Stargirl

One of the great ironies of this film is that the choreography was done by Mandy Moore who, not so long ago, would herself have been starring in this "vehicle." That said, VanderWaal, a legit child phenom if ever there was, acquits herself well in an under-stated performance, doing most of her numbers almost acapella. The film starts slow with no gimmicks and builds nicely. VanderWaal does indeed have a future in film. If she wants one.

Every so often there comes a film or film franchise where people say they can't imagine anyone else in the role, or it's as if the role was meant for them. You know who I'm referring to: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow... the list goes on.

Well, in the midst of the exuberant young career helmed by one Grace VanderWaal (who became an overnight sensation from a talent show with her uplifting lyrics, raw vocal talent and a wooden ukulele), in comes a film whose screenplay is adapted from a 20-year-old novel that hearkens closely to the livelihood of a then 15-year-old girl.

Grace, much like Stargirl (and hereon out I can simply use the pronoun "she" to interchangeably refer to both), has a magic touch: in she comes, out she goes, and everyone is positively affected by her presence and actions. Always humbled, the cogwheels in her head turn differently where she sees light as the spark and answer to all of life's secrets, even if it means that normalcy falls into the wayside of obscurity. She lives in the moment, for the moment. She is never seeking instant gratification, and although she yearns for acceptance, she will not allow herself to be ill-fated by what others deem to groom her to be.

And yet, this film is not even about Stargirl. We see the film through the lens of the other co-star named Leo, who spends the early parts of the film settling for what small role he can blend into in his small school in a small town, all of which are notorious for accomplishing next to nothing. Stargirl's arrival is something of a stroke of magic to some, yet thematically we can all agree that she merely taps the potential that every character instills inside of them.

As far as the movie itself goes, it's pretty decent. It held my attention, and even though it works through minimalistic plot development, it is meant to serve the characters more than anything else. Unfortunately, I think some of the character structure was a bit off with the pacing, and I think the best thing that would have saved it is if this went the way of a TV series instead. I'm fine with it being a film so long as I can feel the passage of time within a few minutes span and fill in any gaps, but otherwise this had some weird off-beat moments.

Anyway, Grace really starts to disappear as Stargirl. When I first heard she was cast for the role, I thought for a while this would be one of those cutesy "Aww, look at little Grace doing her thing in a movie!" moments. Nope, instead she played a character (who could sing and play the uke, but that's okay) and she played it quite strongly. I was proud to see that, and would love to see her in other roles again. They don't always have to be leads and they don't have to involve music, and I would most certainly like to check it out for myself.

Sit back and enjoy this one, but don't expect the world of it. Just let it happen. That's exactly how Grace would want you to watch it, too.

Almost like the story itself, Grace (Stargirl) is a spark of character and wonder surrounded by average characters and directing.

I've met people like Stargirl in the real world, and it is amazing how much one person can transform everyone around them. And when they're gone, the magic escapes. This film tried to portray that but sometimes dumbed it down to be a little too literal. It also made a couple character leaps, especially in the second act that just didn't sit right, they were poorly timed or portrayed.

Overall, solid effort. And great start for Grace in an acting career.

This film is exactly what you'd expect from a screen adaptation of the Stargirl novel made by Disney and starring Grace Vanderwaal.

It carries over all the issues I have with the novel - the eponymous Stargirl is a supernaturally perfect "manic pixie dream girl" who is too good for this Earth. She exists only to inspire all the students to become quirky and aspirational non-conformists, almost like some sort of religious prophet. Her character is a little toned down from the novel, where she is actively disruptive and does things like saying "United Turtles of America" in the American Pledge of Allegiance. This adjustment makes the film a little more bearable to watch, but it also removes anything genuinely interesting or entertaining about her. Now the only thing that sets her apart is that she has a strange name and wears colourful clothes, which makes me wonder why anyone notices her.

Another issue of the adaptation is the acting and characterisation. Leo has been reduced to a stammering mannequin. Stargirl is just a mannequin. No offense to Grace Vanderwaal; she is a great performer but seemed perpetually dazed when acting. Maybe this is her way of showing how carefree and otherworldly Stargirl is, but to me it just seemed like she was constantly dissociating. Everyone's personality is toned down to the point of one-dimensional blandness.

The Disney production has shaped this movie into a strange style where the plot is constantly contrived and cheesy, yet it is shot as if we are supposed to take it seriously. There are many unrealistic moments that serve only to hit pre-defined plot beats without much of a compelling reason or build-up. Examples include Stargirl's sudden popularity/infamy, many spontaneous musical performances, obligatory romantic focus on protagonist Leo and inexplicable success in the speech competition. In a usual Disney sitcom this would be presented in a stylised comedic way, but here it is imbued with so much lingering pathos that it presents an identity crisis for the very film itself. Do you want to be a deep teen drama with relatable issues or a quirky comedy with over the top characters and events? Make up your mind.

If there's anything good about the film, it's the production values. The cinematography showed the scenery in gorgeous deep tones, the choreography was skillful (if misplaced) and the sets felt like the book's settings come to life with character. It's a shame that this skill was wasted on such an indecisive and contrived adaptation though.

The movie took a good book and removed all the important plot points so it's just a collection of sunsets and singing and weirdly out of place emotional outbursts. The characters lack a depth that seems to have been replaced by quirky outfits, and the movie is insulting to the intelligence of youth using a vernacular that is obviously fabricated by adults. And of course in typical Disney fashion, the movie stars white people set against a backdrop of people of color in a brashly obvious act of tokenization.