Stargirl: Anders ist völlig normal

The movie took a good book and removed all the important plot points so it's just a collection of sunsets and singing and weirdly out of place emotional outbursts. The characters lack a depth that seems to have been replaced by quirky outfits, and the movie is insulting to the intelligence of youth using a vernacular that is obviously fabricated by adults. And of course in typical Disney fashion, the movie stars white people set against a backdrop of people of color in a brashly obvious act of tokenization.

Every so often there comes a film or film franchise where people say they can't imagine anyone else in the role, or it's as if the role was meant for them. You know who I'm referring to: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow... the list goes on.

Well, in the midst of the exuberant young career helmed by one Grace VanderWaal (who became an overnight sensation from a talent show with her uplifting lyrics, raw vocal talent and a wooden ukulele), in comes a film whose screenplay is adapted from a 20-year-old novel that hearkens closely to the livelihood of a then 15-year-old girl.

Grace, much like Stargirl (and hereon out I can simply use the pronoun "she" to interchangeably refer to both), has a magic touch: in she comes, out she goes, and everyone is positively affected by her presence and actions. Always humbled, the cogwheels in her head turn differently where she sees light as the spark and answer to all of life's secrets, even if it means that normalcy falls into the wayside of obscurity. She lives in the moment, for the moment. She is never seeking instant gratification, and although she yearns for acceptance, she will not allow herself to be ill-fated by what others deem to groom her to be.

And yet, this film is not even about Stargirl. We see the film through the lens of the other co-star named Leo, who spends the early parts of the film settling for what small role he can blend into in his small school in a small town, all of which are notorious for accomplishing next to nothing. Stargirl's arrival is something of a stroke of magic to some, yet thematically we can all agree that she merely taps the potential that every character instills inside of them.

As far as the movie itself goes, it's pretty decent. It held my attention, and even though it works through minimalistic plot development, it is meant to serve the characters more than anything else. Unfortunately, I think some of the character structure was a bit off with the pacing, and I think the best thing that would have saved it is if this went the way of a TV series instead. I'm fine with it being a film so long as I can feel the passage of time within a few minutes span and fill in any gaps, but otherwise this had some weird off-beat moments.

Anyway, Grace really starts to disappear as Stargirl. When I first heard she was cast for the role, I thought for a while this would be one of those cutesy "Aww, look at little Grace doing her thing in a movie!" moments. Nope, instead she played a character (who could sing and play the uke, but that's okay) and she played it quite strongly. I was proud to see that, and would love to see her in other roles again. They don't always have to be leads and they don't have to involve music, and I would most certainly like to check it out for myself.

Sit back and enjoy this one, but don't expect the world of it. Just let it happen. That's exactly how Grace would want you to watch it, too.

I very much enjoyed this movie, but I never read the book, so I have no idea how true it is to the original. Anyway, some are already complaining Stargirl here is not quirky enough. Others are saying the whole quirkiness thing is old. You can't win. In reality, it seemed a lot of the stuff that was in the book - Stargirls quirky tendencies and the students reactions to it, was simply left out. Maybe you don't like that, but it seemed to make for a less cliched movie to me, one not obsessed with typical teen bullying, mocking the outcasts, etc. Both Stargirl and everyone else were given mostly normal personalities. I expected Hillari Kimbell to be like a typical bully, for example. She absolutely was not, and there was so much dignity to her character. Are Hollywood's bully tropes changing?

Yeah, so the movie Stargirl focuses more on visuals and music rather than on encounters between Stargirl and students. In fact, Stargirl has almost no interaction at all with any students outside of Leo. Be prepared for this as I wasn't. What this means is that Stargirl's popularity and then fall from grace is expressed somewhat obliquely, through football cheers, high fives, or through Leo only. The other students are pretty much invisible as supporters or detractors (save Hillari).

OK, but now on to the love story which dominated the film more than I expected. Leo's backstory was a bit cheesy, but maybe I'm not a porcupine tie kind of guy. Thats OK - otherwise, I very much appreciated his character and how he was grounded in reality unlike Stargirl who's idealism made her prone to making occasional errors in judgement. And Stargirl - this was singer songwriter Grace VanderWaal's film debut - she was wonderful. The vast majority of her time on screen she is engaging, smart, buoyant and childlike in her joy, or just plain mesmerizing. And somehow her pet rat Cinnamon comes to embody her adorable qualities as you will see in one particular early scene. Later, she changes somewhat and you see her sadness and loneliness, as well as stubborn insistence on being herself. At times, it was compelling. Overall, the love story blossomed nicely (after an improbable start (a little too much of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl coming out of nowhere) and both Leo and Stargirl are given plenty of screen time. This was a touching first romance.

