Being above average in height is a characteristic that can come with many jokes and interesting interactions, especially for a girl. The new movie released by Netflix, Tall Girl, shows what it’s like to be extremely tall in a high school environment.                

The movie follows Jodi Kreyman (Ava Michelle), a 6’1”, 16 year old girl during her junior year of high school. It opens up with Jodi complaining about being tall and how hard life is with that trait. It follows with the average, foreseeable teenage love movie. She falls for a popular guy, Stig Mohlin (Luke Eisner) while she’s unpopular and not liked in the school. It continues with her experiencing a number of problems trying to get the guy and eventually getting a happy ending. 

Being predictable is not something many want to see in a movie, yet Tall Girl is an example of this. When the intro started, I could tell how the story was going to go. It’s just like every other Netflix Rom-Com. The ending was no surprise. 

Not only is this movie extremely predictable, it’s also very far-fetched. 

It features an extremely tall girl and only one other tall guy, which is beyond belief. The movie is implying that no school has guys over 6’1” and that everyone in the school is under 6”. We all know that’s not true. The way they filmed the movie made Jodi look like she towered over and was at least a foot taller than everyone else. Everyone cast in the movie, other than Jodi and Stig, were under 5’8”. This was another effort to make her look extremely tall. The only person taller than her was Stig, the one she was falling for. 

Some parts of this movie also seemed very rushed and fast-paced. Big events would come and go. There was an enormous amount of detail in the movie, which made big events under expressed and crowded in with the rest of the movie. The producers and directors needed to focus on main events and not just cram lots in. One example of this is the introduction. She explains who she is and her problem for about three minutes and then it moves onto the plot. 

Being tall is no enormous problem that needs to be covered in the media. In the movie, Jodi acts like this is the worst issue in the world and that it ruins her life. She even says “You think your life is hard? I’m a high school junior wearing size 13 Nikes. Men’s size 13 Nikes” Being tall and having no guys taller than you is not the end of the world. Issues such as racism, transphobia, police brutality and homophobia are way more important and should be covered in more media and movies to spread awareness. Compared to these examples, being tall is one of the smallest issues one could experience. For example, police brutality has killed people and is a massive issue in the U.S. Being tall has no casualties and is not an immense issue, some even think of it as an extraordinary trait. 

One thing I did like about the movie was the message put out in the end. Jodi learned to love and accept herself and to not listen to others. She ignored the bullying and learned to see the beauty within herself. This is really inspiring and something that most teens need to hear. Jodi does have a great support system with her family and friends, which helps her get through her obstacles.  Friends and family like Jack Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck), Harper Kreyman (Sabrina Carpenter), and Fareeda (Anjelika Washington) all talk about how she needs to be confident and how her height is not a bad thing. 

Tall Girl came out on Sept. 13, 2019, and was produced by McG and directed by Nzingha Stewart. It has received a total of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.5/10 stars. Opinions on it range as many people see it as a joke and unnecessary, and others love it and think it spreads a good message. Many memes have been made out of the storyline and the complications of the movie. When it came out, I saw a tremendous amount of negative opinions and jokes about it as it was trending on Twitter and TikTok. 

Again, I think Tall Girl is very predictable and fast-paced. I could tell what was going to happen next and how it was going to end. The movie is also extremely unrealistic. At Millard West, many guys are all taller than 6’1. Other problems should be covered in the media, not the issue of not having any guys to date that are your size. Although I didn’t really like the movie itself, it did give a good message. Accepting yourself and not listening to others is a lesson that all teens should know. Tall Girl spreads a positive message, but is not a movie to spend your time on.

2/5