# Status Update
**Status Update** is a 2018 American teen comedy directed by Scott Speer and written by Jason Filardi, in which a high school student discovers a magical phone app that makes his social media status updates come true.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) [Ross Lynch](https://www.edgepedia.org/ross-lynch) stars as [Kyle Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-moore), a teenager uprooted by his parents' separation who cannot fit into his new hometown until the app grants everything he posts.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) The film was released in a limited theatrical run on March 30, 2018, after a streaming release on March 23, and was distributed by Vertical Entertainment.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Scott Speer; screenplay by Jason Filardi[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) |
| Lead cast | Ross Lynch (Kyle Moore), Olivia Holt (Dani McKenzie), Harvey Guillén (Lonnie Gregory), Courtney Eaton (Charlotte Alden)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) |
| Release | Streaming March 23, 2018; limited theaters March 30, 2018; distributor Vertical Entertainment[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) |
| Runtime and rating | 106 minutes; PG-13 for crude and suggestive humor, language, and some teen partying[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update) |
| Critical reception | 0% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 5 reviews; 48% on the audience Popcornmeter from 250+ ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) |
| Audience score | 5.8/10 on IMDb from about 7,300 votes[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5692390) |
| Filming | Began in metro Vancouver on June 13, 2016, scheduled through July 15 of that year[4](https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2016/06/start-status-update-with-ross-lynch-olivia-holt-gregg-sulkin-more-starts-filming-in-vancouver.html) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
Kyle Moore moves from [Huntington Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/huntington-beach-california) to [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut) with his mother ([Wendi McLendon-Covey](https://www.edgepedia.org/wendi-mclendon-covey)) and younger sister after his parents separate, and he struggles to fit in at his new school while missing his father (Rob Riggle).[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update) After bullies destroy his phone, he buys a replacement at a mall kiosk from an odd seller played by Instagram personality Josh Ostrovsky, known as the Fat Jew, who introduces him to an app called U-niverse.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mini-status-update-review-20180329-story.html) Whatever Kyle posts as a status update then comes true.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update)
Kyle uses the app to join the school music program so he can be near Dani ([Olivia Holt](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-holt)), a singer, and to join the hockey team and become its star player to one-up the bullies.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update) His new status attracts the attention of the manipulative Charlotte ([Courtney Eaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/courtney-eaton)), and complications mount when the night of the music performance coincides with the big game and Kyle's phone breaks, leaving the app worthless.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update) Reviewers described the story as a wish-fulfillment fable in the "be careful what you wish for" tradition, with Kyle learning to act for himself without magic or technology.[6](https://redcarpetcrash.com/movie-review-status-update/) • [2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update)
## Production
Filming began in metro Vancouver on June 13, 2016, under the working title Status Update, with a schedule through July 15 according to the Directors Guild of Canada-BC production list.[4](https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2016/06/start-status-update-with-ross-lynch-olivia-holt-gregg-sulkin-more-starts-filming-in-vancouver.html) The production companies included Offspring Entertainment and Vancouver's Brightlight Pictures, and the producers listed on Rotten Tomatoes are Jennifer Gibgot, Dominic Rustam, Adam Shankman, and Shawn Williamson.[4](https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2016/06/start-status-update-with-ross-lynch-olivia-holt-gregg-sulkin-more-starts-filming-in-vancouver.html) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) The cast drew heavily on [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) alumni: Lynch was known for *Teen Beach Movie* and Holt for her Disney roles, and the supporting cast includes [Gregg Sulkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregg-sulkin) as hockey star Derek Lowe and Brec Bassinger as Kyle's sister Maxi.[4](https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2016/06/start-status-update-with-ross-lynch-olivia-holt-gregg-sulkin-more-starts-filming-in-vancouver.html) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/status-update/)
## Reception
Critical response was negative. The film holds a 0% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from five reviews, with a 48% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 250 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update) Kimber Myers of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "starts off funny but becomes a frustrating exercise in déjà vu for anyone who's graduated from high school or seen a movie," and noted that its bubbly tone sits at odds with the casual cruelty in the story.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mini-status-update-review-20180329-story.html) John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called the solution to Kyle's problems as predictable as everything else in the film, while crediting the cast.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/status-update/critic-reviews/) Guy Lodge of Variety wrote that much of the film feels cursory and unconsidered by its own hokey standards.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/status-update/critic-reviews/)
Audience measures were warmer than the critics' scores but still middling. IMDb records a 5.8/10 average from about 7,300 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5692390) Common Sense Media's review called it a routine teen comedy with stereotyping and drinking, while acknowledging a clear message about being true to yourself.[2](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update) A retrospective review at The Goods described the film as feeling like a PG-13 Disney Channel Original Movie, slightly hornier and nastier than the typical entry in that line, and noted that some of the jokes land.[9](https://thegoodsreviews.com/status-update-2018/)
## Availability
In the United States the film has streamed on Amazon Prime Video, and for free with ads on services including [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel), The CW, Plex, and Tubi, with rental and purchase options on Amazon Video and Fandango at Home.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/status-update) FlickFinder reports it is available on Netflix in 25 countries but not in the US, and on Prime Video in 7 countries including the US.[11](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/status-update-2018-416494)
## References
1. [Status Update, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/status_update)
2. [Status Update: Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/status-update)
3. [Status Update (2018), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5692390)
4. [START: STATUS UPDATE with Ross Lynch, Olivia Holt, Gregg Sulkin & More Starts Filming in Vancouver, Hollywood North Buzz](https://hollywoodnorthbuzz.com/2016/06/start-status-update-with-ross-lynch-olivia-holt-gregg-sulkin-more-starts-filming-in-vancouver.html)
5. [Review: Recycled materials doom lowbrow teen comedy 'Status Update', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mini-status-update-review-20180329-story.html)
6. [Movie Review: 'Status Update', RedCarpetCrash](https://redcarpetcrash.com/movie-review-status-update/)
7. [Status Update Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/status-update/)
8. [Status Update critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/status-update/critic-reviews/)
9. [Status Update (2018), The Goods: Film Reviews](https://thegoodsreviews.com/status-update-2018/)
10. [Status Update streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/status-update)
11. [Where to watch Status Update (2018), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/status-update-2018-416494)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2017 to 2018 › Titles K to W*
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