Stargirl

One of the great ironies of this film is that the choreography was done by Mandy Moore who, not so long ago, would herself have been starring in this "vehicle." That said, VanderWaal, a legit child phenom if ever there was, acquits herself well in an under-stated performance, doing most of her numbers almost acapella. The film starts slow with no gimmicks and builds nicely. VanderWaal does indeed have a future in film. If she wants one.

I very much enjoyed this movie, but I never read the book, so I have no idea how true it is to the original. Anyway, some are already complaining Stargirl here is not quirky enough. Others are saying the whole quirkiness thing is old. You can't win. In reality, it seemed a lot of the stuff that was in the book - Stargirls quirky tendencies and the students reactions to it, was simply left out. Maybe you don't like that, but it seemed to make for a less cliched movie to me, one not obsessed with typical teen bullying, mocking the outcasts, etc. Both Stargirl and everyone else were given mostly normal personalities. I expected Hillari Kimbell to be like a typical bully, for example. She absolutely was not, and there was so much dignity to her character. Are Hollywood's bully tropes changing?

Yeah, so the movie Stargirl focuses more on visuals and music rather than on encounters between Stargirl and students. In fact, Stargirl has almost no interaction at all with any students outside of Leo. Be prepared for this as I wasn't. What this means is that Stargirl's popularity and then fall from grace is expressed somewhat obliquely, through football cheers, high fives, or through Leo only. The other students are pretty much invisible as supporters or detractors (save Hillari).

OK, but now on to the love story which dominated the film more than I expected. Leo's backstory was a bit cheesy, but maybe I'm not a porcupine tie kind of guy. Thats OK - otherwise, I very much appreciated his character and how he was grounded in reality unlike Stargirl who's idealism made her prone to making occasional errors in judgement. And Stargirl - this was singer songwriter Grace VanderWaal's film debut - she was wonderful. The vast majority of her time on screen she is engaging, smart, buoyant and childlike in her joy, or just plain mesmerizing. And somehow her pet rat Cinnamon comes to embody her adorable qualities as you will see in one particular early scene. Later, she changes somewhat and you see her sadness and loneliness, as well as stubborn insistence on being herself. At times, it was compelling. Overall, the love story blossomed nicely (after an improbable start (a little too much of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl coming out of nowhere) and both Leo and Stargirl are given plenty of screen time. This was a touching first romance.

Finally, the movie for me peaks midway through as we delve more deeply into Stargirls character and her vulnerabilities are exposed. She tries to conform, but never really shows she knows how to make friends (showing her actually trying to do this might have been good, BTW), something she says she wanted to do. That was sad - I know the experience. It is actually a trait common in autistic people, and possibly Stargirl might have been on the spectrum. So, but this is what made the ending appropriate but also a bit unsatisfying, because she never really got to know any of the people she was dancing with so gleefully. I guess they saw her as a somewhat mystical power rather than a friend. And Leo's ending song just seemed a little of out of character for him. We do not really know what his hopes and dreams were in life other than to reclaim part of his childhood. And as the more grounded character in the relationship, are we as interested in his growth as we are in Stargirls?

Overall, in conclusion much of this movie I didn't expect, but in a good way. In talking about it, I bring up the occasional negatives, but in reality i loved most of it. It was beautiful - visually, musically, and with an unexpected amount of emotional impact. And what are the lasting effects likely to be on Stargirl after her experience at Mica? I doubt she will remember anyone there besides Leo, and what did she take away from that relationship? Hopefully we will find out in a sequel. But I think Leo did teach her a little about the benefits of conforming - it makes the world go a little smoother at times. Its funny, because the movie is suppose to be all about being yourself, but does Stargirl FEAR conforming as it would cause her to lose herself in other people? Would that scare her? These questions and themes were never really explored and they might have been also. Its food for thought.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot - I'm all for cell phones and social media, but is the future of movies going to involve actors and actresses spending a lot of time staring down at their devices??? Help!!

Every so often there comes a film or film franchise where people say they can't imagine anyone else in the role, or it's as if the role was meant for them. You know who I'm referring to: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow... the list goes on.

