Banana Split

Good watch, might watch again, and can recommend if you're considering it.

The "feel" of the movie reminds me a lot of "Booksmart", but almost more "versus" than "cooperative", if that makes sense to you.

I'm a big fan of Hannah Marks, and less so of Liana Liberato, and while the focus is typically on April, it really felt like they should have been cast in each others's roles, and it's not like Liberato can't carry a lead role. The roles just didn't feel intuitive, and the movie does one of those things where I feel like it's trying to tell me who's hotter, and (for me) Hannah Marks makes more sense as the "hot new thing", and she's the stronger personality. But that's probably why she has the lead here.

It was also frustrating to watch the characters do "stupid high schoolers with too many options" mistakes over and over, letting such a jerk control any level of validation in their lives, and I suppose that's the point that I'm missing is how to relate to it as a young woman that can't control what her wants are, even if they are bad for her.

I have similar stupid things I did when I was younger as a guy, and I think that's what frustrated me. The point in saying any of that is that that "frustration" is what takes this movie from potentially great to a more average viewing experience.

While it's a fine movie, with good characters, acting, and writing, it doesn't feel uplifting or hopeful, the "intensity in battle" is social in nature and not what I'm looking for in a movie, but that doesn't mean that others won't like this much more than me.

It took a while to get a release for this movie and after watching it I was surprised because I did't expect that much. It is a fun movie. It asks a simple but interesting question. Can the girlfriend and the ex-girlfriend of the same guy be friends? Of course it about more than that. It is a coming of age story. It is about friendship, the value of honesty the fear of growing up and all that good stuff.

Is it predictable, yes it is. But this is not "Inception" so there is nothing wrong with having a plot where things play out like they usually do in order get the message across.

It has two falws. II never believe the relationship of Hannah Marks and Dylan Sprouse. They have no chemistry together so they either hated each other on set or loved each other which often makes for bad chemistry. Sprouse actually is actually the weak link of the four "friends".

For me those two are the only flaws and they don't matter that much because it is mostly about Hannah Marks and Liana Liberato. And their chemistry is great. I believe their friendship and they make this movie fun to watch.

This is a good movie about two teenage girls developing what could become one of the important friendships of their lives. But there is a major wrinkle which could blow up this budding relationship. Clara is dating Nick, April's ex and April still has strong feelings for him. The best and most convincing stretch of the movie is the segment in which April's feelings of jealous rage slowly and unwillingly morph into the realization that Clara is really cool and nice and has more in common with April than anyone else she has ever met. So the girls become best friends and try to keep this secret from Nick. This seems unlikely to work at all in the age of social media, but at the director's Q&A, he said that the film, written by Hannah Marks, who plays April, was in fact semi-autobiographical.

I have to start by saying that Banana Split feels unoriginal and like something I've seen many times before. I'm not all that interested in teen dramas in the first place, so they have to do something truly special to stand out for me. This one is a mildly entertaining retread of relationship dramas that get pumped out by movie studios every year, probably in an effort to appeal to the teenage demographic. There was one aspect of the film that I truly enjoyed, though, and that was the friendship between the two girls. There's something so charming and playful about their relationship, and it is so seldom that we get to see movies which simply focus on friends being friends. I was so enamored with this part of the film that it was a big letdown when the boy returned to the story and it all devolved into the same old love triangle nonsense that is played out in countless teen movies. The actresses did a good job in Banana Split, and I liked the way these two diverse personalities found a common ground that united them. I wouldn't be annoyed if I were to re-watch Banana Split, and I'm sure some people might enjoy it a lot, but it's not a movie that I will seek out ever again.

This story is a lot of fun. It shows four friends going through highs and lows. The two girls are really likable, and their friendship is very convincing. I find this film infectiously fun, and brings smiles on my face.