The Guts World Tour, featuring pop punk princess Olivia Rodrigo, has sold out arenas across the world and brought home almost 200 million dollars. But the movie, now on Netflix, has some serious cracks in its foundation.
No one song was ineffective. Olivia’s voice, theatricalism, and lyricism always showed through, and the variety of songs she performed were a testament to her great range. But the overall performance was hindered by the order of the setlist.
At the start of the concert, Olivia shouted at her audience, “I want you up out of your seats! I want you to jump! I want you to scream! I want you to sing at the top of your lungs!” Then, once her fans were ready to spill their guts out, Olivia played four breakup ballads in a row. The only part of her instruction that the audience complied with was singing at the top of their lungs, as audience vocals make it sound like there was constant feedback coming off of Olivia’s mic.
Olivia performed an equal number of break up ballads and rock songs, but that’s not what it felt like. Most rock songs were crammed into the beginning and end of the concert, letting the middle drag. Anytime a high tempo song like Love is Embarrassing got the concert moving again, a soul crushing number like Making the Bed would send any momentum to a screeching halt. What didn’t help was, while the rock songs usually involved choreography and new elements, the ballads included Olivia sitting, standing, laying, and walking around slowly while she sang songs note for note as she would in the studio.
While the show featured most of Guts and her debut album Sour, the absence of one song left the concert feeling a little incomplete. Olivia herself talked about how she wrote many of the songs she performed when she was a teenager and how she had matured since then. But Stranger, the song in the Guts album that best demonstrates this maturity, was cut. Another victim to the order of the set list, where the push and pull battle between ballad and rock song did not allow room for Olivia’s more folk heavy tracks.
The highlight of the concert was easily Olivia’s all-female band. The group elevated the rock songs to a level impossible for the studio version. For much of the show, drummer Hayley Brownell had a more commanding stage presence than Olivia herself. The chemistry between Olivia and her band was palpable and created many of the funnest moments in the show.
Relating to the movie itself, it is a solid option for people who were not able to attend the guts concert in person. However, the camera work is often a distraction, cutting to different angles every two seconds.
Despite its flaws, the movie is a more than worthy watch for Olivia Rodrigo fans. Many if not most of the songs hit harder than they did in the studio versions. The performance of Obsessed was one of the best live performances in recent memory. The concert features a surprise guest who elevates the entire experience.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour movie is out on Netflix now.
