The Clique

I held very low expectations for this movie, as the book was no where near READABLE to me. For one thing the plot is so unrelatable. How many girls watching this movie are white, "beautiful", rich, mean, and "smart". Umm, can you say NONE? No girl ,that I know of, is as mean and heartless as Massie Block and her pathetic "Sheep Committee". Obviously, the author was going for an exaggerated depiction of what "cool, rich girls who go to Private School" are like. The acting was annoying, amateur, and unbelievable, as are the characters in the book. I find it very painful to watch such a clueless "sweet" little new girl get walked over by a bunch of rude wannabes. I mean, honestly, I think you know when someone isn't your friend. The movie is fairly predictable, and fulfills the low expectation meter. So, I guess if you loved the book, you'll like the movie.

The Clique is by no means a revolutionary movie, in fact when my sister first got the DVD, I immediately avoided it thinking that it would be just like Angus and Thongs, Mean Girls, and Wildchild. A generic, run of the mill film for teenage girls who don't know any better.

Make no mistake, that is exactly what this movie is, however, it does it very well. The characters are extremely easy to identify with, the plot is engaging without being convoluted, and the young actors are extremely talented. I never found myself laughing out loud, but this is definitely a movie which leaves you smiling on the inside.

The film is excellent, and it certainly doesn't try to be what it's not. It sticks to the formula, and pulls it off extremely well. If you're going to see a teenage girl flick, make it this one. -Auskeek

Okay, so the girls from the Pretty Committee may be hard to relate with, the acting may be sub par, and the whole thing might not be realistic but I thought that was the entire point of the film. It presents two kinds of realities--the beautiful, smart, and rich that everyone craves to have (Massie Block) and the dull plain one that most people are in (Claire Lyons). It doesn't really have to be taken literally, point is, they still represented the various cliques that really are present in high school-- the popular ones, the almost there but not quite, the weirdos, and the losers. In a way, Clique is just an incredibly high-end and young version of Tina Fey's Mean Girls. It's not something to watch if you're in need of a life-changing film. This one's fun, but it's definitely a no-brainer.

Spoiled rich girl Massie (an excellent Elizabeth McLaughlin) gets a literal wake up call when her dad announces that their guest house will be occupied by his college buddy and his family. This family includes a daughter named Claire (Ellen Marlow), who is the same age as Massie. Massie, the head of a seventh grade clique called The Pretty Committee, does not like this newcomer at all. A rivalry between the two girls begins. Will they ever be friends?

Although many viewers of this teen movie will surely predict the outcome, it provides enough laughs and drama to please most of the young girls the film is aimed at. I personally felt for Claire, even when she stooped to sending false e-mails to Massie's friends. (Haven't we all done something awful like this that we later regretted?) My favorite member of The Pretty Committee is Alicia (Samantha Boscarino), a shopaholic who is as idiotic as she is beautiful.

The film was based on a series of novels by Lisi Harrison, which I never heard of prior to watching this movie. As with many book to film adaptations, there will always be (probably rightly) those who prefer the book to the movie. Still, to pass on this movie just because it's not like the book would be a crime. There are many movies I saw before reading the book, and after I did read it I became a fan of both versions.

The Clique is definitely worth the 87 minutes it lasts.

Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend.

I don't mind a good romantic comedy, or a coming of age story, but this one is "girly to the max" and clearly on a budget for their actors as (clearly) a lot of the production value went into the sets, locations, wardrobe, and props.

The "we're girls so we're going to be snotty brats to each other" thing is cliche enough in itself, but this was an ongoing war of subterfuge and sociopathic emotionless loyalty based on what each person was gaining, mainly sociable interest. This was exhausting for me to watch, but a 10-14 year old girl might like it, though I doubt she'll understand the technology age (no smartphones or tablets, basically).

The story was weak, though amazingly well balanced between the characters, so I choose to believe that the script bent based on the load it was carrying and not the quality of it's writers. There is actually a lot of nuance and detail in this, even if I found little substance to it.

The casting is very interesting when you look at it, as I recognized 2 of the girls straight away, and 1 a bit later.

Vanessa Marano ("Switched at Birth") is by far the most accomplished tv actress of the bunch (she's done quite a few movies as well), but plays a bit part, which is how I guess she got so accomplished by scoring work in so many projects.

Bridgit Mendler ("Undateable") is a comedy actress that has shorts under her name, and has been in more prominent projects than the others, to include a voice in a the Miazaki movie "The Secret World of Arietty".

Elizabeth McLaughlin ("Grand Hotel") took me longer to recognize as she tends to have bit parts in tv shows, but she's got a big personality which she shows off very well in this, but she's overshadowed in the acting department.

I think Ellen Marlow not only carried this movie, but may be one of the best actors in it. Oddly enough in contrast with McLaughlin (big personality, lower skill), Marlow's meekness of personality in her characters and, unfortunate, plain, but good, look might keep her away from leading lady status on camera. Fortunately she's apparently broadway material, and hearing from those that do both, that there are reasons that people tend to relegate to one or the other.

Ultimately, it's a girly movie (he said with love) and it confuses me, but it's not bad, but it sure isn't great.