Alright, Troop Zero, let's go!
This is a Amazon original movie that just came out yesterday my time zone and it's the weirdest coming of age story you could ever watch and I loved every second of it. The plot surrounds a girl named Christmas, who lives in a semi rural city in 1970's Georgia that's fascinated with space and the aliens and it's sort of an outcast for not acting like a regular girl. One day she hears about a contest for a group called the Birdies, (think Girl Scouts basically) where at this years Birdie scout Jubilee the winning troop will get to add a message to the golden record. An actual NASA project where they sent a record made of gold into space in hopes of life finding it one day. Christmas wants to get on the record but there's a problem, it's a birdie scout contest, and the local troop are stuck up brats who despise her, troop leader included. So she makes a rag tag team of other misfits to make her own birdie scout troop. Her one friend Joseph, who's a very flamboyant boy, a Christian girl named Anne-Claire, a rebel girl named Hell-No and her odd friend Smash, and a troop mother who wants more than anything at first to be as far away from this as possible, will they get into the Jubilee? Or will this gang of social outcasts be just as bad as everyone says they are...
So yeah some of this stuff has been done many times before, a bunch of underdogs going up against a group of bullies and yeah, technically you're right. But you need to know the context...all the kid characters, are actual kids, middle school aged kids actually, not some mid 20 something baby faces that pretend to be younger. The entire group give strong performances as well so you feel their pain when they stumble and laugh at their attempts, Smash in particular is fun to watch, the entire film she only has one line, and the rest is grunts and yells and smashing things it's quite fun seeing her character develop strictly in expressions alone. But what makes this film different from other movies of similar themes? Well a maybe 12 year old with the nickname Hell-No could give you a idea. There's cussing, fighting, mixed personalities clashing with one another, it's definitely not a simple kids movie, but mature enough to not be a trashy teen comedy either.
Then comes the Jubilee...oh good Lord. How do I speak about it without spoilers...it doesn't go the traditional route of a big climax like the Championship game or the final two competitors going head to head. In fact, it takes such a massive right turn that it's both, surprising, predictable if you caught onto foreshadowing, and just a uniquely bizarre resolution that I dare not say more so it can be experienced by you guys if you ever check it out.
The conclusion of this film, I loved it, absolutely loved it. From start to finish I had a stupid grin on my face just seeing everything play out, it doesn't fall victim to stereotypes, if anything it embraces them in a new way, and if you were the odd ball at school back in your day, have I got a little film for you..
10/10 first favorite movie of the new year.
Topic: Movies Talk! What have you watched lately? (Read 46897 times)