Lady Bird (2017)

[B D Joe]

Good shit.

[baumer]

I agree with @La Binoche about one thing, the first half is horrible and the second half is good.  Unfortunately the first half is so bad that it doesn't redeem the rest of the film.  Maybe it's an age gap thing but I didn't relate to the film at all.  Everything about it just felt like it was trying too hard to be cool and hip and none of it felt organic or authentic.  It's a John Hughes story if John Hughes smoked weed every day, lived in a tent on a beach and had long hair in braids.  

 

The first half meanders and doesn't really have a plot.  We have a daughter and mother conflict and most of it is due to there being little money in the household.  The Lady bird of the title is pretty ridiculous as well, imo.  The daughter doesn't like her given name so she gives herself one of her own and people actually call her that name.  I found this to be kind of silly.  Also, you have themes and characters that are forgotten about.  There's one genuine moment and that is when the gay character breaks down in Lady bird's arms and wonders how he is going to tell his family that is not hetero-sexual.  

 

I did find Ronan to be incredibly believable here. She was also incredible in Brooklyn and if it wasn't for Larson being so strong that year, she would have won best actress.  She might take it this year because she is really quite good here.  Metcalf was good but I didn't find her to be anything out of the ordinary.  Good, yes, outstanding?  Not so much.

 

I shouldn't complain about this but most of these themes have been done before and they were done better in films from the 80's.

 

It's too bad the first half of the film was so awful because the second half feels like a different film all together.

 

6.5/10

[La Binoche]

1 hour ago, Christmas baumer said:

I agree with @La Binoche about one thing, the first half is horrible and the second half is good.  Unfortunately the first half is so bad that it doesn't redeem the rest of the film.  Maybe it's an age gap thing but I didn't relate to the film at all.  Everything about it just felt like it was trying too hard to be cool and hip and none of it felt organic or authentic.  It's a John Hughes story if John Hughes smoked weed every day, lived in a tent on a beach and had long hair in braids.  

 

The first half meanders and doesn't really have a plot.  We have a daughter and mother conflict and most of it is due to there being little money in the household.  The Lady bird of the title is pretty ridiculous as well, imo.  The daughter doesn't like her given name so she gives herself one of her own and people actually call her that name.  I found this to be kind of silly.  Also, you have themes and characters that are forgotten about.  There's one genuine moment and that is when the gay character breaks down in Lady bird's arms and wonders how he is going to tell his family that is not hetero-sexual.  

 

I did find Ronan to be incredibly believable here. She was also incredible in Brooklyn and if it wasn't for Larson being so strong that year, she would have won best actress.  She might take it this year because she is really quite good here.  Metcalf was good but I didn't find her to be anything out of the ordinary.  Good, yes, outstanding?  Not so much.

 

I shouldn't complain about this but most of these themes have been done before and they were done better in films from the 80's.

 

It's too bad the first half of the film was so awful because the second half feels like a different film all together.

 

6.5/10

Yep that was a great moment. Also loved her reaction, when she immediately assures him that she won't tell (because she'd been pretty bitchy to him prior to that). 

Edited December 8, 2017 by La Binoche

[baumer]

She was understandably crushed when she found out that the true love of her life was gay so I can see why she was cold to him.  But I agree with you that her reaction towards him was a great moment in the film.

[cannastop]

I rate Lady Bird 8/10. Good, but nothing special.

Did anyone else think that the ending was abrupt? or was that just the showing I was at?

Edited December 14, 2017 by cannastop

[Fancyarcher]

My review of Lady Bird.

 

https://dailyuv.com/feed/935964?location=norwich-vt&radius=myStuff

[Cap]

Saw this today with my mom.  There were moments that felt incredibly authentic (esp. that moment when Lady Bird was like "What's the number? Give Me that number, and I will work my ass off to write you a check."  I've had that conversation verbatim with my parents.)

 

Overall though, Meh.  I'm not getting the Award hype (maybe for Laurie Metcalf, who was outstanding).  I thought it was slow, and the parts without her mother felt so underwhelming.  As others have pointed it, this film kind of falls into that Juno, Virgin Suicides, white-girl indie flick that I would have DIED over when I was 11, but now I just find tired.

