A Sacramento teen comes of age in the early 2000's,
learning that life doesn't always work out in your favor. DRAMA
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Lady Bird (2017)Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Odeya Rush Oscar Nominations - Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay |
The Academy Awards have always been my Super Bowl. The 2018 ceremony saw some amazing films stacked up against one another, including this one. I hadn't seen Lady Bird yet, but since it was up against films like Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Three Billboards, and The Shape of Water, I naturally assumed it was just as good if not better. Now, having finally had the chance to see it for myself, I must confess I don't get the hype. This movie has been done to death so many times. Apart from Saoirse Ronan's performance, there's virtually nothing special about Lady Bird that sets it apart from every other coming-of-age story ever told. Teenagers just aren't that interesting. In fact, they're kind of insufferable.
Saoirse Ronan plays Lady Bird, a teen who gave herself a cool name simply to stand out. Throughout the movie, we watch Lady Bird go to a new high school, make a best friend, meet her first boyfriend, apply to college, lose the best friend, meet a new boyfriend who's a real tool, realize her errors, get the best friend back, and get into her dream college. That's literally it, apart from Lady Bird having to deal with her passive aggressive, overtly cruel mother all the time. How the hell this film scored a Best Original Screenplay nomination is beyond me. It's a carbon copy of every teenage trope ever written, and there's almost no drive or reason to care about these borderline annoying characters. Watching this film made me realize how little Hollywood thinks of teenagers. Lady Bird is a perfect example. She's a child who constantly argues that she's not a child, while her parents do everything for her and she complains about it. That's the extent of her character development. With a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score and every major critic praising this film for its originality and realism, Lady Bird somehow managed to impress pretty much everybody by delivering a bare bones approach to the banality of a teenager's every day life. Can't wait to see Greta Gerwig's next Oscar nominee about the ins and outs of paint drying. |