Cherry and Smile are two socially anxious teenagers with communication issues who accidentally collide at the local mall and unintentionally switch phones. Upon realizing their mistake, they realize they must actually talk with each other in order to return the other’s property. Cherry learns that Smile is a famous social media influencer who is self-conscious of her braces and always wears a mask when she live streams. Meanwhile, Smile learns that Cherry writes haiku and posts them anonymously online. The two soon become friends and form a relationship that encourages them to grow and learn to communicate with others.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a cute-looking movie but ultimately fails to do anything other than sound whiney. The subplot about the elderly man who lost his record is ridiculous and borderline nonsensical. The movie means well and does its best to connect with the modern phone connected audience, but it feels like it was made by an algorithm that disassociated young people and being addicted to their phones. While it is true for some people, those of us who are both 1) young and 2) not addicted to their phone found it to be a little much.

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop was recommended to me by my sister Daphne and she is now grounded from recommending movies for a while. It is currently streaming on Netflix.