‘You Do You’: Cast & Crew
Original Name: ‘Merve Kült’
Director: Cemal Alpan
Cast: Ahsen Eroglu, Ozan Dolunay, Zuhal Olcay, Ferit Aktug, Esra Akkaya, Arif Piskin, Ege Aydan, Burcu Türünz, Levent Mese, Sibel Salihoglu, Tolga Ilik, Kutay Karagülle, Cagatay Palabiyik, Sevde Zehra Yildirim, Jingke Ba, Bülent Gültekin, Süreyya Gürsel Evren, Kirkor Dinckayikci, Ezgi Irem Mutlu, Nursena Özcanli, Mine Sagyasar, Meltem Koc, Bahar Gencalp, Yeser Nüba Yildiz, Nil Koz, Beyzanur Usak, Ali Poyraz Ramazanoglu, Mine Tugay
Available On: Netflix
Duration: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
‘You Do You’: Story
Merve (Ahsen Eroglu) chose the bohemian life, but it didn't choose her back. She has been trying to make it on her own and follow her heart and live for her passion for fashion design. However, soon, she is soon faced with eviction from her house and she starts a new job and stumbles into a spicy setup with her boss (Ozan Dolunay). Will she finally be able to save her home? Is there more to her spicy affair with her boss? Is the boss hiding some deep dark secret? Will their relationship ever be the same because of this secret? Well, for all that you’ll have to watch the film.
‘You Do You’: Performances
Ahsen Eroglu’s performance holds the entire film together and prevents it from crumbling like a house of cards. Her act is earnest. Her performance brings a sense of hope to the story and the viewer’s minds. Even though there is not much depth into the character, the performance speaks loudly and makes you feel like having a friend or girlfriend like this in your real life.
Ozan Dolunay is pretty much there for eye candy. There is barely any intensity in the performance. The character starts off in a belligerent mode holding onto subdued anger, which gave a sense that there would be an outburst at some other point. But sadly, that outburst of emotions never came out that powerfully, leaving you cheated. However, Ozan Dolunay has given exactly what was needed for the character – a perfect candy for the sore eyes, and he delivers well. Had his character been more rounded and well-developed, it would have become one of the best performances in a rom-com ever.
‘You Do You’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects
Ceylan Naz Baycan’s writing is decent for a rom-com. It has all the necessary tropes needed to make you not just smile coyly but also get back a sense of romance in your life. It’s geeky yet has a feel-good factor to it, which you will end up liking. But honestly, you will find a lot of predictable antics throughout the screenplay.
The direction by Cemal Alpan is nothing too outlandish. Considering it’s a romcom set up in such a beautiful city, he could have pushed his horses a bit further and tried to give the story a touch of his own ingenuity. Rather this looks like any regular Joe romcom. To add to that, there are a few plotlines which he leaves without explaining at the end, and as a viewer, you’re left fuming and without answers.
Muratcan Gokce’s cinematography is also bland. When you’re shooting in such a serene exotic location, it’s always advisable to explore the locales and give the audience a view that they’ll remember for life. However, what’s worse is that there is not too much effort put into making the shots look so different from any other rom-com.
Evren Aksoy’s editing is crisp. It’s pretty much the only good thing about ‘You Do You’. Keeping the rom-com to under 2 hours is a great achievement and a good choice. Otherwise, it would have started to drag in the middle and make you feel bored.
‘You Do You’: Can Kids Watch It?
Yes
Outlook’s Verdict
‘You Do You’ is a regular Joe rom-com. There’s barely anything that you wouldn’t be able to predict from a mile away. Every trick in the book has been tried before. But the performances are earnest, and that makes you want to stay on till the end. If you’re a sucker for mushy romcoms, then watch this, otherwise Avoid. This is just Below Average. I am going with 2 stars.
