The wallflower tale has been updated for the modern generation. I can’t say the basic story is any better than it used to be, but the present slew of films aimed at ugly ducklings has a much greater chance of finding the pond than the ones of generations past. Why? Because films are no longer putting glasses on Rachel Leigh Cook and pretending she looks like Ursula the Sea Witch. The new brand of films in this genre like Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and Dumplin’ actually makes heroines of girls that most boys probably would swipe left on. Today’s figure is no different. Today’s figure is also 6’1”.
To be sure, two yards and an inch (1.85M) isn’t Manute Bol size. It isn’t completely undatable, is it? I mean 6’1” is center/forward on the high school girls basketball team, sure, but it’s hardly can’t-fit-into-a-compact-rental. However, if you surround Jodi (Ava Michelle) with dudes like Griffin Gluck and give her small parents like Steve Zahn and Angela Kinsey, well, yeah, she might look like a yeti when the camera is positioned just so.
Crate-carrying Jack (Gluck) is gaga about Tall Girl Jodi, which is abnormal for the genre, but not unheard of. I guess he’s the Jon Cryer to Ava’s Molly Ringwald. Yes, Jodi could probably dropkick Jack through the uprights on the football field. Yet they still seem like a pretty good match. Why doesn’t this movie want them to be together? Jack’s devotion also detracts from the key element in films like these i.e. how much we side with the girl. When Jodi smiles and converses from a seated position, an interested party should have a better reaction than sheer panic when she stands up. And being asked “how’s the weather up there?” from seventeen peers a day is just stupid.
FWIW, I read a story once about ex U of Florida center Dwayne Schintzius. [this is strictly from memory, so please correct if I have mistakenly attributed Mr. Schintzius] Once on campus, a would-be wise-ass asked “how’s the weather up there?” to Dwayne. The Florida Gators big man promptly spit of the fellow and said, “looks like rain.” There’s a route you might consider, Jodi.
Ah, but Jodi’s hoop dreams are answered when in walks Swedish foreign exchange student Stig Mohlin (Luke Eisner). Stig is not only a match for Jodi’s height requirements (“you must be this tall to date me…”), he’s also among the prettiest people known to this planet. The film likes to pretend that Sweden is a land where Stig is neither tall, nor handsome. Don’t buy it.
One of the best things movies do is remind us that the tall, the wide, and the ugly all have feelings and odds are they’ve had to eat their feelings a lot more than average folks. As a result, I love rooting for the wallflower films where the underdog is truly an underdog, or in this case a full blown pituitary-enhanced under-mastiff. That said, Tall Girl is likable, but pretty tame. The Mean Girls are kind of mean. The standard confide-able girlfriend is acceptable then absent, and Stig is all over the map – not unlike his character. I felt for Jodi throughout, and the movie finds itself with a nice conclusion and a father-daughter moment that will bring tears to your eyes. Other than a few good piano scenes, however, Tall Girl plays small, like a film deliberately watered down by producers. I would very much like to see, however, if either director Nzingha Stewart or young sunflower Ava Michelle ever makes a film better than this one.
Do look on a giantess with pity
Whether she be fair or not-so-pretty
If you break her heart
For romance you start
The bleeding could flood the whole city
Rated TV-PG, 101 Minutes
Director: Nzingha Stewart
Writer: Sam Wolfson
Genre: The one where we pretend the girl ain’t got nothin’ goin’ for her, except she does
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Wallflowers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Mean Girls
