• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
  • Join
Northeastern University's Film Enthusiasts Club
.

Meghan Murphy on A Girl Like Her

3/27/2015

4 Comments

 
Picture
A “faux documentary” written and directed by Amy S. Weber, A Girl Like Her focuses on one high school in the aftermath of a student’s attempted suicide. Film crews initially flood South Brookdale High School to do a story on its recent ranking as one of the top schools in the country, but when sophomore Jessica Burns (Lexi Ainsworth) is hospitalized after swallowing pills, the reporters quickly change their focus. Rumors begin to circulate that bullying drove Jessica to it, and as everyone becomes more desperate for answers, fingers are pointed at one person: Avery Keller (Hunter King), Jessica’s former best friend.

Of course, bullying is as prevalent and problematic today as ever, as parents and school administrators continue to struggle with finding ways to prevent and deal with it (while some just don’t seem to want to acknowledge it in the first place). But Weber’s story is so painfully obvious that it brings nothing to the table. Jessica, the victim, is quiet and introverted, and really only has one friend. Avery, of course, is blonde, pretty, and popular (and dressed in all pink when we first meet her, naturally). About a year earlier, Jessica stopped Avery from cheating off of her test, and Avery has been harassing her ever since, by cornering her in the hallways, calling her names, and sending her countless hateful emails and text messages.

The most frustrating thing about this film is that it seems like Weber lacks a true understanding of what motivates teenagers to want to hurt each other, and how they go about doing it. Isn’t bullying (especially among girls) often much more insidious than a shove in the hallway or writing “everyone hates u” on someone’s Facebook wall? Should someone’s personal problems serve as an excuse for them to treat other people so badly? Bullying among high school girls is an incredibly complex issue, and this story only scratches the surface, in the most obvious way possible.

The film doesn’t take opportunities to make any sort of statement on the issue. In one scene, the school administration holds a conference with the parents about the incident, and everyone has the same questions: what is the administration going to do to punish the bully? And what are they going to do to prevent something like this from happening again? The administration doesn’t have any answers, probably because the filmmakers don’t either.

There is one bright spot here, though: the film’s young cast. Avery and Jessica are both troubled girls -albeit in different ways- but this comes through quite naturally in both actresses’ performances. There are a few moments that feel genuine, where it briefly isn’t obvious that the whole thing isn’t completely scripted.

Speaking of which, I’m not sure if I see the point of making a scripted, contrived documentary about a very real issue. Perhaps if Weber was willing to do some detective work, she could have achieved something raw and real, and that could have actually contributed to the discussion.

Grade: C -
4 Comments
Judith Jones
5/23/2016 01:46:21 am

I think Meghan Murphy is completely off the mark. The only thing "painfully obvious" was her distaste for Amy Weber's docudrama. I'm quite sure that many bullies, if they were to see themselves after filming was over and knowing a young girl was struggling for her life due to their bad behavior would get a serious jolt. Of course,, not all bullies, but many would be affected by seeing themselves on film, acting in such an abusive and obnoxious way!

Reply
Reneé Jones
6/2/2016 06:28:33 pm

This was a great movie! It brought back feelings of inadequacies even after 39 years. "Girls in a Pack" are mean, thoughtless and are dangerous. I remember being run home, harassed in class and just not wanting to go to school. I thank God that I was not affected by wanting to take my life. Yes, bullying has been around a long time but I believe the pressure now is of enormous proportion. Praying for both parties. The Bully who is screaming for self esteem and the one being bullied who needs to know that they are not the problem. They are important, so much so that the bully is constantly reminded of how Great We Really Are! Everyone is screaming for HELP! Parents included!

Reply
Alyssa
6/17/2016 03:32:43 am

I'm 15, I watched this movie and intantly fell in love with the story behind it, it was very insparational and heart warming, I would like to see another just showing the aftermath of her waking up, showing the reactions of the parents and her friend Brian and if her and Avery were reunited in the bond of friendship. I would have also liked to see the arrival of her to the school and how she reacted to her locker. I loved the movie, but it makes me feel like you finished it in the middle of a sentence.

Reply
Pamela
11/24/2020 10:56:07 pm

Actually, almost every part of the film was improvised. Amy Weber did have ideas about where a scene should start and end but everything in between that was improvised. I think that the bullying was made more obvious in this film than in real life but they needed to show a lot of things in 1-2 hours that real life bullying would show over months or even years. I think the issues with Avery's family are made a bit too obvious as well but again they have a very short time to show a lot of things.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC President Ian Wolff at nufecblog@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.