On September 13, 2019, Netflix released yet another Netflix Original Teen Rom-Com movie to their streaming service titled "Tall Girl." It is exactly what you think the movie would be about: a tall girl wanting to fit in and find love.
Now I didn't go into this movie wanting to be disappointed. On the contrary, I was slightly excited to watch it, but that is mainly because the main character's name is Jodi. A weird thing to be excited for, but my sister's name is Jodi and her name is never used in TV or movies. So, to hear her name in a movie was a big deal for me and her.
Other than that, I had a feeling this movie was going to be very predictable and cliché.
I was right.
The movie follows the standard Teen Rom-Com storyline.
Jodi, the awkward girl, has yet to come to terms with her personal issues that set her apart from others. Being 6'1" tall, she thinks she'll never find love and it is all because of her height. Until one day when sees the new guy, who is slightly taller than her, and knows by one passing glance that he is the guy for her.
Meanwhile, Jodi's two best friends, the confident and powerful girl, who deserves to be treated with much more respect, and the guy best friend, who has always loved Jodi for who she is but won't get the time of day from her, try to convince her that she does not need to date the new guy to be happy.
Oh, and of course, there is the popular group who are there just to make the main character slightly more miserable in her quest to find love.
The element that sets this story apart from others? Well, the new guy says he does love Jodi, but for some reason, he can't find the courage to break up with the popular girl to be with her... until it's too late.
In the end, Jodi finds the confidence to walk tall... (taller?) and accept herself for who she is while finally giving her guy best friend the chance to date her.
All-in-all, I thought this movie was rather boring and drawn-out.
Every time I would think this was the scene that could be the turning point, there was more to the movie.
There was scene after scene that negatively commented on Jodi's height. Like the overuse of the phrase, "How's the weather up there?"
Some scenes were just awkward to watch because it felt as if those scenes were just placed there to try to add a comedic element to this movie. For instance, Jodi's parents hosted a tall-person meeting at their house. This moment wasn't funny nor entertaining in any way. It was just an unnecessary moment that did not add anything to the film.
Honestly, this movie gave weird character traits to most of the characters, like the father being so uncomfortable with his daughter's height and how Jodi's perfect sister's only flaw was that she had allergies.
30 minutes into the movie, my sister Jodi and I were "predicting" what will happen next because we got bored watching it, so we made it into a game.
There was nothing in this movie that surprised me or made me want to continue to watch it. I only finished the movie because I knew I wanted to write a review about it.
Now I love Netflix and most of their content, but I think they missed the mark with this movie.
In the end, I'm not going to tell you to not watch "Tall Girl" because movies are subjective and what I might not like does not mean you might not like it. All I am saying is that I do not think I will be watching this movie again any time soon.
