|, September 8, 2020 [DISCUSSION] The Half of It (2020) SYNOPSIS : A shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-A student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. I would highly recommend it! The love triangle is not entirely absent, but I wouldn't say it's annoying or that it drags down the overall goal and mood of the fairy dance arc. I love how there are so many quiet moments in the movie where you see and feel the characters' effort in trying to understand each other. Rated PG-13 for brief language, teen drinking and the delicate throb of unrequited love. With Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Wolfgang Novogratz. Too much of "The Half of It" doesn't pass the smell test to play as the heartsore farce it aspires to be, even as the emotions at the movie's core ring loud and true. But Aster did basically give her father the finger by walking out of Trig's proposal and deciding on art school, so in a couple of years, once she leaves Squahamish, maybe she could be different, those were texts they had sent back and forth earlier in the movie, when Ellie was still pretending to be Paul. Wu’s feature debut, “Saving Face” (2005), was one of the rare films to focus on the queer Asian-American experience. For viewers in search of an uncommonly smart, tender, and funny coming-of-age story, The Half of It has everything. [9] However, the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this wasn’t a movie specifically about ‘family issues’ I do wish that her relationship with her father had a deeper foundation shown within the film. DISCUSSION. He was upset that he couldn’t eloquently verbalize his love for aster like Ellie did. I love him too, and I'm happy his character developed towards the end. Yeah, I had the feeling that the plot was sort of all over the place. The Half of It Critics Consensus. Like, there is literally a scene early on where he figures out Ellie likes her, and it goes pretty much uncommented, then he realizes it again after trying to kiss her, when he is appalled by the revelation that she had 'sinned'? Don't have an account? Sign up here. The social news site Reddit has occasionally been the topic of controversy due to the presence of communities on the site (known as "subreddits") devoted to explicit or controversial material. I thought he was just going to be out of the picture after he found out Ellie was lesbian. If you need it, here is the early games discussion. [DISCUSSION] (US) The half of it (2020) A romantic comedy about life, teenage dilemmas and sexual diversity. After a game, mistakenly believing that she loves him, and having developed feelings for her, Paul attempts to kiss Ellie, but she rejects him. She lives with her widowed father and performs most of his duties as station master and signalman. It is a love story, it's just not a 'romance' story. at the end what ellie meant saying "you could never be different how do i know im different ecc " ? What also got me was the scene where Paul said it was either his grandma's heart or his. I also appreciated how things didn’t just ‘magically pan out’ for everyone- it takes vulnerability and uncertainty (‘being bold’ as they say in the movie) to bring things forward sometimes. Her pastor dad's very strict with her and she called him a Nazi at one point. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Having yearned for Aster from afar, Ellie jumps at the chance to perform literary drag. | Rating: 3.5/5 However, in this case "[i]t's a self-love story because these characters don't really end up with each other, but at the very end, they end up with something. As in Ek Villain, the movie they watched together, Paul runs besides the train as it leaves. There are no featured audience reviews for The Half of It at this time. Ellie is secretly in love with Aster and initially refuses, but accepts the work after learning that her home's electricity will be shut off if they fail to make a minimum payment. Coming Soon. It was a serious movie covering serious topics, but it didn't really take itself too seriously if that makes sense. Cookies help us deliver our Services. I do agree that they sort of cut short some dialogues and scenes to move onto the next. Still kind of speechless, but there is a lot to appreciate! The Half of It Movie Discussion. love paul. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. i felt like there could have been more to that. [2], Decider said the plot is "an unbearably cute premise—a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac with a queer twist—that seems so perfect and so obvious, it’s a wonder the movie hasn’t been made yet", and "an adorable teen film that will no doubt service an extremely underserved audience. Solid movie that I recommend everyone watches. | Rating: 4/5 There are parts that I thought were so well done and then some that were sooo bad that I physically cringed ( like the church scene). Ellie kisses Aster and tells her that she'll see her in a couple of years. If The Half of It lacks the pizzazz and energy of similar Netflix fare, and doesn't have much to say beyond its initial setup, it at least takes a stab at doing something different. The only lyrics I can seem to pick out are "we could do it over and over and over again, over and over die young at the end." By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Please help!! New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the NetflixBestOf community, Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. When Aster talked about "if I were different", I think she meant if she were a stronger, more liberated person who had the strength to live their life their way and not bow to family or societal pressure. But I also think it may have been a choice. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. It doesn't appear in any feeds, and anyone with a direct link to it will see a message like this one. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places.