Reviews

The acting is phenomenal and so is the writing. This series takes a look at what we consider normal, and it also looks at what hurts and heals. It is funny, dramatic, and honest. This is the best show I've seen in a long time. Also one of the most honest in regard to what it means to be a part of the capitalist machine. So damn good.

The only thing this film had going for it was the acting. Completely unnecessary jabs are taken at trans people; tired, racist tropes are used to try and elicit a laugh; and in the end the take home message is that the depression the protagonist is feeling was nothing more than self indulgence. This was garbage, and it was an awful message to send to young people who deal with depression, which is a real thing that causes real pain and suffering. This film was awful, don't waste your time.

The acting and writing for this movie are great, however, I think it missed the mark in terms of what of this incredible story the screen writers chose to focus on. I read the book as an amazing story of resilience, and while the film certainly didn't shy from the fact that Walls thrived despite the neglect and emotional abuse she endured as a child, it played more like a story about her relationship with her father than as a personal story about her tenacity to survive despite it all. I found the book inspiring. The movie didn't inspire as much as it pulled the heart strings. In the end her parents looked a bit too sympathetic, and I left the theater feeling that us viewers were robbed of some of the most raw and telling details her of her childhood, the details that best illustrated just how trying and unique her life was growing up. In all, though I thought the acting was great, I think the meat of Jeanette's personal story of transformation was sacrificed to make space for telling the specific story of her relationship with her father.

This film somehow manages to tear deeply into painful truths about the US in regard to unjust domestic policies with our criminal justice system, our exploitative student loaning process, and our long history with racism, yet somehow Moore manages to leave the viewer feeling optimistic. Moore's growth as a filmmaker is so evident here. The film was smooth, pointed, and had just the right balance of humor and feeling. It hurt, but I found myself belly laughing many times.

I left feeling cheated by a country I have more optimism in than when I entered the theater. How is that possible? Astounding movie.

The R-rating is a sham! There is far worse content in PG-13 these days.