Comedies have been struggling to get attention in recent years, but they’ve been trying to make a comeback thanks in large part to women. The ladies have shown that they can be just as raunchy and funny as the men in movies like Girls Trip, No Hard Feelings, Bottoms, and One of Them Days. Now it’s Lilly Singh‘s turn to get her shot. Singh is already a well-known name thanks to her very popular YouTube channel and her short stint hosting A Little Late with Lilly Singh, but her first feature film lead role allows her to show what she’s capable of on a bigger scale.
Doin’ It, co-written by Singh, and directed and co-written by Sarah Zandieh, has a hilarious premise, with Singh playing a high school sex-ed teacher who has never done the deed herself. Singh and co-stars such as Sabrina Jalees, Ana Gasteyer, and Stephanie Beatriz are all hilarious in their roles, but, ultimately, Doin’ It doesn’t do it enough. It’s content with being simply silly when it could have been so much more. Still, Doin’ It will make you laugh out loud throughout its runtime, and Lilly Singh shows that she has what it takes to succeed on the big screen.
Lily Singh Is a High School Sex Ed Teacher in ‘Doin’ It’
Lilly Singh plays Maya, first seen as a young teen played by Celine Joseph. In the opening scenes, Maya and a male classmate are caught in a very compromising sexual situation in front of the whole school. Horrified, Maya’s mother, a single woman named Veena (Sonia Dhillon Tully), takes her back home to India. Years later, and all grown up, at least physically, Maya is back in the United States and looking for a job. When she applies at a local high school, she’s hoping to get hired for a computer science position, but the principal (Ana Gasteyer) tells Maya that she’s under pressure to hire more minorities, and although the job she wanted is filled, Maya is offered to be the school’s sex ed teacher.
Needing work, Maya takes the job, but there’s just one problem: she’s still a virgin. In a classroom filled with uneducated teenagers, the teacher is even more clueless. With Maya’s sexually experienced best friend, Jess (Sarbina Jalees), pushing her to get in touch (literally) with her sexual side, and a hunk of a new teacher, Alex (Trevor Salter), smiling her way, Maya’s about to go through an awkward coming-of-age story at the age of 30.
‘Doin’ It’ Plays Its Topic Too Safe
With that kind of plot and a title like Doin’ It, the film is going for the funny bone. It’s purposely over-the-top, like the other examples mentioned, or male-centered sex comedies such as Superbad. If you’re not a fan of such movies, Doin’ It won’t do it for you. Just minutes in and we get a shot of male ejaculation. Another scene has Maya staring at a suitor’s very large, um, member, complete with the shocking visual. The most awkward moment of all has Maya’s sex toy found by her mother, who thinks it’s for blending smoothies, so she uses it to fix herself a drink. Doin’ It is gross and perverted in the best way, because learning about sex is never comfortable, especially when you’re a grown-up living with your mom.
The problem with Doin’ It is that this all feels superficial. It’s a movie built on its premise, but Singh and Zandieh don’t try to dig too deep. Despite its subject matter, it comes off as tame and cute rather than shocking and convincing. It pulls its punches, going for the laughs, but not a lot else. Doin’ It is filled with setups for something bigger, but the punchline is often missing. The laughter is still there, but it is undercut by the disappointment that the easiest route is taken over and over again.
Doin’ It is made by women, stars women, and is about women, but instead of being a hilarious, sex-positive tale of female empowerment, it feels like a middling sketch stretched out to a feature-length movie. There are a few too many basic characters with horrible lines (the high school class is not the least bit real) with nothing to say or do but deliver their lines and keep the runtime going so we can get to the end credits. It would risk falling apart completely once the gimmick wears off, but it is thankfully saved by its leads.
Lilly Singh’s Lead Performance Keeps Up the Fun of ‘Doin’ It’
Lilly Singh carries Doin’ It, and if she shares any of the responsibility for not writing a strong enough movie, she is not to blame at all for any acting flaws. Maya comes across as authentic and likable. She’s not a shy, wilting, virgin trope, but a strong woman who will talk about her feelings and approach men. Maya’s problem is that she doesn’t know what to do after that. She feels things, but the shame that was ingrained into her at a young age stops her from acting. The humor is found in the uncomfortable moments that are created by this. When Maya is given a sex toy, she is clueless not only about what to do with it, but what she’s supposed to fantasize about. When a man flirts or there is some hope for intimacy, her nervousness and inexperience causes her to flub it all up.
Maya is written strongly, but the surrounding characters are a mixed bag. Her best friend, Jess (Jalees), is a sexually active lesbian who is in a fast-paced relationship. She’s all energy and honesty, but it’s so in your face and non-stop that Jess comes off as a caricature at times more than a three-dimensional person. That’s a problem with many of the Doin’ It characters. They’re first draft placeholders for something that never becomes more complex. Ana Gasteyer is the principal who wants Maya to follow the curriculum. Love interest Alex is a good guy, but he’s little more than that. There is a moment where he makes a comment about a complicated past, but it disappears and never comes up again. The mean girl teacher played by Mary Holland hits every checkmark of that trope, making her funny but predictable.Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz gets a lot of the funnier lines, but she’s there to be the weird one and little more.
There is heart in Doin’ It. Maya loves the people in her life without judgment. Despite their differences, she has a strong relationship with her mother, who goes on her own romantic journey. Doin’ It is by no means a failure. It’s raunchy, likable, and funny, but it’s also forgettable when it had everything going for it. It’s as if someone wanted to make a sex comedy, but didn’t have a strong reason as to why. With so many smart and talented people involved, the unrealized potential is the biggest disappointment.
- Release Date
-
September 19, 2025
- Runtime
-
92 minutes
- Director
-
Sara Zandieh
- Writers
-
Neel Patel, Lilly SIngh, Sara Zandieh
- Producers
-
Anthony Bregman, Erica Matlin
Pros & Cons
- The raunchy comedy is good for a lot of laughs.
- There is a lot of heart to the Maya charcter.
- The comedy is flat with nothing much behind it.
- The dialogue for a lot of characters doesn’t feel realistic.
- Many of the supporting characters come across as tropes.
