Girl Flu.

Very cut and dry. I couldn't even get a half an hour into the movie. I felt like I was in middle school all over again.

This is certainly unusual, a film made by a woman in which the bad guys are women and both the main male characters are sensitive, unselfish paragons, who do and say the right thing every single time. Weird, and not that convincing.

It's well enough acted across the board, has a decent script, and I really wanted to like it because the young actress playing Bird gives an excellent performance, and really brings home how shocking and dispiriting this experience can be, especially first time around. But every time I started to get fully into this, the film cut away to yet another scene of the ghastly selfish mother character behaving unreasonably, while her boyfriend listens calmly, patiently trying to explain to her what reasonable means. Why would anyone even bother?

The two males, the mother's boyfriend and the boy who wants to be friends with Bird, are both too good to be true, the mother thinks everything is about her (literally) and unfortunately, the director seems to agree with her. In the end I didn't have the patience for all the repetition, but if you can put up with the mother's boring antics, you may find this worthwhile.

This film is one of a kind. I didn't realize it before, but there is a severe lack of films that take on menstruation, especially in such an honest way. Typically, periods are used as a gag or a gimmick, if even mentioned at all. Surely this relates back to the lack of representation for women in filmmaking. Lucky for us, Dorie Barton tackles periods for what they are, an important part of every girl's life.

Girl Flu follows 12 year old Bird as she gets her first period (in front of her classmates, might I add). Embarrassed and understandably confused, she turns to her mom for help. Her mom, however, is the least responsible of the two, sort of a stoner, and has a knack for making everything about herself. As Bird tries to come to terms with this new chapter of her life, her mom (Jenny) is busy trying to piece her own life together. The dynamic between the two is perfectly portrayed.

This film is beautifully shot, written, and directed with an incredible cast led by Jade Pettyjohn who delivers a brilliant performance as Bird. Katee Sackhoff takes what would usually be an unlikeable character (Jenny) and turns her into a woman that we can all relate to (at least on some level). Jeremy Sisto is also amazing as Arlo, Jenny's boyfriend and voice of reason. I also want to mention the other young cast members, Diego Josef (Carlos) and Isabella Acres (Rachel), on their wonderful performances as Bird's love interest and Bird's sworn enemy.

To sum it up, Girl Flu is a refreshing coming-of-age film that's funny, real, and so damn lovable. Thank you Dorie Barton for taking every girl's story and turning it into a beautiful piece of art.