Jessica Darling's It List

It's not another school movie, no it's cute and funny, AND it's so real.

...I wasn't very into the characters. The plot is average but they still managed to deliver. There were also some funny moments. The movie is watchable, but don't expect too much.

For a film so heavily interested in female success, apparently, the story sure doesn't care about a diverse and more realistic representation of young and old women. The amount of hate girls give eachother and lack of support from the mother and older sister is tragic and rather painful to witness. We almost feel sorry for Jessica. She is so embedded in her circumstances she cannot find a way out of this problematic narrative. And altough she is surrounded by much more horrid personalities, Jessica remains quite bland and lacks to fulfill a satisfying character arc.

The junior high experience is heavily prominent, with characters barely existing outside of school, including the adults. But it only raises questions about the cultural message of this film. What is this hierarchical social order. Shouldn't we aim to dismantle the problematic structural issues embedded in the Western society instead of promoting them so obscenely?

What are the adults in this story? They have the emotional and mental capacity of a 15 year old, and that's being generous.

The end leaves you with a rather unpleasant aftertaste. You might as well join Jessica and faint multiple times to shake off this bitterness that comes from watching this miserable film. Please dont show it to your kids it may encourage constant fainting and need to hit ones head and possibly collapse.

It's not particularly realistic, and has all the depth of a lame Disney Channel sitcom, but the film is not without its charms. The direction is fast-paced and dedicated to the telling of the story, and the perfomers, especially the leads, are talented, age-appropriate (no 30 year-olds posing as teens), and attractive. There are worse ways to waste your time with your kids.

It had its charms but overall it was bad. I would not recommend watching unless your under 12.