Movies

I actually liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. At first glance it seems like a typical teen movie without any substance, but trust me it's not. I think the way Allison Burnett structured everything was very cool and the ending was thought-provoking. The ending confused me at first, but after I re-watched it a few times I think I get the idea. The whole movie, we were seeing her life through the eyes of her blog-viewers. At the end, we're still her blog-followers, except that now Katie/Amy has gone missing, and her mom is writing the blog entry. Amy had been embellishing her stories. In reality, her life was much less of a soap-opera than we thought it to be. Shows that perspective changes everything. What really goes on behind the TV, the news, gossip magazines? Probably something completely different from what we think.

This movie seems light and easy on the surface...engaging and entertaining, but there is so much more depth to the movie and the characters than what appears at first blush. The main character, a teenage girl seemingly lost, takes us on an introspective journey through our teenage years, our early adulthood, our complicated marriages and all the important and complicated relationships that influenced each of those stages of our lives. The characters are intricate and smart and multi-layered. The book is even smarter! I rented the movie after reading the book and I loved them both so much that I may need to read the book again and re-rent the movie! Highly recommend both!

I'll spare you a full review. I just have to say that it was a pretty good film, right up until the last few minutes. The film jarringly switches gears completely, presenting itself as if the film and the negative ending were a true story. It's not. So why pull such a cynical switch-er-roo? Slut shaming? Slut scaring? Self sabotage on the part of the writer / director? An effort to side step away from the idea that an 18 year old girl can own her own sensuality? Maybe some combination of the above? It not only ruins the film, but it really exploits the tragedy of real girls and women who go missing in order to provide a self indulgent "twist" ending.Totally unnecessary when the actual film was rather good.