Let us anticipate Greta Gerwig's directorial debut "Lady Bird"

um I’m in a movie theater about to see I feel pretty alone and greta gerwig just walked in and sat down in front of me

— jaye hunt (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

lmao

Queen of my heart

amy schumer: “when we’re little girls–“
greta: “HEEEERE WE GO”

— jaye hunt (@hayejunt) May 9, 2018

i'm dying, don't even care if that twitter person made this all up, it's hilarious

um I’m in a movie theater about to see Annihilation alone and I just walked in and sat down in front of me

— yaye (@danvasmoon) May 13, 2018

Finally saw this. At first I thought I was disappointed by it, and there are still some writing choices that annoy me: I think Gerwig repeatedly emphasizes the family's (relative) poverty a bit too much; Lady Bird making a crack about "the wrong side of the tracks" and passing off her (boy)friend's grandma's house as her own are enough that we don't need the mother constantly reminding her (and us) how poor they all are. Also, the bit about the coach directing the play was funny until Gerwig decides to hammer the joke home a bit too much; I found his discomfort with making the switch from football to theatre a lot funnier before he started mapping out plays and barking out cheers. I took both of these things as a lack of confidence in the material that is likely the result of being a first time director, but they annoyed me all the same. I also didn't find the conclusion as moving as I expect I was meant to, and I wish the movie had found a way to end without the New York stuff, and particularly the phone call.

But the stuff that's good is very good: pretty much all of the performances (Tracy Letts is kind of a secret weapon here), the dimensions afforded to Metcalf's character, the way that the whole prom episode plays out, and the line about attention = love (truthfully, it was these last two that finally bumped me from a strong 6/10 to a more enthusiastic-with-reservations 7/10). At least two bigs laughs for me, as well: I'm thinking of Ronan's response to Chalamet's posturing about Iraq--"Different things can be sad, it's just war!"--and her later bafflement over what's wrong with Greatest Hits albums--"but they're the greatest."

Also, I am embarrassed about how I keep failing to recognize Lois Smith, who was very good both here and in Marjorie Prime and, now that I look her up, has been in a bunch of other things I've seen.

i liked the coach and felt the joke wasn't too laboured. i disliked the ending, just didn't work that well for me, though i liked that she decided to stop calling herself lady bird at least.

overall this was decent, a lot better than whatever crap baumbach shits out these days for sure, but also just sort of middling and ok, a 6 out of 10 maybe if i were to quantify it. feel like "old man shouts at cloud" but the movies these days that get hyped as films of the year are generally pretty good and nothing more.

we don't need the mother constantly reminding her (and us) how poor they all are

But that's what Moms do.

^^^

Liked this movie but slums of Beverly Hills did this coming of age thing way better

Among more recent movies about teenage girls, I still prefer the previous year’s The Edge of Seventeen. Walter Chaw’s review alluded to Ghost World and Hal Hartley’s Trust, which are also much stronger films. But there’s room enough in the world for all of them.

I just saw this on the plane. It was fine; I was likely disappointed since I had higher hopes. I came away from it thinking of Little Miss Sunshine too! Both are films that I never need to see again.

I agree with some upthread. Everything was pleasant, Ronan's character was moderately interesting, the dialogue was moderately amusing. The acting is the best thing in it.

Oh come on, this is way better than LMS!

I think it was better than all of the movies referenced above

Ghost World is probably better.

Both movies mystifyingly had that best picture hype and both were very pleasant enough.

Also I was a high schooler during this time period and everyone loved Crash, regardless of the other music you listened to. But I also was in Virginia.

I think I relate to the story of Lady Bird more than Ghost World, although haven't seen GW in many years and wonder what I would think now. I mainly remember enjoying Thora Birch in it, don't think I've seen her in anything before or since

oh nm she was in American Beauty

Thora Birch's character had more of a personality, outside of her hair, in Ghost World. And she was smarter.

I automatically will like any movie/tv show set in high school, which is why this was such a letdown.

I like high school movies too!

with the exception of classic stuff where I've been pre-exposed to the hype/dismissal, films are often a letdown for me when I go into them with high expectations

Mean girls ftw and easy A

Ladybird was great.

i really dislike high school movies/tv shows/books/etc and avoided lady bird on account of it -- but then i saw it one day when i was home sick and thought it was much better than i expected and less depressing. the scene with the nun about love and attention is what really stuck with me.

ghost world was alright at the time but i still find it too male-gazey

i enjoy HS movies but tbh they never really feel even slightly like my own experience. lady bird actually felt closer to it than most of them (even tho i didn't go to catholic school), maybe because the stakes felt so low, there was a sense of things just sort of happening from day to day. you have a crisis and then you move on to something else. you have a terrible cathartic moment and then the next day you're just sitting in class. so, i dunno, i enjoyed the low-drama aspects of it that ppl complained about upthread. ghost world is great and much much sadder than this movie.

I think part of the problem is that they were using the clip up to to when she jumped out of the car on a lot of chat shows. I was prepared for a different movie.

i liked this almost as much as I hated little miss sunshine

i thought the party scenes were super relatable, like at the rich girl's house and when she went to new york. she kept fucking up but it was never a huge deal. i appreciated that.

i haven't seen and would not watch little miss sunshine. not my bag.

