“Never Have I Ever” Review

In this coming-of-age dramedy, an Indian-American high schooler navigates culture clashes, crises, and crushes.

Growing up sucks.

These days, no one seems to understands this better than Netflix, who has sparked a resurgence of teenage coming-of-age stories on its streaming platform. Titles like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), & Dumplin’ (2018) have achieved widespread critical and commercial success, all detailing the intricacies of young women struggling with identity and sex.

And that last point is rather revolutionary. Coming-of-age stories have historically been filtered through a male perspective. When sex is introduced within the story, it’s almost never discussed by teenage women, even though boys have been having on-screen sexual misadventures for as long as TV goes back. That’s why films like Ladybird (2017) and Booksmart (2019) are so refreshing.

Never Have I Ever enters this cultural conversation with an extra card to play: the exploration of South-East Asian culture on women coming of age and grief.