Tall Girl (2019)

Movie Name/Year: Tall Girl (2019)

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Length: 102 minutes

Rating: TV-PG

Production/Distribution: Netflix, Wonderland Sound and Vision

Director: Nzingha Stewart

Writer: Sam Wolfson

Actors: Ava Michelle, Griffin Gluck, Luke Eisner, Sabrina Carpenter, Paris Berelc, Anjelika Washington, Steve Zahn, Angela Kinsey

Blurb from IMDb: Jodi, the tallest girl in her high school, has always felt uncomfortable in her own skin. But after years of slouching, being made fun of, and avoiding attention at all costs, Jodi finally decides to find the confidence to stand tall.

Selina’s Point of View:

Oh. Oh my. I get the reviews for this one. Tall Girl was awful.

I did have a lot to say about the writing, but it seems like this was Sam Wolfson’s only credit for a full-length feature film… so I’m going to make a lot more allowances for them than I normally would.

Beginners are going to make mistakes. It’s the rule of just about any profession ever. It’s the whole reason why doctors have residencies before being allowed to actually practice. No one wants some greenie going around trying to be House when most people are hitting the ER with a case of bad oysters.

That’s essentially what this was.

It seems as though Wolfson wrote Tall Girl as if it was going to be the next Pretty in Pink (1986). They tried to take this concept way too seriously and wound up with some relatively vapid and depthless characters in an overused, and overdramatized plot.

Taken on its own merits, the story could have been a good one. There was meat to it. It might never have been a classic, but it could have had the building blocks of a go-to coming-of-age film. Instead, it all felt so forced and over-the-top.

Watching it just felt like a chore.

There was one bright spot.

Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key, Why Him?, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island). He wasn’t a scene-stealer. His character was just as shallow as the rest. But his micro-expressions were phenomenal. The only times I felt anything during this movie were when he was on screen.

I’m not familiar with Gluck’s body of work, but I definitely want to be now. He’s an incredible actor. Yes, he was utilized poorly here, but to be stuck in a bad role and still shine? That’s special. 

Cat’s Point of View:

The word on the grapevine was that this movie was a real clunker. I hate to give credence to the rumor-mill before I’ve seen something for myself, though. I really try. I was hoping I would feel differently or find some sort of angle to pitch a good defense for the film. I’m an optimist, it’s just what I do.

Alas, for all of my best efforts to look on the bright side, this movie fell squarely into the basic bitch teen movie category.

Given my own history with bullying, one would think that I could find some level of kinship with the ‘tall girl.’ I spent my early years fending off nicknames of carrot-top, four-eyes, freckle-face, and Annie. I have a distinct memory of finally losing it and yelling at someone ‘that’s not my name!’ So, on one level, I get how seemingly harmless little ‘jokes’ such as the repeated questions of “how’s the weather up there” could get under someone’s skin.

Then they lost me.

It was hard for me to otherwise relate to the characters. Further, for an alleged comedy, I wasn’t doing a lot of laughing.

There was very little original about the story and the way the ending played out was rather trite and disappointing.

I got the message they were trying to send – there was nothing wrong with that. The packaging was just done poorly.

While I wouldn’t watch this movie again, or recommend it to anyone for anything other than an eye-rolling exercise, I was happy to see that the film was set in New Orleans. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 44%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – 3.9/10

IMDB Score – 6.0/10

CinemaScore – None

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating –  2/5

Trust the Dice Parental Advisory Rating – PG

P.S. There's a clip of students dancing during some of the credits. 

  

Movie Trailer: