Weekend Flick

I will admit I saw some screen pics of this film on Pinterest and it looked cute so I read up about it and the story line looked good so I thought I would give it a try. Plus it is a Rob Reiner film and so far I have been pleased by all his films.

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The story is set in the 1960's about Juli and Bryce who live across the street from each other and while Juli has had a crush on Bryce since the day they met Bryce has been avoiding from the day they met. It is told from two perspectives first being Bryce's who like most children and pre-teens just tries to fit into his surroundings. The other perspective is Juli is kind of a free spirit, her father is labeled a "dreamer" (as if that is a bad thing), but Juli really just tries to see beauty in everything. The story follows them from 2nd grade when they meet to 8th grade. At the start Bryce tries to ignore Juli but after some time he ends up liking her (or at least the thought of her) and by the end of the movie they actually end up talking.

Bryce realizing his feeling for Juli
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What I liked- Most of the film is voice over so there is not much dialogue but hearing their thoughts is really interesting. Though the book and screen play were written by adults you felt as if you were in the mindset of a pre-teen who is just trying to figure things out. Also you get the scenes from the two perspective so you can understand both sides of the story. I also liked that while Juli likes Bryce she is not afraid to speak her mind or tell him off. She was quiet but she spoke her mind when it mattered. 

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What I didn't like- I thought it would be a film watching Juli and Bryce through the years, but it really focused on just 7th grade, this wasn't so much of detractor but just kept thinking that we would see them grow up. And while I thought Juli was a strong character I wish we had gotten in her head more because she had a compelling story and a great family dynamic and I felt Bryce hogged more screen time.While I understood Bryce just wanting to fit in I wish he had been nicer to Juli. Through out the film I could understand why Bryce liked Juli but I didn't get why Juli liked Bryce.It is based off a book so maybe you get more character depth in the book but I wish I felt more compelled by the characters. 

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Over all - I would say it was cute film and good for a quiet night in. I felt it was pretty accurate... by that I mean there wasn't any huge party (which to me always seems to be in teen movies but never actually happen), the characters talk awkwardly (which was true for all my conversations with boys), and I felt like they could be true people. And while they never had a true conversation it was a cute coming of age story. 

When I was 12 or 13, I would have loved a boy looking at me like that.
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