REVIEW of Roommates: The Movie That Makes Me Question Netflix’s Judgment

By Emily Beaupre '27

I sat down in front of my TV one afternoon prepared to be awed by the No. 1 movie on Netflix’s list. I watched the trailer first to make sure it was worth it. I thought it would be a good time. And boy, was I wrong.

“Roommates” is a film directed by Chandler Levack and starring Devon (Sadie Sandler), a college freshman who ends up rooming with a nightmare in human form named Celeste (Chloe East).

I found it on Netflix’s Top 10 list and half-expected it to be gone the next day.

The entire movie is a first-hand story told by a counselor named Dr. Schilling (Sarah Sherman). She was Celeste and Devon’s RA and is now dealing with a different pair of roommates who claim to despise each other. She starts telling the story by staring out into the quad and saying, “Oh, it could be so much worse.”

I feel like director Levack missed something between the script and production. This film had so much potential, but it lacked a “wow” factor to keep people thinking about it.

Because in all honesty, it’s a good premise if done right. Devon is a shy girl with a loving family who becomes best friends with a fun, outgoing girl named Celeste who has a terrible family. Maybe a bit cliché, but entertaining all the same.

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Here’s the thing: I had to get to the last 30 minutes of its one-hour and 47-minute runtime to appreciate it. The rest of the movie was just details—a backstory. It felt like that last day before summer where all you want to do is leave.

It started with Michael (Billy Bryk), who was a pointless character. I say that knowing it’s blunt and brutal, because it’s true. He took up too much screen time for no reason. His biggest moment was a single scene three-quarters of the way into the movie. I’m not going to reveal what exactly happened because of spoilers, but I was so baffled because it was such a plot twist.

And the problem was it was a bad plot twist. It was shocking, but in the midst of a mediocre movie, it fell flat.

Olivia’s boyfriend? What was his point? I feel like Levack zoned in on random details while brushing off the actual plot of the movie.

The only reason I stayed watching until the end was because I wanted to review it for journalism class. If I had the choice, I would have turned off the TV immediately after the first instance of secondhand embarrassment. Devon walked in on Celeste doing something that warranted a sock on the doorknob.