The Half of It Movie Review
I’ve been making an effort to watch more films directed by women which is the main reason I chose to watch The Half of It. The other reason is that I’d heard through the grapevine that this had a queer story line and since it’s June (AKA Pride Month) I decided that I was out of excuses. So I fired up Netflix and gave it a go.
Alice Wu’s follow up to her first directorial feature, Saving Face, left me with mixed feelings. The Half of It has teenager and loner Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) at the center. Ellie makes money by writing other students papers for English class. One day she is approached by the gangly and somewhat awkward Paul (Daniel Diemer). He has a crush on a girl named Aster (Alexxis Lemire) and wants to write her a love letter because it’s more romantic than just talking to her or texting her. Ellie reluctantly agrees and to no one’s surprise (except perhaps Paul) the letter works.
This sparks the beginning of a somewhat awkward friendship between Ellie and Paul. They begin to spend a lot of time together doing “recon” work on Aster. They research things Aster likes and Ellie coaches Paul on how to have a conversation with a girl. Somewhere over the course of the film the unlikely pair become certifiable friends. The glitch in the whole friendship part is that Ellie has romantic feelings for, not Paul as you might traditionally expect, but Aster. You can imagine the cringe-worthy moments that ensue.
The Half of It was at times adorably fun. Watching two teenagers play ping pong and open up about their lives was refreshingly honest. Ellie struggles not only with being queer in secret, but with being Asian in a tiny town that is predominantly white. Wu is able to hit on two major experiences with a great level of care and honesty. However, at just one hour and forty-four minutes this should not have lagged, but it did at some points. It didn’t ruin the movie for me, but I did notice the ill-timed slow pacing.
This movie is full of oddities and I predict some will be repelled by the quirkiness. For example, the fictional town Ellie lives in is called Squahamish and not a whole lot happens there other than making sausage. Wait until you see Paul’s creation: the sausage taco. Ellie also spends a lot of time by the train tracks in a tiny booth where she operates the train signals. Not to mention Paul and Ellie are both excruciatingly awkward at times. But then again, who wasn’t as a teenager? If you watch this, you’ll stay for the performances. Lewis is phenomenal and relatable and Diemer will win you over despite coming off as a bit of an idiot at first.
This is not your typical teenage rom com at all. If you’re into that, I’ll save you the trouble. But Wu has a lot of important things to say, and her main themes are important. Friendship, romantic feelings, and the growing pains of life are on full display in The Half of It. That’s not even including the queer story line or the struggles of having immigrant parents and being the only Asian person for miles. For some reason I just felt like some of the movie was missing, almost like Wu should have taken more time to develop the script. If you like quirk, this one’s for you. If not, I’d keep scrolling the limitless possibilities of Netflix.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like quirky movies
2. You like coming of age stories
3. You like queer stories