Well, in the midst of the exuberant young career helmed by one Grace VanderWaal (who became an overnight sensation from a talent show with her uplifting lyrics, raw vocal talent and a wooden ukulele), in comes a film whose screenplay is adapted from a 20-year-old novel that hearkens closely to the livelihood of a then 15-year-old girl.

Grace, much like Stargirl (and hereon out I can simply use the pronoun "she" to interchangeably refer to both), has a magic touch: in she comes, out she goes, and everyone is positively affected by her presence and actions. Always humbled, the cogwheels in her head turn differently where she sees light as the spark and answer to all of life's secrets, even if it means that normalcy falls into the wayside of obscurity. She lives in the moment, for the moment. She is never seeking instant gratification, and although she yearns for acceptance, she will not allow herself to be ill-fated by what others deem to groom her to be.

And yet, this film is not even about Stargirl. We see the film through the lens of the other co-star named Leo, who spends the early parts of the film settling for what small role he can blend into in his small school in a small town, all of which are notorious for accomplishing next to nothing. Stargirl's arrival is something of a stroke of magic to some, yet thematically we can all agree that she merely taps the potential that every character instills inside of them.

As far as the movie itself goes, it's pretty decent. It held my attention, and even though it works through minimalistic plot development, it is meant to serve the characters more than anything else. Unfortunately, I think some of the character structure was a bit off with the pacing, and I think the best thing that would have saved it is if this went the way of a TV series instead. I'm fine with it being a film so long as I can feel the passage of time within a few minutes span and fill in any gaps, but otherwise this had some weird off-beat moments.

Anyway, Grace really starts to disappear as Stargirl. When I first heard she was cast for the role, I thought for a while this would be one of those cutesy "Aww, look at little Grace doing her thing in a movie!" moments. Nope, instead she played a character (who could sing and play the uke, but that's okay) and she played it quite strongly. I was proud to see that, and would love to see her in other roles again. They don't always have to be leads and they don't have to involve music, and I would most certainly like to check it out for myself.

Sit back and enjoy this one, but don't expect the world of it. Just let it happen. That's exactly how Grace would want you to watch it, too.

Leo Borlock moves to a small Arizona town with his mother after his father's death. His new school is a place lacking in hope which is highlighted by the school's empty trophy case. He joins the marching band and has his group of nerdy friends. One day, homeschooler Stargirl Caraway (Grace VanderWaal) joins his class. He falls for her immediately and her quirky hopefulness infects the entire school.

I have to admit that I thought this has something to do with the DC character. That went away quickly as I watched the movie. Then I hoped that this has something to do with Starman. That would have been interesting but not to be the case. So we march on. This is a rather standard coming-of-age teen movie with a rather standard manic pixie dream girl. It is not something to be hated. The kids are adorable. I don't know anything about Grace VanderWaal. I watched a couple of America's Got Talent episodes but not her's. She has a sincerity which is very endearing in a manic pixie dream girl and her singing has the same sincerity. The boy is equally endearing. They make this movie endearing. I do have to say that the drama isn't that well written. I do not like that the whole school turned on her over leaving the game. It needs setting up. It needs magic. It needs fantasy. The whole school needs to be under her spell. It comes late to the game. Flowers need to be sprouting under her feet. Song birds need to be dressing her in the morning. That turn needs help and also it needs to be shown not told. On the other hand, I like the bike idea and that's an easier concept to make the dramatic turn. It is more internal and more about her character. It is grounded and it doesn't need the big setup. It does need the little brother. Quite frankly, it fits. It fits the birthday ties. It fits her and it doesn't need fantasy. I'm not going to claim that this is breaking any new ground. VanderWaal could have an interesting career although I don't know if she is going to breakout. This is a nice Disney movie for the whole family.

The movie took a good book and removed all the important plot points so it's just a collection of sunsets and singing and weirdly out of place emotional outbursts. The characters lack a depth that seems to have been replaced by quirky outfits, and the movie is insulting to the intelligence of youth using a vernacular that is obviously fabricated by adults. And of course in typical Disney fashion, the movie stars white people set against a backdrop of people of color in a brashly obvious act of tokenization.