IMDb plot summary: 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.
Directed by Alice Wu. Starring Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire.
The Half of It is a modern YA retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, centering on a teenager named Ellie who has a crush on the pastor's daughter but is too shy to say anything, so she helps a friendly classmate who's not good with words woo her instead. Cyrano is one of my all-time favorite stories. Unrequited crushes were the story of my teenage years, and I always connect so hard with the longing sense of "maybe you'd like me if you really knew me but probably not." I instantly rooted for Ellie. She's such a beautifully crafted character, and Leah Lewis plays her with such love. The drama and sweetness of this movie absolutely kept me hooked the whole way through. The main complaint I have is that, sadly, the mutual love interest seems super underdeveloped as a character, so much so that I kept half-wondering if the movie was going to end with Ellie getting together with the boy who also loved that character, since their friendship got much more compelling scenes. Ultimately, I think the movie *is* about their friendship more than about Ellie's love life, which I do think lands, even if it minimizes the romance a little bit more than I wanted it to. But that's a small complaint. Overall it's a charming movie and well worth a watch.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Half of It > Vampyr
The Half of It > Anna Karenina
The Half of It < Secretary
The Half of It > The Farewell
The Half of It > Clerks.
The Half of It < Pink Floyd The Wall
The Half of It < The Royal Tenenbaums
The Half of It < 21 Jump Street
The Half of It > Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Half of It > Deadpool
The Half of It < The Sessions
Final spot: #571 out of 3730, or 85%.
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