Boot Camp

Was in the mood for something light yesterday so i decided to watch this one out of my backlog. Its a very "by the book" cute little movie with all the clichés you would expect.

The main protagonist is a bit curvy, but not "unnatractive" at all, yet she seem to pursue guys that are of top model looks. Someone said in another review that it tries to land the message that self-love and acceptance is important, yet the love interest for her in this movie is litterally sculpted like a greek god. There is a bit of a paradox in said message to me.

But other than that, it follow the formula of any teen romcom.

The boot camp aspect does not take a center stage at all. If for instance you expect your protagonist to start awful and eventually overcome and win some kind of competition, its not it at all. Its really mostly about the relationship between the characters including the protagonist, her love interest, but also a few side characters. There is a lot of extras wich litterally have no lines in both campers and trainers.

Emmanuelle Chriqui has a small role in this, she is in just enough to not be considered a cameo but her screen time is very limited. Other than that all the other actors were unknown to me. I would say Rachel Boudwin is charismatic and charming as the lead, while Drew Ray Tanner who plays Axel, her love interest, is a lot more low key and stoic. One of the stand out for me was Anisha Cheema as Martina wich i found pretty cute and charming as well.

Overall i liked the movie for what it was. It didn't reinvent anything, but it did everything well enough. If you like the genre, you should like it too.

Didn't expect much starting this movie, but was pleasantly surprised.

Sure, it's a cheesy summer romance meant for teenage girls, but it also is a movie about overcoming fears of rejection, jealousy and insecurities. It's about letting go of the idea that your worth is tied to an arbitrary standard of beauty. It's also about forgiveness, friendship and self-love.

Maybe not meant for everyone, but for a young teenage girl, it might just be the movie that changes her perspective on a few things. For the genre and target audience, I cannot ask for more.

I hope people give this movie a chance, this is the kind of movie that should find success amid teenagers instead of problematic titles such as "the kissing booth". Ya know?

This is a modern classic, but not in a good way, but in terms of clichés.

For example, I like how in such films, which seem to advocate self-love, the search for self-confidence instead of chasing after improving appearance and rejection of beauty stereotypes, the heroine's love interest is always a tall handsome guy with great abs. Apparently the rule "you're beautiful no matter how you look" works selectively, eh?

And of course, the moment with taking off the t-shirt is included, and remember, this is certainly not objectification, because he is a guy!

This is the end of the review, I'll just add some symbols.

Giving this movie a 5.7 is absurd. Sure it wasn't Christopher Nolan level and it won't be at the Academy Awards, but this was a GREAT movie. It's heartfelt and charming with the classic kind of slow burn, and a forced one at that, we all love. The characters were three dimensional and the fl didn't make me want to tear my hair out which is a big plus. It was a movie I could truly relate to. Her speech on the beach is one I have given myself and it honestly brought me to tears. This movie made me feel seen. This one is for the book girlies who were always picked last for the team, last in relationships, and last in their own lives. It's inspiring and truly enjoyable. Maybe I should go to summer camp too lol.

~If you like~ -Summer romance -Fresh out of HS -Camp vibes -Relatable main character -Reality incorporating notes of fantasy -Enemies to friends -Enemies to lovers -Trope-y romance -Embracing oneself

Then this film is for you!

I almost skipped over this one because of the 5.6 star rating. Then I read some of the reviews and realized there were actually a lot of 10 star reviews! I don't think this film is worthy of 10 stars (not much is in my book). Yet, I think this movie is actually well done and it accomplishes what it sets out to do.

The leads have really good chemistry and I thought the acting was actually very good. I haven't seen almost anyone from this cast before but I thought they all did a fantastic job. It didn't feel corney like it had the potential of being. Still better than most Hallmark films and many YA romance I've seen. This is a fun watch and if you like the above- give it a view!

TL;DR: Better than expected, good acting and chemistry from leads, a bit trope-y but enjoyable.