"Lisa Frankenstein" - Review

A few years after surviving an axe murderer who killed her mother, Lisa (Kathryn Newton, on the rise and somebody I am happy to see doing well) has moved to a new town, where she is shy, withdrawn, and awkward. Living with her quiet father (Joe Chrest, from "Stranger Things"), her viciously, emotionally abusive stepmother Janet (Carla Gugino, fuck yeah!) and her popular, bouncy stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano); she attempts to navigate the perils of highschool, her only friend is a long deceased man (Cole Sprouse) who, after a lightning strike, awakens from his grave...

Scripted by Diablo Cody, firmly trying to recapture the magic of "Jennifer's Body" and the funnier parts (and queer energy) of "Juno", and directed by Zelda Williams in her debut feature, it's an odd duck.
The script tries packing in the sassy, quirky zingers and attempts at queer energy, but almost reverse engineered, and the tone and direction aim for indie quirk, and the two never quite align, despite excellent performances from Newton and Soberano. Williams adds some good touches, like animated sequences and touches and nods to "Bride of Frankenstein" in some surreal dream sequences, and the bright, poppy and colourful design and aesthetic comes together nicely. But the energy is never quite there, and is in direct opposition to the direction: so it never clicks or vibes the way it needs to, and feels like they are on different pages. Cody's writing is Marmite at the best of times, so when it's not as good as it could be here, the weaknesses shine brighter, and when Williams is trying to make something a tad more subversive, in an ironic played straight kind of way, it amplifies that yet again.
Still, the performances are nice, and it's harmlessly charming and quirky enough.
Fun fact: I didn't actually nkow this was set in 1989 until Lisa stated the year: I just thought they were all hipsters.