Meu Primeiro Amor - Parte 2

My Girl is iconic. Who remembers the sequel made a few years later? It didn't work like the original one did. I'm not saying that this is a bad film, because it isn't at all. It just lacked in any real emotional connection that the first one had. This seemed to almost force-feed and recycle what worked in the original.

It is now the spring of 1974. Vada's interests in boys is rising and her maturity is growing since we last saw her. She was a spunky tomboy in the first one, but now she's more serious and lively, but still maintains the spunk and jazz that made Vada, Vada. She isn't much different from the last time we saw her, but there is still a believable change. Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis are also a tad different. People change, people grow.

Just before March Break, Vada is assigned to write a report about someone she admires but has never met. She decides to do it on her mother. She sees it as a chance to know more about herself and gain her own independence. She badgers her father into flying to Los Angeles, which was where her mother grew up, to do research. She stays with her uncle (Richard Masur) who is living with Rose and Nick Zsigmond. Nick is played by Austin O'Brien who becomes Vada's childhood romance. At first, they don't get along, but then something grows. O'Brien was really good as Nick. Anybody that trashes him are wrong. Unfortunately, he's no Macaulay Culkin. Culkin is the better actor with more charm and Thomas J was better than Nick. In this, is seems that Vada and Nick are just a fling that will end just as she returns home. But her relationship with Thomas J was magical and it felt like it would last forever. Her explorations to get to know her mother are all fun and adventurous with the little romance at the backdrop. I liked the adventure aspect, but it wasn't a whole lot interesting.

The acting by all (mainly Chlumsky) are perfect. But it lost the emotional impact and self discovery that made the original so great. Sure Vada finds out more about herself, but it doesn't impact the viewer much. Plus, the magic from the first was lost. Magic is the only suitable word for this. The emotional impact is rather low too. I have mixed bags with this.

Either download it or buy the double feature. If you already have the first, no need for this.

2.5/4

The original "My Girl" from 1991 was a quality drama about a 10 year-old girl experiencing tragic death. In "My Girl 2" she's now 13 and goes to Southern California to learn about her mother she never knew. Her companion is played by Austin O'Brien. Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis play her father and stepmother while Richard Masur and Christine Ebersole co-star as her uncle and potential aunt. The beautiful Angeline Ball has a small role as her mother in flashbacks.

This is just a solid drama, as good or better than the original. The adventures of the two 13 year-olds as they go from person to person searching for information about Vada's mother compels the story along. The people they meet are colorful or interesting. The peripheral subplots are good too, like will the Uncle propose to Rose or allow some rich dude with a Jaguar to snatch her up?

The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles, California, including Topanga Canyon.

GRADE: B

I love My Girl, it is very charming and poignant, and as far as sequels go, My Girl 2 is good but not great. It is disappointing compared to My Girl, but it was decent and could have been a lot worse. The script does fall into cheese occasionally, the story is predictable, some of the direction lacks tightness and the pace is dull in the middle.

However, My Girl 2 is beautiful to watch with lovely scenery and pleasant photography, and the soundtrack is pleasant on the ears. The acting also helps, Anna Chlumsky broke my heart in My Girl and she is just as charming and poignant. Austin O'Brien shows an able chemistry with her, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd are also solid. The film also has an atmosphere that keeps true to My Girl, making some scenes that strived to be heart-breaking genuinely so.

Overall, it wasn't a great movie like the first My Girl but I liked it for the performances. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Yes, I know "My Girl 2" was a sequel. Yes, I know it is hard to follow the first movie. But the reason why I love this movie is because of the way we see Vada Sultenfuss has changed over the course of a few years. I loved seeing the sweet, innocent Vada become more of an adult & still remain likeable as a character. I also love Austin O'Brien in this movie; to date, he has not been in anything memorable, but I think the role of Nick was suited for him. I do find the relationship they have somewhat disenchanting, but it was what I was waiting for the whole movie. I think the plot was an interesting one, and Maggie Muldovan made this movie. It is, as another reviewer remarked, worth it to watch the movie countless times just to hear her sing "Smile." I love all of this movie, though, so I would advise seeing it.

I don't know what to say: i just really liked this movie. I even cried :-o Maybe I am just cheesie or too romantic, but what the heck.... In my eyes, the main storyline is not the search for the mother, but the discovery of those first loving feelings, the changing of the body, the transformation from childhood to adolescence, in short: it is a story about growing up. Something we all have gone through....its such a "feeling good" film: all people are friendly, there are no sorrows...

It gets a 7/10 (which is a lot coming from me, believe me)