My roommates and I religiously watch Netflix movies. We have seen some amazing ones, and we’ve seen some atrocities. It’s really a toss-up, but usually, the good ones are based on books. HOWEVER, The Kissing Booth is based on a book and that was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. You can read my review of it and To All The Boys I Loved Before here.
I’ve been in a movie rut, I’ve been scraping the bottom of the movie barrel. I’ve watched some bad and some obscure rom-coms. I’ve seen what feels like everything good on Netflix.
So I was pumped for Tall Girl. I didn’t have high expectations, but I wanted a cute coming of age romance. I was disappointed. Super disappointed.
This post contains spoilers so beware!
The Characters
Jodi was hard to connect with for me. I think because I wanted more character development from her. I wanted her to address the fact that she doesn’t like sports a tall person would enjoy. I wanted her to explain she’s never wanted to be in the spotlight and she’s always in the spotlight as a tall person. I wanted her to address all the reasons she doesn’t like being tall so that it felt like a bigger deal when she overcame her insecurities.
The older sister, (Sabrina Carpenter) felt like a personality disorder case. She was such a chaotic character to watch that it was funny. If that was the point, well done. However, she was pretty much only good for comedic effect.
The minority best friend who loves fashion. It’s overdone, she was fine. I liked her. Her outfits were interesting. I don’t have much to say about her. Moving on.
The guy best friend. Jack aka Dunkleman was a fun character. I really like him. I feel like he is an homage to Ducky from Pretty in Pink. A harmless boy who is crazy in love with his childhood best friend and continually professes his love to her. I love best friend romance, so I’m partial to this storyline. I loved his sense of style, honestly more than the best friend. He looked like a theater boy, but straight. He’s funny and he’s not bad to look at.
The mean girl was annoying and unbelievable. High school can suck, but kids don’t act like that in real life. It was a bit farfetched for me.
Stig the foreign exchange student was comical, possibly offensive, and oscillated between awful and sweet which gave me whiplash. Also, my high school had exchange students and they were not superhuman. They were kind and normal.
The Outfit
I love a girl in a pantsuit. Her pantsuit is also my favorite color. I also love a tall girl in heels. I do not love a ruffled shirt that makes it look like she’s a french prince.
The Ending
The ending was the best part of this whole movie. It almost redeemed it. The fact that Jack is unintimated by Jodi’s height and has been waiting for her to feel the same is sweet at the end. I wish there would have been more of a buildup between Jodi and Jack. I think Jodi is made more likable because of Jack, which is part of that archetype’s appeal. He makes you like the girl more because he thinks she’s wonderful.
Overall, the best part of the movie was Jack as a new and modern take on Ducky who lives on as the classic loving best friend.
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