Dhruv Trivedi
Netflix’s family comedy film ”Mixtape’ centers upon a 12-year-old girl named Beverly, who embarks on a musical journey after discovering an old mixtape. Having lost her parents as a child, the young girl is intrigued by the tape left behind by them, and in exploring the music on it, discovers new sides of herself. Since the mixtape itself malfunctions soon after it begins to play, much of the film focuses on Beverly’s search for the songs, which she, fortunately, finds written on the cassette jacket.
Eventually, some of the songs prove much harder than others to find, and a few don’t seem to exist at all. So does Beverly find all the songs on ‘Mixtape’? And why does she look for them in the first place? Let’s find out.
Does Beverly Find All the Songs?
Yes, Beverly does find all the songs. Though it is not an easy process, the determined young girl slowly begins to collect one song after another, giving her time to absorb each one before she discovers the next. The first two tracks are obtained with the help of Anti, the neighborhood record store owner, who grudgingly agrees to help. He records the two songs on his old tapes and gives them to Beverly, who is then helped by her new friend — Ellen.
Ellen, who has recently moved to Spokane from New Jersey, is an internet whiz and helps Beverly find multiple songs by using the new-fangled online music program called “Napster” (reminding us of the film’s nostalgic 1990s aesthetic). Their intimidating classmate Nicky also helps Beverly discover that one of the songs, enigmatically titled “The song that reminds me of that day on the hill,” is in fact, a description of a romantic afternoon her parents — Kim and Zack — spent in a picturesque (allegedly haunted) spot.
Finally, Gail realizes that uncovering Kim’s past is painful for her granddaughter and steps in with the last piece of the puzzle. The final song on the list, once again mysteriously titled “The Wrong Song,” is an original melody composed by Beverly’s parents soon after they learned that they were having a baby. The song makes for a poignant end to the young protagonist’s search as it finally lets her listen to her parents’ voices for the first time when Gail plays it back for her.
Why is Beverly Looking for Songs?
When Beverly first finds the titular mixtape, her curiosity is piqued by its interesting appearance and hand-drawn artwork. Realizing it belonged to her parents, she excitedly plays it on her walkman but is horrified to find the tape soon malfunctioning. Since Beverly’s grandmother, Gail, is touchy about the subject of her daughter’s (Beverly’s mother) death, the young girl realizes that the songs on the tape might be one of her best chances to get to know her late mother.
Thus, Beverly discovers the list of songs from the cassette’s jacket and begins trying to track them down so she can listen to them. At one point, she also mentions to Ellen that she wants to discover the songs in the same order as they were on the mixtape, even referring to it as a musical “ritual.”
There are a few important reasons that Beverly begins to search for the songs so determinedly. First of all, they represent a part of her parents that she has never seen, and Beverly realizes that the tape contains some of their favorite songs. Having only seen a few pictures of theirs so far, the young girl is finally able to experience the kind of music her parents listened to. The fact that the mixtape is a romantic one is also important, as it symbolizes her parents’ love for each other.
In the end, by listening to all the songs on the mixtape, it seems like Beverly feels closer to her parents. She also begins to channel some of their “punk” personas, as we see her starting to dress more like her parents from the pictures. Considering the songs are praised for being iconic and that Beverly eventually forms a band with Nicky and Ellen, it seems like listening to the songs on the mixtape sparks an as-yet hidden love for music in the young protagonist and her friends.
Read More: Mixtape Soundtrack: Songs and Where to Listen to Them?
