Wilkins Lu

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW! AVERT YOUR EYES NOW! Things I liked: • At first I was apprehensive about how a teen romcom might treat an issue I feel strongly about, I thought Ellie and Aster coming together was a stretch that would likely ruin the story. Still that didn’t stop me from wanting it to happen, the director does a good job at dangling that Disney ending until the very end, where instead you get this well crafted wholesome send off that you actually needed. • It first takes you down the familiar and comfortable path of ‘getting the girl’, but then gently turns into a refreshing exploration of the different kinds of love along with its complexities. Huge plus for this! • We know that no one in life comes away unburnt from love, and the movie definitely shows the striving for love at ones own detriment. Ellie is in the closet about her sexuality and knowing that she may never have Aster, she allows herself to get lost in the pursuit under the guise of Paul’s endeavours. You sense this suffocated yearning. • When Paul comes to terms that Ellie is gay and defaults to his Christian principles, he delivers a gut punch by saying ‘this is a sin’ and she is going to go to hell. But afterwards, in a passing discussion with Ellie’s dad, he begins to understand that in order to really love someone you have to accept them for all that they are. Although he knows he can’t have her, he finds a way to accept, and therefore love her for all that she is. • Ellie as our Chinese-American protagonist; She’s intelligent, she’s socially awkward, she’s a loner and she plays instruments. She’s developed this hard exterior from having to grow up quickly following her mother’s passing, caring for her dad and casual racism. She is every ethic girl surviving through high school. • Aster is humanised, you get the sense that she is onto the two of them but can’t quite prove it. She’s her own person with flaws, not some one dimensional damsel for the taking. I did wonder why she wouldn’t just break away from the crew of juveniles she found so superficial, but then again high school was a jungle. • Seeing Ellie help her dad work at the local train station was pretty neat. • The clothing was nicely done, it was nice to see Ellie shed all of her layers in the final scene. When she faces up to Aster, she wears a light blue figure hugging shirt, signifying her newly developed confidence. Things I didn't get: • Why does Aster think she’s supposed to marry this jock? The guy is clearly a self absorbed idiot. I get it’s a small town, but surely someone as deep thinking as Aster knows she is not chained to her hometown and the pool of potential suitors spans beyond Squahamish. I guess something needed to rouse Ellie for the church scene? Other notes • Fifty dollar power bill aside, I wonder how much of what Ellie did for Paul was actually for herself. • Ellie and Paul do end up stalking Aster for a bit, not sure how this would go unnoticed in a small town. There was a scene when they are staked outside of Aster’s house and looking on as she has dinner with her family, a tad creepy. • We know Ellie is a writer, but I’m not sure how she would have fared as a dating coach. If she is supposed to be a loner, where did she get these conversational skills to go on to teaching Paul? girl has got some game!