You’ll be glad the snake told you to see this movie.
“Forbidden Fruits” is inspired by the play called “Of the women came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die” by Lily Houghton. The title comes from the Book of Sirach. And the play was inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. So, in this horror comedy, written by both Houghton and the director Meredith Alloway and produced by Diablo Cody, expect a lot of references and a lot of wickedly delightful moments.
We meet three young women in a secret witch cult and all named after fruits-Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and Fig (Alexandra Shipp)-who work at the mall, dress sexy, and get free lunch. Even people clear their own tables, so these three can sit down and eat (“I wish I could be named after a fruit,” one says). I was almost expecting them to eat their food in sync like how those teenage racists were eating their salads in “Slanted,” but these girls have their own choices of food and drinks. The clothing store they work at is known as “Free Eden,” and it’s amazing that they can have sex with the customers in the dressing room, and have their rituals in the break room after closing, and not get fired. Either they have the power to continue working there or their customers like their fashion senses.
As the story begins, Apple, Cherry, and Fig are all followed by a hot pretzel employee named Pumpkin (Lola Tung), who gives out free samples, and might be a perfect applicant in their cult. And a pumpkin is botanically a fruit, so that totally counts. She is surprised that these girls might be witches, and when she’s asked what her definition is, she responds: “Brooms, spells, and Nicole Kidman.” She’s talking about “Practical Magic,” not that “Bewitched” flop. They set her up with initiations, praying in the mirror to Marilyn Monroe, and drinking certain ingredients from a boot. She still needs to be approved by their boss Sharon (Gabrielle Union). And yup, she’s mostly the off-screen character, who is only seen in full at the end.
One of their rules is for them to text boys with emojis, although Fig prays the Marilyn about her confidence in her relationship with restaurant waiter (Siddharth Sharma). Each of the girls have their own secrets, which Pumpkin finds out and promises to keep quiet for the sake of their coven. Especially when their former member Pickle (Emma Chamberlain) screwed up in the past.
They all dislike Sharon and try to put a hex on her, but things spin out of control. And that’s the most interesting aspect of the film, as their personalities come out in the open, and their coven begins to deteriorate. Even the final 20 minutes have some “Final Destination” inspired deaths. And don’t worry, I’m not going to say who dies.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of “Forbidden Fruits,” other than the trailer suggesting that it would be a crazy film. And as I began to watch it, there’s an opening scene when Apple tricks a truck driver into masturbating to her, so she can throw her hot latte on him. I was thinking that maybe if Carey Mulligan’s character didn’t get killed in “Promising Young Woman,” she would have loved that trick.
Not everything is understandable, but the Adam and Eve references really bring out the attitude and personality and reality checks on these girls. Reinhart delivers with a wicked consistency, while Tung shines with real character transitions. In fact, I think these girls are distinguishing themselves between witches and humans, and I don’t think this movie is trying to give out that sort of message.
“Forbidden Fruits” is almost like an IFC Films and Gen-Z version of “The Craft” movies with how these girls act and how they have their witchcrafts. I was even thinking of “Mallrats,” or in this case, “Mallwitches.”
