emily37

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

you should see this movie.

It seems that a lot of people dislike this movie because they think it is unrealistic, or because they don't care about the characters. I think this just goes to show how self-involved and classist a lot of Americans are at the moment.

Anyone who thinks that the "wild and crazy" events that go on in this movie couldn't happen outside of that fast-livin' city of L.A. obviously hasn't been thirteen in the suburbs lately. Granted, I was thirteen only a mere 10 years ago, but stuff like that in the movie goes down all the time in the eighth-grade world. I think that the film portrayed much of what goes on in the lives of middle-school girls very well: the smoking, the awkward sexual encounters, the lack of self-esteem, the experimentation with drugs. The relationship between Evie and Tracy is uncanny -- it is almost a rite of adolescence for a good kid to ditch their "good" friends to go hang out with the "bad influence". Yeah, it might be a teenage stereotype, but it's one that is also incredibly true.

I also think Holly Hunter's role of the lenient single mom is well portrayed. She reminded me of my teenage friends' single moms, the ones who were never home and waitressed and smoked inside the house. I feel like families like Tracy's are probably more common than your typical nuclear family, and that the realism used to show their problems in this movie should make the audience care about the characters.

You'll probably enjoy this movie if you can relate to any of the situations in the film. If you approach this film with that mindset and without judgment about single-parent households or pot-smoking teens, this film will make you both laugh and wince because it does, at times, hit really close to home for many of us.

one of the earlier reviewers posed the question "Why would you ever rent this movie and expect to see some revolutionary or truly interesting comedy?" well, maybe because everyone I know made a huge deal out of it and couldn't stop talking about how funny it was. maybe because Will Ferrell really is one of the funniest people around these days. however, I was let down by this movie. even though it does have its laughs and is totally palatable at only 95 minutes, I was expecting the comedy to be a little more fresh and off-kilter. instead, it's mostly a bunch of Hollywood cliches, made slightly better by the skill of the actors. this movie could have been so much more.