Yikes Little Miss Sunshine is 12 years old. I don't know whose bag that movie was. Sufjan's hat launderer?

Well, I enjoyed it a lot when it came out but I was still a teenager. I rewatched it a few times but it's been a long time. I haven't rewatched Napoleon Dynamite lately either. I think Lady Bird is more of a movie for grown ups than either of those. Of movies about teens I've seen and enjoyed, it's probably one of the most emotionally truthful (see also We Are The Best)

like as much as I enjoy when fiction dwells sentimentally on the supposed idylls of being a teenager, it sucks to be that age, and it probably sucks to parent an older teenager, and Lady Bird is clear-eyed about that.

I've seen people saying Edge Of Seventeen is better at doing the same/similar thing, i preferred this much more but i can see why there's a mini-cult around that film.

You guys use Letterboxd? I can't recall it being mentioned much on ILX but over there this is in the Top 10 films of the decade.

haven't used letterbox'd

in a lot of ways Lady Bird reminds me of aspects of my life - growing up at the lower end of middle class just outside a solidly upper middle class community (with parents who were really committed to educating their kids), going to catholic school, and having to fight with my parents to be allowed to attend an out-of-state college that was way too expensive for them.

the perfect high school movie for me!

j.d. so otm about this getting the day-to-dayness of it all.

yes, seconded.

what is with the love for The Edge of Seventeen? my brother loves it, saw it 10+ in theaters (...???), I saw it once with him and yeah it was good and it definitely felt different than most high school movies. mostly its pacing. but top 10 of the decade? I could be convinced

We just got around to Lady Bird last night. Enjoyed it, especially Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein, but had some of the "what was the hype about" reaction. It's a nicely acted coming of age story with some uneven writing and pacing. Gerwig has talent but I bet her next movie will be better. The wrong-side-of-the-tracks stuff was a little labored -- I think "Pretty in Pink" did it better. (With the benefit of Harry Dean Stanton, of course.)

I think "Pretty in Pink" did it better

Outside of discussions of movie endings that are on every level incorrect, I've never heard this phrase uttered.

Finally saw this. At first I thought I was disappointed by it, and there are still some writing choices that annoy me: I think Gerwig repeatedly emphasizes the family's (relative) poverty a bit too much; Lady Bird making a crack about "the wrong side of the tracks" and passing off her (boy)friend's grandma's house as her own are enough that we don't need the mother constantly reminding her (and us) how poor they all are. Also, the bit about the coach directing the play was funny until Gerwig decides to hammer the joke home a bit too much; I found his discomfort with making the switch from football to theatre a lot funnier before he started mapping out plays and barking out cheers. I took both of these things as a lack of confidence in the material that is likely the result of being a first time director, but they annoyed me all the same. I also didn't find the conclusion as moving as I expect I was meant to, and I wish the movie had found a way to end without the New York stuff, and particularly the phone call.

But the stuff that's good is very good: pretty much all of the performances (Tracy Letts is kind of a secret weapon here), the dimensions afforded to Metcalf's character, the way that the whole prom episode plays out, and the line about attention = love (truthfully, it was these last two that finally bumped me from a strong 6/10 to a more enthusiastic-with-reservations 7/10). At least two bigs laughs for me, as well: I'm thinking of Ronan's response to Chalamet's posturing about Iraq--"Different things can be sad, it's just war!"--and her later bafflement over what's wrong with Greatest Hits albums--"but they're the greatest."

― Police, Academy (cryptosicko), Friday, July 20, 2018 12:17 PM (yesterday)

great post. the ending bothers me too but ultimately the movie succeeds in making me feel the way it wants to anyway

No one made a Juno comparison? It did have an "I have a burger phone and my entire personality is based on it" oscar nominated air about it. Movies that base themselves on quirk, I want some real joy or rewatchability out of it. I really think GG is super charming, but I somehow just don't love anything she has been involved with.

Thanks k3vin!

I think "Pretty in Pink" did it better

I appreciate the spirit of this statement even if I don't agree with it.

But, hmmm...

Saoirse Ronan = Molly Ringwald
Laurie Metcalf = Harry Dean Stanton
Lucas Hedges = Jon Cryer
Timothee Chalamet = James Spader
Beanie Feldstein = Andrew McCarthy

The Juno comparison is far more insulting than the Pretty in Pink one.

GG occupies the same vibe as Phoebe Waller-Bridge but PWB is just vastly more interesting to me. Maybe I just am tired of NY faux-haplessness.

xxp I really don't think this movie was "quirky" in that sense and I wouldn't compare it to Juno (although I did love Jennifer Garner in that movie)

xpost the Juno and Little Miss comparisons are because they were all nominated for best picture. They aren't ingenues fucking fish, but who is.

I keep thinking about Ladybird and this movie that had Paris from Gilmore Girls in it called "Whatever" too.

the Juno and Little Miss comparisons are because they were all nominated for best picture.

Good point. I thought the intent was to align Lady Bird with Juno and LMS in terms of self-satisfied quirk, but I sense little (if any) of that in Gerwig's film.

ingenues fucking fish, lol