Overcompensating Review: ‘Love, Victor’ Meets ‘American Pie’, Sort of
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Well, long review short, the 2025 Prime Video series “Overcompensating” is a mash of “American Pie” and “Love, Victor”, so it flits being an over-the-top comedy, while swinging to delivering some heartfelt emotions here and there. A cute guy, who is still in the closet, tries to date a girl so that people won’t find out the truth about him? That’s “Love, Victor” season one right there, but instead of being a high-school drama, “Overcompensating” is set in a fictional University called “Yates”, following college freshman Benny (Benito Skinner), as he tries to hook up with Carmen (Wally Baram) on the first night, even though he’d rather be in bed with the dreamy Miles (Rish Shah).
Spread over eight episodes, the first episode of “Overcompensating” kicks off with Benny’s parents (Kyle MacLachlan and Connie Britton) dropping him off at college, emotional about letting their golden boy go. Benny’s older sister, Grace (Mary Beth Barone), isn’t thrilled to see her younger brother coming to study at the same college, but her boyfriend Peter (Adam DiMarco), a popular campus senior, welcomes Benny warmly and gives him a mission: get laid on the first day if he wants to avoid social death.
“Overcompensating” flips the classic ‘friends to lovers’ trope, following Benny and Carmen’s journey from pretend lovers to actual friends. The two try to hook up on their first day of college, purely due to peer pressure, though Carmen assumes Benny might genuinely be into her. They continue to hang out, and people around them simply assume they’re a couple. Neither of them corrects it, since being seen as a ‘thing’ makes them seem ‘cool’. Meanwhile, they try to climb the college social ladder by attempting to join an elite, exclusive campus secret society typically reserved for rich kids with connections.
Benny is the one who does most of the overcompensating in the series, desperately trying to conform to heteronormative actions, which usually results in comically awkward moments. For instance, at a dorm party, while all the male students rap ‘dude songs’, Benny hilariously raps to Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” while the others look on, confused. Carmen mostly just gets swept up in Benny’s world of wild college parties and secret society shenanigans.
Benito Skinner and Wally Baram make an oddly cute lead duo, despite being ‘only friends’ for most of the series. While Benny’s struggle with his sexuality is far more engaging, Wally’s Carmen gets a rather clichéd character arc, indulging in familiar teen drama behavior that ends up hurting her friends. So there’s a bit where she tries to join and blend in with the ‘Mean Girls’ clique on her campus, going as far as eating things she is allergic too, just to please them. Ugh. Where’s your self-preservation instinct, girl?
Among the supporting cast, actor Holmes is the most entertaining as Carmen’s boisterous roommate Hailee, almost always overdressed and up to something weird. Holmes has great comedic presence and timing, and reminded me of a young Jennifer Coolidge. Rish Shah feels underutilized as Benny’s campus crush, Miles. Although the two share great chemistry, there’s not much substance to their subplot, since Miles is too scared to act on his feelings. ‘Overcompensating’ is largely about Benny figuring out what he really wants, including his academic path. He starts off as a business major only because his dad wants him to but begins gravitating toward film studies (mostly because Miles takes the class).
Mary Beth Barone, as his older sister Grace, starts off as a cold meanie, but the second half of the show gives her more depth. Honestly, it didn’t seem like Grace and her boyfriend Peter would be pivotal to the plot, but they are. Adam DiMarco’s portrayal of Peter lacks punch, his character is a confusing mess: on one hand, he is shown to be an arrogant ‘bad boy’ who treats his girlfriend like dirt, on the other, he has his own existential crisis due to insecurities over his prospects and dipping popularity.
The most surprising element of ‘Overcompensating’ is a fun cameo by Charli XCX, who appears as herself performing at a college concert in Yates. Fans of the singer get to see her belt out her hit songs on the show. Even otherwise, the series features a lively soundtrack packed with popular numbers.
Overall, the show may feel slightly dated at times, but it delivers plenty of comedic moments and makes for a solid pick if you’re looking for a not-too-serious coming-of-age campus comedy, with a few raunchy bits thrown in. The climactic episode was a mess, ending with a twist that doesn’t flow smoothly and feels jammed in for dramatic effect. While underwhelming, the cliffhanger in episode eight of ‘Overcompensating‘ leaves plenty of scope for a season 2.
Rating: 3 on 5 stars. Overcompensating is on Prime Video.
Read Next: Sirens Netflix Series Review (Short Audio Version below)
