Lady Bird: Movie Review
Is there really any sympathy to be had for rebellious teenage girls? Well, director Greta Gerwig sure thinks so, in her directorial debut, "Lady Bird".
The film is a coming of age story about a high-school senior (Saoirse Ronan) dealing with family, friends and applying for colleges.
While the story is competent and well done, the boring and almost copy and paste characters are safe to say the least. The "fat" friend, the "gay" friend, the "cool" friend, and all begins to feel familiar after a while. But even the somewhat interesting characters are disjointed, such as Lady Birds father played by Tracy Letts. His clinical depression never rears its head, creating an unsettling inconsistency amongst his various interactions.
But one of the biggest turn offs of the film is as follows: its not funny nor charming. And than we have Lady Birds mother (Laurie Metcalf) who is especially irritating, to a point of no return. Her wanting to be seen as wealthy and upper class is more frustrating than it is fascinating.
The film does does have some solid characters through their familiarity. The closeted Danny (Lucas Hedges) finds a way to bring heart to a movie with a cold soul. Even the subtly fascinating Kyle (Timothee Chalamet) brings a neurotic sadness to the forefront. It's at the very least fun to see somewhat familiar characters get a detailed back story that flips the switch on their stereotypes.
But "Lady Bird" fails to go anywhere. The performances are flat, and the script fails to bring any life to the abundance of characters on screen. While obviously made with care, "Lady Bird" doesn't hold a candle to the masterfully done "Edge Of Seventeen". Go rent that instead.
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