RULES FOR FAKE GIRLFRIENDS

In this debut by actor Revord, a posthumous postcard from her mother sends a teen across the Atlantic to complete a scavenger hunt—and she finds love along the way.

The note Avery Blackwell receives informs her that there’s a story she can “only finish in Brighton.” Avery had planned to be pre-med at Columbia, but she defers her entry and instead enrolls at the University of Brighton in England, which her mom, whom she recently lost to cancer, graduated from 25 years ago. On the train from London to Brighton, Avery sits beside Charlie, who impulsively pretends that Avery is her girlfriend because Leyla—the ex Charlie is trying to win back—is walking by. When Avery discovers that Charlie and Leyla are studying at the same university as her, she agrees to continue the dating charade. Avery and Charlie grow closer as Charlie helps Avery search for the nine clues that Avery’s mother has left hidden around the city, presumably leading to the time capsule every graduating University of Brighton student receives. But just as Avery starts to fall for Charlie, Charlie pulls away. The plot unsuccessfully balances the scavenger hunt with the love story, making the pacing uneven. The late timing of some big reveals and storyline shifts also contributes to the sense of disjointedness, and the U.K. setting is poorly developed. Avery and Charlie are cued white.

Bites off more than it can chew.