Banana Split

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.

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 is not a chick flick. This is a seriously witty, flirty, sexy observation of teenage years. The chemistry between Marks and Liberato actually sizzles off screen and makes your toes tingle. I could 100% imagine these two as a couple. It's down to nothing other than fabulous acting. I put it on to watch Liberato who I've not seen for some time, and ended up a big fan of the film and the 2 leads. Beautifully done film

Interesting, unique, refreshing and funny. Would recommend.