Jessica Darling's It List

For a film so heavily interested in female success, apparently, the story sure doesn't care about a diverse and more realistic representation of young and old women. The amount of hate girls give eachother and lack of support from the mother and older sister is tragic and rather painful to witness. We almost feel sorry for Jessica. She is so embedded in her circumstances she cannot find a way out of this problematic narrative. And altough she is surrounded by much more horrid personalities, Jessica remains quite bland and lacks to fulfill a satisfying character arc.

The junior high experience is heavily prominent, with characters barely existing outside of school, including the adults. But it only raises questions about the cultural message of this film. What is this hierarchical social order. Shouldn't we aim to dismantle the problematic structural issues embedded in the Western society instead of promoting them so obscenely?

What are the adults in this story? They have the emotional and mental capacity of a 15 year old, and that's being generous.

The end leaves you with a rather unpleasant aftertaste. You might as well join Jessica and faint multiple times to shake off this bitterness that comes from watching this miserable film. Please dont show it to your kids it may encourage constant fainting and need to hit ones head and possibly collapse.

Although it has funny moments, the end result ends up being mediocre.

Come on! This is an underrated film for sure. There are lots of children's films that are totally unrealistic. Well, there's no excuse for this film as well. But the thing is it was not like those ones. I'm talking about the clichés. When a film talks about a kid and his/her school life, like to be famous, they tend to do anything to accomplish that. So in this, the girl has her own 'to do' list, that's where the story kicks off.

Jessica is a below average girl when it comes to mix with the rest of the school. But she's good at studies and physically fit. Her new attempt to get along with everything like her best friend, Brie, is now a big task of her life. Following the footsteps of her older sister, becoming a cheerleader is the first obstacle. How she fares it and other developments in the tale comes in the latter parts.

The film was like 80 minutes long. The storyline was very simple and familiar. But the scenes were slightly fresher. I mean when I thought there will be mean girls in it, it avoided that. Similarly, jealousy, rivalry, the film sidelined them with limits. And ended positively. That's why it was a short and beautiful film. The actors were so good. Emma Ryne looks like a kid version of Blake Lively. I hope they would have a bright future. But I definitely want a sequel. If possible, turn it into a television series. This was based on the novel series, so there are lots tell about Jessica Darling.

8/10

...I wasn't very into the characters. The plot is average but they still managed to deliver. There were also some funny moments. The movie is watchable, but don't expect too much.

I find the vast majority of the movies produced for the preteen crowd to be unbearably bad - most I can never make it to the end of - but this one is watchable enough that I've seen it more than once. It's not a masterpiece, but in its genre, it's definitely one of the better ones.

The cast is cute and age-appropriate for their roles, and the goofier sidekicks are fun. The actors fit their roles, and even though some of the characters are over-the-top in a way you'll only find in kids' movies, even the cheerleader and popular-girl/guy types have more to them.

Based on a book series, the movie has heaps of American teen themes, but things are messier and more complicated than in most of these shows. There are the stereotypes, sure, but friendships grow and change - and sometimes end. I liked the realistic aspect that some things just aren't meant to last as you grow up. I remember well that was the age when everything changed for everyone I knew.

The ending was great. Things don't have to work out the way you want them to. Sometimes better things happen.