Finally, the movie for me peaks midway through as we delve more deeply into Stargirls character and her vulnerabilities are exposed. She tries to conform, but never really shows she knows how to make friends (showing her actually trying to do this might have been good, BTW), something she says she wanted to do. That was sad - I know the experience. It is actually a trait common in autistic people, and possibly Stargirl might have been on the spectrum. So, but this is what made the ending appropriate but also a bit unsatisfying, because she never really got to know any of the people she was dancing with so gleefully. I guess they saw her as a somewhat mystical power rather than a friend. And Leo's ending song just seemed a little of out of character for him. We do not really know what his hopes and dreams were in life other than to reclaim part of his childhood. And as the more grounded character in the relationship, are we as interested in his growth as we are in Stargirls?

Overall, in conclusion much of this movie I didn't expect, but in a good way. In talking about it, I bring up the occasional negatives, but in reality i loved most of it. It was beautiful - visually, musically, and with an unexpected amount of emotional impact. And what are the lasting effects likely to be on Stargirl after her experience at Mica? I doubt she will remember anyone there besides Leo, and what did she take away from that relationship? Hopefully we will find out in a sequel. But I think Leo did teach her a little about the benefits of conforming - it makes the world go a little smoother at times. Its funny, because the movie is suppose to be all about being yourself, but does Stargirl FEAR conforming as it would cause her to lose herself in other people? Would that scare her? These questions and themes were never really explored and they might have been also. Its food for thought.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot - I'm all for cell phones and social media, but is the future of movies going to involve actors and actresses spending a lot of time staring down at their devices??? Help!!

I hadn't really heard much about this movie so I didn't know what to expect.

Since it was in Disney Plus I wasn't sure if it was going to be a Disney channel original or like a cinema release type of movie.

I think it falls in the middle. It has the squeaky cleanness of a DCOM but the production is more a cinematic release.

It was perfectly fine and isn't as bad as say a Netflix teen movie. It was a bit cheesey at parts but it had a lot more heart. And I think that is this movies strongest asset, that it has heart in buckets full.

I love a outcast "weirdo" story and I appreciate that for people who feel the same way it can help them feel validated but I found this characterisation a little too caricature at Times not to say the lead was bad I thought she was really good. It was more the screenplay that made the character do like cartoony actions that I just don't think ring true.

I also think the movie should have focused more on Stargirl and not on the male lead. This should have been her movie but we only follow her through the eyes of him. He could still be in the movie but it should have been focused on her and her life and have her be our main character.

It's perfectly fine so if you have Disney plus you could watch it but i wouldn't buy it solely to watch this.

This film is exactly what you'd expect from a screen adaptation of the Stargirl novel made by Disney and starring Grace Vanderwaal.

It carries over all the issues I have with the novel - the eponymous Stargirl is a supernaturally perfect "manic pixie dream girl" who is too good for this Earth. She exists only to inspire all the students to become quirky and aspirational non-conformists, almost like some sort of religious prophet. Her character is a little toned down from the novel, where she is actively disruptive and does things like saying "United Turtles of America" in the American Pledge of Allegiance. This adjustment makes the film a little more bearable to watch, but it also removes anything genuinely interesting or entertaining about her. Now the only thing that sets her apart is that she has a strange name and wears colourful clothes, which makes me wonder why anyone notices her.

Another issue of the adaptation is the acting and characterisation. Leo has been reduced to a stammering mannequin. Stargirl is just a mannequin. No offense to Grace Vanderwaal; she is a great performer but seemed perpetually dazed when acting. Maybe this is her way of showing how carefree and otherworldly Stargirl is, but to me it just seemed like she was constantly dissociating. Everyone's personality is toned down to the point of one-dimensional blandness.

The Disney production has shaped this movie into a strange style where the plot is constantly contrived and cheesy, yet it is shot as if we are supposed to take it seriously. There are many unrealistic moments that serve only to hit pre-defined plot beats without much of a compelling reason or build-up. Examples include Stargirl's sudden popularity/infamy, many spontaneous musical performances, obligatory romantic focus on protagonist Leo and inexplicable success in the speech competition. In a usual Disney sitcom this would be presented in a stylised comedic way, but here it is imbued with so much lingering pathos that it presents an identity crisis for the very film itself. Do you want to be a deep teen drama with relatable issues or a quirky comedy with over the top characters and events? Make up your mind.

If there's anything good about the film, it's the production values. The cinematography showed the scenery in gorgeous deep tones, the choreography was skillful (if misplaced) and the sets felt like the book's settings come to life with character. It's a shame that this skill was wasted on such an indecisive and contrived adaptation though.