For those who live in a hole, or block out American pop culture, this movie is FAR too similar to "My So-Called Life" or maybe its just me. I mean, first off, the story is about a girl who is jaded by her boring, wholesome life and trades it in for something edgier. While the focus for "Girl" is Andrea's fascination with local rock star Tom Sparrow, MSCL's protagonist's object of obsession is a local stoner legend. After that, the similarities continue. First of all, the protagonist for Girl is a straight-A student named Andrea while the protagonist for MSCL is a popular, studious girl named Angela. They both have page-boy cuts with red hair. They both have middle America families. They both live in suburbia. They both have brunette, clean cut best friends who they trade in for their new edgier crowd. They both have cute, clean cut boys who adore them. They both have a new, totally f-ed up best friend who unintentionally try to bring their life down with them... and to be continued. Once you get passed the obvious similarities which makes this movie quite boring, you have to tackle the lack-luster performances from several of the main characters. For time's sake, I'll just focus on that of Dominique Swain who's performance confused me. I didn't understand her as a mature 18 year old entering a woman's world. I saw her as 14-15 year old child who knows nothing about life. Andrea didn't seem to have the basic knowledge of an 18 year old (which she was supposed to be). When I saw the end, I thought the movie took place over her entire high school career, and was utterly surprised that it was just one year. And at times, she seemed to be even younger... 5 perhaps. I know that that time of a girl's life is supposed to be about exploration and such, but to skip out on 3 to ten year's of one's life is quite unexplainable. This movie is boring, and done. If you want a better look at teenage angst and growth into maturity, may I suggest My So-Called Life.
Review of Girl
