Seen to hilarious effect in a room with early-teen girls who were giggling and sobbing alternatively throughout the whole movie. Which of course made us all the more amused as the movie wore on. They would break out giggling, and we'd look at each other and laugh. They'd break out sobbing, and we'd look at each other and laugh. But there was high DRAMA as the three girls behind us like, TOTALLY wanted to sit with some other girls, until one of the three girls behind us saw that this TOTAL bitch was sitting with them and she, like, was totally not going to sit with them. So PLEASE, you guys, let's sit together in the back. But, like I want to sit with Gretchen! Guys! I can't believe you'd totally desert me. I will NOT sit near that monster! Okay, fine. Hurrumph. Sit. Giggle. Cry.
Not so bad as these sorts of movies go. Joan of Arcadia played well in the obligatory heavy handed scenes (SPOILER ALERT: Sign of lazy writing--giving a young precocious girl leukemia as a way of teaching a lesson to another girl. A bit obvious, don't you think?), but added touches made you realize the director was paying attention. A girl passes out in Wal Mart, and pees her pants. That's not something you see in every film.
One character has sex and doesn't like it. A daddy is a bad daddy (did he get fired from the White House?) and doesn't prove his love for his half-ethnic daughter, who is frightened by the WASPs of his new marriage. I'm glad she let dad have it on the phone.
Then the Gilmore Girl falls in love, and melts the hearts of her iconoclastic grandfather, who has been feuding with her true loves grandfather for generations. Woah is me! Those silly Greeks and their silly family feuds. It's about stealing fish or something, says the grandson. Yeah. Tell that to Paris, Helen and Tyndareus.
Well, the whole thing is aimed at teenage girls, and as a post-feminist message--of following your heart, doing what you think is right, and owning up to your own shortcomings while forgiving other people theirs--it does a good job. Girls can be anything they want, after all. Right? Right. It's all the more better when you have a pair of magical pants that fit you. I wonder though....what would the equivalent in boy movie be? The dead body in Stand By Me?
Where we saw it: Movie Theater | We deign to rate it: 68 outta 100