Film: Lady Bird

GENRE: Dramedy

RATING: R for language & brief sexual content
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 34 minutes

STARRING: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Atonement, The Lovely Bones)

Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), Lucas Hedges (Manchester on the Sea)

DIRECTOR: Greta Gerwig (newcomer)

WRITER: Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha)

PLOT: A seventeen year old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

STORY STUFF: It’s a great coming of age story. Funny at times and also dramatic, frustrating and heartbreaking. Rotten Tomatoes gives this 100%. I wouldn’t say it’s that good but it was an enjoyable story.

ACTING STUFF: Ronan always does a great job. She regularly pulls you into her characters. Metcalf is a front-runner for Oscars as the mother who says things like “you won’t amount to anything anyway”. Both actresses really sell the mother/daughter dynamic. I’m sure it’s pretty typical and relatable to many.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: I love Dave Matthews Band’s ‘Crash Into Me’ which gets used well in this film. I found it interesting that the Catholic school’s Eternal Flame theme just looked like hell. I was annoyed by the production values of the musical and play put on at the school. C’mon.

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You have a strained relationship with your mother or daughter

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Three Billboards . . . , I, Tonya