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:
