Story: Reviving the hit Australian teen drama from the 90s, ‘Heartbreak High’ follows the life of sexually active teens of Hartley High after an elaborate ‘incest map’ graffiti rocks the school.
Review: Amerie Wadia’s (Ayesha Madon) life takes a 360 degree turn when the sex map that she and her BFF Harper (Asher Yasbincek) scribbled on a school wall, is discovered by the authorities. The map lays bare the hookups and heartbreaks of just about everyone in the school. Taking a serious note of this exposé , the school’s woke principal Woodsy (Rachel House) comes up with a compulsory sex-ed class ironically called Sexual Literacy Tutorials or SLT (ahem ahem). It aims to teach her students about the pitfalls of unsafe sex and random hookups.
20 years after the original show became a household name in Australia, this reboot lends a fresh, timely and relevant perspective to today’s life in school. It’s equal parts fun, dramatic and unapologetically irreverent in its approach. The characters define inclusion in the most matter-of-fact way without being preachy or breathing down your neck for acceptance. Creator Hannah Carroll Chapman gives us a refreshing new take on high school shenanigans of a motley bunch of teens, who constantly learn how their actions have consequences. She pushes the envelope so seamlessly that nothing seems too bizarre in this chaotic conundrum of hyper active youngsters. You’d think there is too much random sex, but Hannah sure seems to have a way with letting the hormones simmer before the big outburst.
Ayesha Madon does a fine job of living with the title ‘Map B***h’ and juggling more unholy accusations, heartbreaks and estranged friendships throughout the eight episodes. She effortlessly manages to show restraint while fully conveying the internal upheaval with pitch perfect expressions on her beautiful Asian features. Among her friends, James Majoos leaves a lasting impact as a non-binary and rebellious student Darren, whose character arc is hugely interesting. Rest of the cast adds a variety of colour and glamour like college heartthrob Dusty (Joshua Heuston), the unpredictably vivacious Quinni (Chloe Hayden), her love interest Sasha (Gemma Chua-Tran) and Hartley’s underrated basketball champ Malakai Mitchell (Thomas Weatherall). Together, they are a diverse collection of quirky characters, who form an instant connection with the audience. This helps even when the screenplay tends to drag with repetitive conflicts and clichéd relationship issues of the American teens, with their friends and families.
Overall, this disruptive campus drama is a welcome addition to some of the most sought after shows in the genre. It doesn’t play by the book and yet passes with flying colours.