Out of My Mind

I love Out of My Mind, based on the novel of the same name by Sharon Draper that is about family and friendship. I love the book and was so excited to learn that they were adapting the book into a movie. The film explores the concept that a person's intelligence and worth are not defined by how they communicate, and that everyone deserves to be heard and understood, regardless of their physical limitations.

Born with cerebral palsy, Melody (Phoebe-Rae Taylor) is nonverbal, and she is placed in a preschool level remedial academic program where her greatest source of stimulation comes from listening to Judy Blume audiobooks. When Dr. Katherine Post (Courtney Taylor) recognizes that Melody's cognitive abilities exceed what the class offers, she advocates for Melody to join Mr. Dimming's (Michael Chernus) class, which puts Melody on track for the life she has always dreamed of. Best of all, it puts her on a path to receive an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device so she can finally have the opportunity to make friends. But, like her journey thus far, nothing comes easy.

I really like how the film is told through Melody's first-person narrative, with Jennifer Anniston as Melody's voice, since Melody's favorite TV show is Friends. Jennifer Anniston delivers a lot of heart, love, and laughter in the role, which is paired perfectly with Phoebe-Rae Taylor's emotional performance as Melody. I was so invested in watching Melody's dreams come true, but also feeling for her parents Chuck and Diane (Luke Kirby, Rosemarie DeWitt). You can feel the struggle they have been fighting for their daughter's future and wanting what is best for her. I also love the next door neighbor, Mrs. V (Judith Light), who often helps Melody and her family. You can feel the love Mrs. V has for Melody through the screen. Mrs. V has some great moments and she always makes me smile. If you enjoy reading, I recommend reading the book Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. Also available is the sequel, Out of My Heart, where Melody goes to camp for the first time and Out of My Dreams where Melody travels on an airplane for the first time and visits London.

Out of My Mind highlights the importance of looking beyond outward appearances to see the vibrant inner world of people with disabilities, particularly those who are non-verbal like Melody, who struggles with cerebral palsy but possesses a brilliant mind.

I give Out of My Mind 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 12, plus adults. By Kennedy P., KIDS FIRST!

As a person with non-speaking CP, it was nice to see someone like me as a main character. I think the movie did a pretty good job of telling the story. It shows the challenges everyone faces when trying something new and also shows how far behind the world is on inclusion. I feel like the story was a decent adaptation of the book, but was toned down for the movie. The only thing I didn't like is that it still flattened Melody's personality. Disabilities do not make people one dimensional, the world tries to do that. This movie tried to show that. I think everyone will benefit from watching it. Either to feel seen or learn something new.

I just cannot let this go. There is a review on this page written by a lady with a username lauren_watson or something like that, the primary criticism of which is about what she perceives as the "ableism" that is endemic to the film. For example, she points out, isn't it terrible that the lead actress didn't even get first billing over actors playing minor- or even unnamed- characters?

Now, depending on when you're reading this, you may be wondering to yourself- wait a minute, the film hasn't actually been released yet. The film comes out in late November, and currently it is early October. Her review is dated October 3rd. Hmmm. What gives?

Well, if you're confused because you cannot imagine that a human being could possibly confuse the IMDB actors list for the ACTUAL billing order in the end credits of a film.... yeah, that's exactly what she's done. Her entire tirade is based on the misperception that the end credits in the film for some reason mirror the order IMDB has chosen to list them on their website.

It is odd that she fails to point out she didn't actually watch the movie, given that she ostensibly posted what was supposed to be a review of it. It's also odd that she was so incredibly quick to condemn the film based on what she saw on this website- not merely because they're two different things, but because this is a film ABOUT cerebral palsy; with a lead actress who has cerebral palsy; the plot of which is specifically designed to combat the misperceptions, unfair disadvantages, and poor treatment of those afflicted with cerebrall palsy and other conditions. It seems unlikely that such a film would be insensitive to the needs and emotions of the disabled, let alone be be a bastion of ableism so bad that it serves as a textbook example of how bad things are in Hollywood and elsewhere, as she insinuates.

So instead of "ableism", I have chosen a different theme for this review- it's called "critical thinking". Use your critical thinking skills at all times. Those include basic logical skills, simple deductions from known information, avoiding inaccurate comparisons, and so forth. Also- know where you are at all times in time and space. If the previous reviewer had done those things, none of those misstates would have been made.

And use your critical thinking skills when you're watching this film! It looks like a great movie, and I can't wait for it to (actually) come out.

I grew up loving the book and reading it over and over. The movie just seemed all over the place. Major points weren't added or were changed. The movie seemed rushed. Good movie, but the books are better. The acting was pretty decent overall. If they do a second movie, I hope they try to keep events in order. There were also some descriptions in the book that the movie completely ignores. If I were you, I would read the books first to get a general idea since the movie changes somethings that are pretty important to the storyline. I personally think they should have slowed down scenes to drag it out some more. Some scenes seemed quick.

I love movies and TV shows, always have. The old "idiot box" was my friend growing up in the 60's. I like anything that stimulates my mind or my emotions and this did both.

The story was great, I didn't know handicapped people had that much of a hard time back in the early 2000's, supposedly this was staged for 2002 I think.

Anyway, it was amazing how they put you into her head and let us feel the frustrations and joys that she felt.

The scene when she first gets the talking device and she greets her Dad just melted me into a puddle of goo! I was yelling at the movie, "hug her for God's sake!!!" I loved this movie and can't wait to show my wife!

Disney doen good, this is how Disney should be!!!