En détresse

The very overrated 2004 flick "Mean Girls" was praised by critics for its "biting" and "accurate" portrayal of clique-y high school girls. Please, "Mean Girls" is so tame, so glossy it should have been called "'Valley Girl' with PMS". Just a year after "Mean Girls"'s release, Lifetime released "Odd Girl Out", a terrifying tragic tale of adolescent cruelty. Based on Rachel Simmons's nonfiction book of the same name, "Odd Girl Out" is a stylized but painfully realistic look at how teenage girls will attack each other not with four-letter words or fists, but with rumors, dirty looks, and any form of underhanded bullying. "Odd Girl Out" reveals the 21st century's newest form of torment: cyber-bullying.

Our protagonist Vanessa (Alexa Vega, "Spy Kids") is an A-student comfortably situated in her popular clique of friends. When fair weather friend Niki (played by appropriately unattractive Elizabeth Rice) becomes jealous of Vanessa's social standing, she decides to take her down a peg by turning Vanessa's shallow best friend Stacy (Leah Pipes) against her and spreading hateful rumors and gossip. Gossip turns into thinly veiled insults ("That tray looks really heavy," one girl sneers at Vanessa during lunch), which in turn become relentless abuse (a web site dedicated to insulting Vanessa is put up). Vanessa tries her best to ignore this undeserved mistreatment, but the emotional pain becomes too much for her to bear. Vanessa's self-esteem and life begin to crumble, and her mother (Lisa Vidal) desperately struggles to help her anguished daughter.

As someone who was picked on (albeit not as badly) in middle school, I must say this movie is right on the mark. This is really how middle school girls behave: they'll simply choose their victim and attack at random. No rhyme, no reason, they are driven by their own self-absorption and insecurities. I'll admit it, "Odd Girl Out" made me cry for myself, for poor Vanessa, and anyone else who was victimized at that age. Vega is astonishingly good as Vanessa, who is forced to go through pure hell scene after scene. You really see the desperation and loneliness reflected in her sad brown eyes. Vidal is also in fine form as Vanessa's loving but somewhat clueless mom. Rice, Pipes, and Alecia Moore are realistic as the pack of former friends who torture Vanessa.

Some people complain that "Odd Girl Out" plays too much like a horror movie. Anyone who agrees with that sentiment obviously never attended public middle school.

I usually have much fun in deriding all of the bad Lifetime movies that my wife watches all the time. I caught this one about 15 minutes in, and kept watching too. It was pretty good. The acting is decent, and the director and writer do a good job of spacing out and escalating the bullying that the girl endures. I thought it was also good how the main character, as she keeps getting bullied, continues to try to find a way back into her crowd. Because, it's realistic. People put up with all kinds of crap to get accepted into a clique. And, the mom's performance was solid too, realizing too late but trying everything she could be figure out why her daughter was getting more and more upset. Good flick. I'd watch it again.

I watched this movie the first night it was shown on lifetime....and I cried....I am Vanessa....I am an odd girl out....I have been made fun of...humiliated....teased.....and every single thing that Vanessa went through/ did I have went through and I have done....I think everything in this movie was done perfectly. It shows girls that high school is hell and you have to know how to deal with it. Girls are mean and they will be mean no matter what...I am a senior in high school with less than 3 months left and people still start with me for no reason and try to bring me down. I was amazed at this movie and I think every teenage girl should watch this. Especially those that bully/tease....they need to realize that they are NOT perfect what so ever...and that all of the teasing they do can have horrible effects. It wont stop any of them...but maybe they would be a little less harsh or at least have some sympathy.

I have always been intrigued by the fact that a school in general consists of two separate realities:the more or less controlled environment of the classroom and the unknown reality of what goes on between students once they are not supervised by their teachers. As a former educator myself, I can assure you that life at school for certain young people can be a living hell.Pestering occurs at every level: kindergarten kids who physically threaten their classmates in order to obtain candy, high-school students who desperately seek excuses as to avoid the humiliation and isolation they experience during recreation not to mention the subtle intrigues that occur at a university level."Humans" in general apparently have a genetically determined urge to reinforce their own feelings of self esteem by preying on easy victims. It is therefore of the utmost importance that parents be aware of the cruel reality that often exists in schools and pay close attention to any alarming change in attitude or conduct on the part of their children. "Odd Girl Out", sadly enough, is a brilliant account of events that are closer to reality than one initially would be willing to believe.Very convincing acting by Alexa Vega as the tormented youngster and Lisa Vidal as the anguished mother

Odd Girl Out is probably one to of the most realistic movies made-for-teens\pre-teens out there. I have seen She's Too Young, Mean Girls, etc, but this is the best. It is about a girl Vanessa who is one of the top popular girls in her school. Her life is great- she's got straight A's,she's on the school soccer team, and her best friend Stacy by her side. Everything is great- except for her friend Nikki. Slowly, but surely Nikki begins to build a web of lies, taunts, and rumors about Nikki. She tells Stacy that Vanessa is trying to steal her "boyfriend", and Vanessa goes from the popular table to the loser table. Nikki, Stacy, Emily, the Nikki replaced clone, and other girls begin to tear apart Vanessa's life-taunting her, calling her fat, and playing mind games on her. Soon Vanessa becomes depressed and goes desperate to claim her throne in the popular crowd once again.

This movie was so good! Except for the dim lighting and the that rap they had in there it was great. Leah Pipes and Alicia Morton played such good roles I"ll never be able to watch Disney movies the same way again. Alexa Vega was great and played a believable thirteen year old, unlike Leah Pipes who was a little too old for the movie.

Overall, it's a great movie! I think anyone between the ages 12-15 should watch it!