REVIEW: Tall Girl Falls Short
Tall Girl is Netflix’s latest offering in the teen comedy genre and it’s the first one that is a complete miss. Unlike To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which was delightful, and even Sierra Burgess is a Loser, which was ok at best, Tall Girl has absolutely zero redeeming qualities.
Tall Girl is essentially the story of tall high school girl, Jodi (Ava Michelle) who has felt alienated her whole life due to her height. Despite being conventionally attractive, after all Jodie is thin and blonde, Jodi’s insecurities over her height rule her every decision. Her classmates tease her for being tall, high school boys overlook her, and she no longer plays the piano, which she once loved, because she is tall. When a tall, blonde foreign exchange student begins to attend Jodi’s school, she enlists the help of her beauty queen older sister (Sabrina Carpenter) to win him over.
As Jodie attempts to find herself through being made over by her sister, she pushes away the ones who cared most about her when she was “invisible”. If this story sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Every stereotypical high school comedy cliché one can think of happens in this flick. Does a house party go awry? Check. Does the lead girl fight with her best friend over something innocuous? Check. Is there a school dance with a big reveal? Check.
It’s difficult to find anything likeable about this film because the story is just so bad. The acting across the board is fine. Michelle makes her film debut in this role and is easy to watch on screen. Griffin Gluck, who you may remember from Netflix’s American Vandal, portrays the scrappy best friend, not-so-secretly-in-love with Jodi well. Sabrina Carpenter, as the beauty queen big sister Harper, and Anjelika Washington, as the confident, fashionista best friend Fareeda, are the only bright spots. Washington is especially underused; her character had the most potential to counter Jodi’s insecurities. And Carpenter’s joy at playing such an over the top character practically leaps off the screen.
There’s also a weird parent part of the storyline where Jodi’s dad is terrified of how tall his daughter could get. It’s incredibly off-putting and does nothing to aid Jodi, her dad, or the overall tale. At a run time of 101 minutes, this film definitely drags on and on with no relief in sight.
If you’re looking for a fun film to catch on a Friday night, re-watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. If you’re set on seeing a new Netflix offering, watch Unbelievable. At least the anger felt watching Unbelievable will be righteous and warranted.
Grade: D