39. Review of The Half of It (Dir. Alice Wu, 2020)
It took me a while to get around to watching this film - I just hadn't found myself in the mood to watch a teen dramedy. However, after reading a Twitter post about the writer and director, Alice Wu, I decided to finally give it a go, and I am very glad that I did. The Half of It follows introvert Ellie as she helps Paul, a jock from her school, by ghost writing love letters for him to the most popular girl in school, Aster. The twist is, however, that Ellie herself is also romantically interested in Aster, which sets up for a rollercoaster of a coming of age movie. Alongside the laugh out loud development of Ellie and Pauls friendship, the romantic scenes, and the heart breaking reality of lying to a friend, this film explores some really complex themes surrounding small town mentality, sexuality and religious pressure, academic pressure and planning for the future, and the hardships, stereotyping, and racism faced when immigrating into a small town. I really really loved ...