Okay, this movie isn't winning any awards for plot, but I enjoyed it nonetheless because it's a totally fresh take on being a girl in high school. The characters (who, yes, are 30-year-old actresses) are confident, high achievers, happy at school, a little deviant, and don't fall into boring stereotypes. And I'll take a slow plot over one that revolves around crushes and popularity contests any day. Yeah they use drugs, but it's not a big deal and not an overwrought plot point (although who decided cigarettes were in again??). The girls are sexually liberated (and - surprise! - it's not a big deal!) and get theirs first (11 minutes!). And while I know one review said the movie normalized rape, the sad thing is...the experience of rape IS normal. Infuriatingly, that situation is all too common for girls and women in high school and college, and it often plays out exactly as represented in the movie: we deal with it, it scars us, but we move on knowing there's little that would be done if we reached out. It shouldn't be that way, but I actually kind of appreciated that accuracy and the fact that it's not the focus of the movie; yet another way the story subverts expectations.
In short: I appreciate the accuracy of the movie, and I like what the movie WASN'T about. The characters were a little boring, but refreshing. The plot was meh, but entertaining enough, and the lack of teen-girl-drama tropes more than compensated.
In short: I appreciate the accuracy of the movie, and I like what the movie WASN'T about. The characters were a little boring, but refreshing. The plot was meh, but entertaining enough, and the lack of teen-girl-drama tropes more than compensated.