Tall Girl 2
SCREENPLAY: B+
Since the end of the delightful first Tall Girl movie, Jodi Kreyman has won acceptance and popularity. But with that comes a new voice in her head that threatens to sabotage all of her loves and dreams. I am ecstatic the Netflix overlords decided to keep Jody’s journey going. Tall Girl 2 isn’t an overly complicated or sophisticated story. It’s quite predictable to me, a firmly established middle age viewer. I’ve seen lots of teen movies, and additionally I’ve been a teenager myself - you can look it up in the history books. What do you mean, “what’s a history book?” It’s a … never mind.
Life as an actual teenager is rarely predictable. Growing up means constantly being under attack from new experiences and mysterious emotions that appear at the absolute worst moments. Now that I’m grown up (a loose description, if you ask my family), nothing that happens in this movie surprises me. But everything in it is completely mind blowing when you’re a teenager. The stakes in Tall Girl 2 definitely do not make me tremble in fear, but when you’re a teenager they don’t just feel humongous, they legit are humongous. I love that the story is told from its characters’ point of view. It’s honest with its characters. That generates a sweetly genuine tone that totally wins me over.
ACTING: B-
Everyone’s back! Ava Michelle once again is the beaming sun all these off-beat oddballs revolve around. Griffin Gluck is still a delightful and perfect combo of Ferris Bueller and Cameron Frye. Sabrina Carpenter and Anjelika Washington are great. Steve Zahn keeps his unassailable run of “clueless yet lovable dad” roles rolling. My favorite here is Luke Eisner. Stieg Mohlin contains the loyalty, bashfulness, and wide-eyed wonder of a spazzy Labrador puppy. It’s a wonderful ensemble of talented actors that brings to the table exactly what this story asks for.
CRAFT: C+
I boldly predict that you won’t hear anybody who worked on the film called to the stage at next year’s Oscars. Not once do I catch my breath at the way the sunset pokes through the leaves. I’m not left floored by the editing during the play rehearsal sequences. The costumes? They are good and quite nice.
But you know that song, “Whoomp! There It Is!” by Tag Team? It didn’t win any Grammys. Because everyone who worked on that song didn’t yearn to display unmatched artistic brilliance. That’s not what that song is. But it’s incredible and has been a welcome omnipresent part of my life for almost thirty years. Tall Girl 2 is not meant to be a groundbreaking display of the power of cinema. The craft isn’t bad - not at all. It’s so good that you don’t notice it. It’s like how you know when a ref does a good job refereeing a game. It’s when you don’t notice the ref at all. They don’t get in the way. They’re mistake free and let the players play and have fun. That’s what the craft does for the actors here.
VOICES IN OUR HEADS: A
I’m no scientist, but here’s my theory: Long ago we were all cavemen, cavewomen, and cave non-binaries. Danger was real. And bad. Bad in the “we may not survive” kind of way. So we evolved with a voice in our head that will start screaming at us when something we perceive as dangerous gets close by. That voice is incredibly useful when there’s a hungry sabretooth tiger stalking us.
But - thankfully - none of these mondo, lethal kitty cats are around to eat us anymore. But there are still things all over that seem scary. Like public speaking. Clowns. Or when we bare our soul and tell that gorgeous someone we “like them” like them. Our brains are super smart but also super stupid at times. They can’t tell the difference between confessing your love to that hottie and the sabretooth tiger. That voice can often sound exactly like Jody’s voiceovers. That voice isn’t “you.” It’s only a neanderthalic, biological reflex. We all have it. The movie critic in me wishes they wouldn’t have included as much of Jody’s inner voice as they did. But the real me that cares about the mental health of amazing teenagers - you - is thrilled they tackle this concept.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Netflix found a good thing in Tall Girl, and like everything these days, it’s gotten a sequel. Is it any good? Yes. Netflix wins because it will keep a bunch of subscribers. Audiences win because you will get a good time and more. This movie is so high school. It speaks to high schoolers in a warmhearted language they will easily understand.
The path to finding “you” can be long, messy, and difficult. It’s also amazing. I like that the movie draws a line between the hassles of being tall and problems like homelessness or racial injustice. I also like that it teaches you that owning your difficulties and not discounting them is important. It’s a necessary message, and Tall Girl 2 makes it a pleasure to sit through.