5 Lessons I Learned From Netflix’s ‘It’s What’s Inside’

Giving some intense Gen Z vibes (in the best way possible), Netflix’s new thriller comedy It’s What’s Inside shows the audience exactly what can happen when we’re literally put into each other’s shoes. A group of college friends are back together again on the eve of the host’s wedding, and they get up to all the shenanigans they loved in the past. That is, until one previously missing member shows up with a cool bit of technology and the idea for a game. That’s where I’m going to leave the description for those of you who haven’t seen this excellent movie yet. But if you have seen this surprisingly good Netflix original, read on for some spoiler-filled life lessons you can only get by watching a Gen Z friend group implode.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

It’s What’s Inside starts with poor Shelby trying to turn herself into the girl she knows deep down her boyfriend Cyrus is in love with–their friend Nikki. Later, she spends the drive to Reuben’s mansion obsessively scrolling through the girl’s carefully curated Instagram and TikTok feeds. Shelby is the embodiment of all those insecure feelings you have when you compare who you are to the shiny plastic version someone else is showing you. And Shelby is depressed–for good reason, as you learn as the story goes on. Let’s learn from poor Shelby that we’re great as we are.

Nothing hits quite like girls supporting girls.

If you weren’t already convinced how terrible Cyrus is in the first few minutes of the movie, it becomes even more evident as they walk up to the house. A bird flies into Shelby’s face and she rightfully freaks out, but he downplays it and changes the subject. However, after they’ve been greeted inside, she has one mention of the bird and the other girls are circling around her, hearing all about it and making sure she’s okay. We all love women supporting women, right? Because, a bird flying into your face is a big deal, CYRUS.

Keeping secrets could be the death of you.

Okay, now we’re getting into big spoiler territory, so this is your last warning.

The big turning point in It’s What’s Inside happens when Reuben in Dennis’s body and Beatrice in Maya’s body, start having sex on the cute little balcony off the attic. Both are fulfilling their secret loves for the other and finally letting those feelings out in such an all-encompassing way that they don’t realize they’re banging against a crumbling railing stories above their inevitable doom. Maybe you should get your secrets out in a healthy way, because the more you bottle them up, the more you’ll tumble down onto the proverbial concrete. Just a thought.

Maybe we shouldn’t be using Face ID or our fingerprints to get into our phones…

So much of the conflict of this body-swapping thriller comedy could have been thwarted if these people had just used a pin code for their cell phone password, rather than relying on biometrics. Of course someone can read your secrets or steal your millions or call the cops with your phone and voice if they have access to your Face ID. Obviously most or all of us will never be in a body-swapping scenario, but what if you’re asleep? Then someone can easily get into your phone. Keep your privacy private and skip the biometrics, babes.

No man is worth dimming our light for.

In the end, the real villain of It’s What’s Inside is the terrible boyfriends we’ve made along the way. The ones who insist they love us even though they drool over other girls. The ones who belittle every little thing we say. The ones who try to stop us as soon as we start having fun. Let’s all make a pact right now, dear readers: Let us break up with the Cyrus’s of the world and, if given the chance, let them take the fall for murder.