Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection.

Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Marisa Tomei, Lena Olin and Anthony Head.


Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up being a good decision.

I'll start out by saying if you've ever seen the movie The Devil Wears Prada, there will be a lot of elements that are familiar in this film. Ana (Mendes) works for a perfectionist boss (Tomei), has to overcome abusive coworkers and is introduced to what is a cutthroat business. As I told my wife, the only thing missing was the uncaring boyfriend. 

On top of that, the movie also had many of the same predictable elements most romantic films have. In fact, there were some things about this movie that were so predictable (such as Ana being photographed wearing one of Claire's dresses) I could have practically written the script. 

All of that said, this movie had a lot of great qualities as well. I thought Mendes played her role perfectly, though probably not as perfect as the Oscar winner, Tomei, was as Claire. Their interactions were a lot more entertaining than Ana and William (Renaux) and frankly had a lot more impact when Claire's deception was inevitably discovered because it seemed like so much more of a betrayal. 

I also thought the movie had a strong supporting cast, adding some interesting characters and a few unexpected twists. Sometimes that's all a movie really needs to be entertaining, regardless of how basic the overall plot might be.

Final Opinion: I don't think there was anything overly unique about this movie. However, a strong cast and stronger execution do make it entertaining to watch. We both enjoyed it, and I would recommend it.

My Grade: B+

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