Ma Meilleure Rivale

In a - hopefully temporary - phase of ethusiasm for teen rom-comedies (about teens! not for teens...) I stumbled into this movie and I have to say it was really good: lighthearted, fresh and funny.

Yeah, nothing really original: a lot of the genre tropes are there... but still mostly done with competence, attention to detail and heart. Which is rare for the genre.

It's not a masterpiece but I don't see how anyone could be disappointed.

Banana split was a nice movie. It's mainly theme centres around the unexpected friendship of the two main characters, a theme that was actually well executed. The performances were good too, with a nice pace to the plot.

Interesting, unique, refreshing and funny. Would recommend.

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.

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.