 

5/10

[somebody85]

This film holds up extremely well on rewatch. Was able to go with the last area following the plane more this time because I think it contains one of the most important lines in the film.

"People go by the names their parents give them, but they don't believe in God."

This line leads to Ladybird going to the church and referring to herself as Christine and thanking her mom for that name over the final phone call.

I keep going back to it and trying to think what Greta Gerwig meant by it. I can definitely come up with quite a few theories and I think I'm right but I'm curious what others thought of it.

Going up to a A.

 

[somebody85]

On 12/7/2017 at 11:31 PM, Christmas baumer said:

I agree with @La Binoche about one thing, the first half is horrible and the second half is good.  Unfortunately the first half is so bad that it doesn't redeem the rest of the film.  Maybe it's an age gap thing but I didn't relate to the film at all.  Everything about it just felt like it was trying too hard to be cool and hip and none of it felt organic or authentic.  It's a John Hughes story if John Hughes smoked weed every day, lived in a tent on a beach and had long hair in braids.  

 

The first half meanders and doesn't really have a plot.  We have a daughter and mother conflict and most of it is due to there being little money in the household.  The Lady bird of the title is pretty ridiculous as well, imo.  The daughter doesn't like her given name so she gives herself one of her own and people actually call her that name.  I found this to be kind of silly.  Also, you have themes and characters that are forgotten about.  There's one genuine moment and that is when the gay character breaks down in Lady bird's arms and wonders how he is going to tell his family that is not hetero-sexual.  

 

I did find Ronan to be incredibly believable here. She was also incredible in Brooklyn and if it wasn't for Larson being so strong that year, she would have won best actress.  She might take it this year because she is really quite good here.  Metcalf was good but I didn't find her to be anything out of the ordinary.  Good, yes, outstanding?  Not so much.

 

I shouldn't complain about this but most of these themes have been done before and they were done better in films from the 80's.

 

It's too bad the first half of the film was so awful because the second half feels like a different film all together.

 

6.5/10

I was a junior in high school at the same time of this film (as I already mentioned a page back...oops). It wasn't just due the little money in the household, it was due to the recession going on at the time and the uncertainty of the war around it. I also have a sister who's high school life was performing arts right at the same time....to me it was very authentic but I get others not relating. I definitely didn't find the first half boring either. Every character has a lot of layers (outside of two of the preppy kids) and there is a lot of visual storytelling.

I didn't really get Hughes vibes from this. I got that from Edge Of Seventeen but this felt a lot more real.

Edited December 28, 2017 by somebody85

[Morieris]

I like this movie more as a snapshot in time than about the chronicle of a young woman's life, that felt more like a powerpoint presentation with it's weird inclusions of scenes, scenes of seconds, before jumping to another point.

 

 It was only, wow, fifteen years ago, but the culture of America has changed so drastically...and yet it somehow still stays the same, with the lower-middle class struggling, college being a waste of time and money because it doesn't guarantee you a job because of degree oversaturation (though since we don't know Miguel's situation [Including why he is a completely different race than the rest of his family?], that's more present day), and fear of the other. 

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

I'm not seeing the award love, it did make me want more coming of age stories not about white kids. 

 

B-

 

[Blankments]

Lady Bird is as spectacular as the hype would lead you to believe. A deceptively simple film, the beauty of it comes from its love for every character. Yes, it's clearly Lady Bird's story, but the movie never forgets to give empathy towards the other characters surrounding her life. Gerwig's script is smart and funny, but more importantly, nails the drama of being a senior in high school. Her direction is nuanced as well, with the closing minutes being some of the most cinematic I've seen all year.

 

Ronan's titular character is another impressive lead role for her, and Metcalf plays a mom that hits close to home both thanks to the writing and how subtly she plays the role. It's a powerhouse performance worthy of the awards she's been winning and shall continue to win. The entire ensemble is magnificent, with special shout-outs to Hedges and Henderson who make their characters seems like they're in the movie longer they are.

 

More than anything, Lady Bird is just nice. It's hard to imagine a version of this film that could be more enjoyable than this. Gerwig's first solo directing effort turns out as best as it could possibly be, thanks to the remarkable script and marvelous acting on display. A truly great entry into the coming-of-age genre, and one of the year's best films. A