Jessica Darling's It List

It's not particularly realistic, and has all the depth of a lame Disney Channel sitcom, but the film is not without its charms. The direction is fast-paced and dedicated to the telling of the story, and the perfomers, especially the leads, are talented, age-appropriate (no 30 year-olds posing as teens), and attractive. There are worse ways to waste your time with your kids.

Come on! This is an underrated film for sure. There are lots of children's films that are totally unrealistic. Well, there's no excuse for this film as well. But the thing is it was not like those ones. I'm talking about the clichés. When a film talks about a kid and his/her school life, like to be famous, they tend to do anything to accomplish that. So in this, the girl has her own 'to do' list, that's where the story kicks off.

Jessica is a below average girl when it comes to mix with the rest of the school. But she's good at studies and physically fit. Her new attempt to get along with everything like her best friend, Brie, is now a big task of her life. Following the footsteps of her older sister, becoming a cheerleader is the first obstacle. How she fares it and other developments in the tale comes in the latter parts.

The film was like 80 minutes long. The storyline was very simple and familiar. But the scenes were slightly fresher. I mean when I thought there will be mean girls in it, it avoided that. Similarly, jealousy, rivalry, the film sidelined them with limits. And ended positively. That's why it was a short and beautiful film. The actors were so good. Emma Ryne looks like a kid version of Blake Lively. I hope they would have a bright future. But I definitely want a sequel. If possible, turn it into a television series. This was based on the novel series, so there are lots tell about Jessica Darling.

8/10

For a film so heavily interested in female success, apparently, the story sure doesn't care about a diverse and more realistic representation of young and old women. The amount of hate girls give eachother and lack of support from the mother and older sister is tragic and rather painful to witness. We almost feel sorry for Jessica. She is so embedded in her circumstances she cannot find a way out of this problematic narrative. And altough she is surrounded by much more horrid personalities, Jessica remains quite bland and lacks to fulfill a satisfying character arc.

The junior high experience is heavily prominent, with characters barely existing outside of school, including the adults. But it only raises questions about the cultural message of this film. What is this hierarchical social order. Shouldn't we aim to dismantle the problematic structural issues embedded in the Western society instead of promoting them so obscenely?

What are the adults in this story? They have the emotional and mental capacity of a 15 year old, and that's being generous.

The end leaves you with a rather unpleasant aftertaste. You might as well join Jessica and faint multiple times to shake off this bitterness that comes from watching this miserable film. Please dont show it to your kids it may encourage constant fainting and need to hit ones head and possibly collapse.

...I wasn't very into the characters. The plot is average but they still managed to deliver. There were also some funny moments. The movie is watchable, but don't expect too much.

This movie you should show to you kid's. My thoughts behind this statement are as follows. During the film there are multiple points were I thought, "This is not what real life is like at all. Not one living soul has ever had these experiences". Now you may be asking yourself, "why are you recommending this to my child" there is one answer, to confuse the ever loving heck out of em. No one knows how school is going to be like. I didn't so they shouldn't either.