil — where the true stories behind every great fairy tale begin. Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamourous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington). As if navigating classes with the offspring of the Wicked Witch (Freya Parks), Captain Hook (Earl Cave), and the dashing son of King Arthur (Jamie Flatters) wasn’t hard enough, according to the Schoolmaster (Laurence Fishburne), only true love’s kiss can change the rules and send the girls to their rightful schools and destiny. But when a dark and dangerous figure (Kit Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the world beyond entirely — the only way to a happy ending is to survive their real life fairytale first.
The movie is based on the bestselling middle-grade series by Soman Chainani; the screenplay is by David Magee, a man of many adaptations (Life of Pi, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Finding Neverland). Along with everyone named in that summary, the movie also stars Michelle Yeoh, Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Delaney, Mark Heap, Patti LuPone and Rachel Bloom.
The School for Good and Evil opens its doors on October 19th on Netflix.
