Sydney is one of the top players of "Nerve," and is in line to “win” the game by becoming its number one player. Competing for this title is Ty (Machine Gun Kelly) who will do anything to win, and Ian (Dave Franco) the dreamboat whose meet cute with Vee involves her kissing him as her first Nerve dare. The anonymous watchers controlling the game think Ian and Vee make a nice couple, so they’re sent on dares that include trying on expensive clothing at a ritzy Manhattan store and driving a motorcycle 60mph down a Manhattan street while blindfolded. Meanwhile, Ty executes a dangerous stunt that recalls the R-rated Disney film from 1993, "The Program," and the tragic real-life copycat accident that forced Disney to cut the scene in question from that film.
Crazy stunts aside, the camera loves Roberts and Franco, who have massive amounts of onscreen chemistry whether alone or together. The most amusing example is a scene where the duo, dressed only in their skivvies for reasons too complicated to explain, escape into the temporary safe haven of a store elevator. As the camera lingers on Franco’s sculpted abs, one can’t help but think, “How many Big Macs did he forgo to obtain that shit?” However, “Nerve” treats them as more than eye candy; their quickly drawn relationship yields some credible moments of affection. When things start to get shady, it’s easy to believe that Ian might consider losing the game to the young lady he’s suddenly smitten by, even if the cost is a bit too high to pay.
And when things do get shady, Tommy is there to be Vee’s potential savior. His abstinence from Nerve is due to his knowledge that the game takes every iota of information about players from the internet and uses it for nefarious purposes (kinda like Facebook does, but I digress). As in "Snakes on a Plane," the filmmakers throw some love toward geeky computer dudes like me by having Tommy use his technical smarts in heroic fashion. Assisting him is a top hacker who is refreshingly played by a woman of color, Samira Wiley from "Orange Is the New Black."
“Nerve” ends on a note that one can either take as a major sigh of relief or cop-out. I chose the latter, but to be honest, the ridiculous ending is “Nerve”’s one true moment of absolute ballsiness. Add that to some fine performances (including Juliette Lewis as Vee’s Mom) and the glossy sheen provided by cinematographer Michael Simmonds and you have a nice, pleasant little summertime diversion on your hands.
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