The Half of It (2020)
Director: Alice Wu
Stars: Leah Lewis, Enrique Murciano, Becky Ann BakerRuntime: 104 minutes
Synopsis: When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock, she doesn't expect to become his friend - or fall for his crush.
Performances: 6/10
Screenplay: 4/10
Editing: 7/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Screenplay: 4/10
Editing: 7/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 4/10
Verdict: Netflix's had a fair share of teen dramas, most of which have been critical flops. Aside from the "To All the Boys" dilogy, which had its qualities but never really stuck with me, and the god-awful "Tall Girl", I managed to stay away from most of the others. When I first heard about "The Half of It", my initial thought was that it was going to be yet another title thrown into that evergrowing list, but the generally positive reactions it received made me reconsider my position, and eventually led me to check it out despite my doubts.
Now I'm not going to lie, I did find the intent behind the story, which served as an exploration of love and sexuality, to be wholesome, and the cinematography to be much more impressive than it usually is in these kinds of movies. But it was sadly the many tropes of high school dramas that made me realize that my fears going in weren't completely unjustifiable. Most of the characters cruelly lacked depth as a result, with some appearing to be used only for the sake of being punchlines to jokes that never landed with me. The structure was predictable, and the narrative for the most part annoyingly cheesy. I found it difficult to be invested in the film's themes despite their important significance, which to me was the biggest let down of a movie that probably won't stay with me in the long term.
Nevertheless, if I had to give a binary rating to the movie, it would still probably be a fresh one. Frankly, its biggest fault is that it was tailored for a different kind of audience than the one I belong in, and I can't in good faith blame it much for it because even then, it had qualities that aren't usually found in films belonging in that same genre.
Now I'm not going to lie, I did find the intent behind the story, which served as an exploration of love and sexuality, to be wholesome, and the cinematography to be much more impressive than it usually is in these kinds of movies. But it was sadly the many tropes of high school dramas that made me realize that my fears going in weren't completely unjustifiable. Most of the characters cruelly lacked depth as a result, with some appearing to be used only for the sake of being punchlines to jokes that never landed with me. The structure was predictable, and the narrative for the most part annoyingly cheesy. I found it difficult to be invested in the film's themes despite their important significance, which to me was the biggest let down of a movie that probably won't stay with me in the long term.
Nevertheless, if I had to give a binary rating to the movie, it would still probably be a fresh one. Frankly, its biggest fault is that it was tailored for a different kind of audience than the one I belong in, and I can't in good faith blame it much for it because even then, it had qualities that aren't usually found in films belonging in that same genre.
FINAL GRADE: 5/10
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