I just saw it last night, it was ok (it wasn't boring nor was it very entertaining), but I didn't get the point it was trying to make. Was it you can shortcut your way to your dreams if you lie, cheat, and steal (as that was exactly what she did)? It wasn't about the pressures of class division (as that review states), as no one treated her as any differently regardless of her social status and any division she felt was just in her head. Her anxiety against her parents, the school, and the upper class of her school turned out to be non-issues, and when she got to where or what she wants, she just finds that the grass never gets greener for her once she was on the other side. In fact, she just becomes resented by those she abandons to get there and ultimately ends up longing for the side she left. I guess that was the message of the movie.

That does sound boring.

I get so tired of seeing everything couched in how it relates to Trump and Trump's voters. Hollywood and the press are absolutely obsessed with it. I didn't vote for either candidate and strongly disliked how Obama conducted himself while in office. Yet I didn't spend those years, or these, constantly inserting politics into every discussion. I have my own life to live and have come to the realization that politics are incredibly transitory; it makes no difference who is in office.

It's goddamn movie, folks. It's one of a thousand and its influence is minimal. It's sure to comfort those who agree with its social commentary and those that disagree will stay away. The Earth will turn and nobody will be talking about it after the Oscars or at least after another critical darling takes its place.

Now, when's the next Terminator movie coming out, again?

@AlienFanatic said:

I get so tired of seeing everything couched in how it relates to Trump and Trump's voters. Hollywood and the press are absolutely obsessed with it. I didn't vote for either candidate and strongly disliked how Obama conducted himself while in office. Yet I didn't spend those years, or these, constantly inserting politics into every discussion. I have my own life to live and have come to the realization that politics are incredibly transitory; it makes no difference who is in office.

That wasn't what the movie was about, it's just how the reviewer saw it. If anything the movie was saying that those who are rich aren't as unexclusive as those without think, and they are just like everyone else. Just as the main protagonist was rebelling against her life to gain acceptance, so were the kids of the rich in that they are also just seeking acceptance. That doing anything to get your dreams won't lead to satisfaction as life on the other side isn't any better, you just end up hurting others by getting there that way, and in hindsight blinded you from what you already had.

I guess the movie had something to say after all.

How does this movie relate to Trump? To me it's about being a teenager and finding the chance to rebel where you can. That finding out that your parents, while not perfect people, are still doing the best they can and you should be grateful to that. The relationship between Lady Bird and her mom was perfect in this movie.

I'm trying to go for an engaging, funny youtube channel so, if you have the time, take a look. Hope you enjoy what you see and if you have any thoughts or criticisms, i'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance. A review of the movie here- https://youtu.be/VG9oZ4p6dDc

Guys... It's about the girl's relationship with her mom. The original title was mother and daughter.

@rudely_murray said:

Looking forward to this very much - it doesn't open in my neck of the woods until April! - and I'm sure it's good. I'm much more sure, of course, that it isn't the best film ever!

Guardian story

Don't know what this reviewer is on about. Lady Bird was probably the most conservative Oscar film of the past 20 years. Religious leaders portrayed as "normal". The rich aren't demonized. Socioeconomic divisions are presented as something that exists only in the warped minds of the poor. Ostentatious body piercings are even correctly portrayed as the stupid barriers to gainful employment and happiness that they are. The only overt political moments of the entire film are the lead character's eye rolling over Ronald Reagan and her outburst at the abortion assembly but the ending makes clear that the lead character's worldview is faulty and misguided.

Almost all the nominated films this year were extremely pro-Trump- from the wicked skewering of white liberals in Get Out to the meditation on the resilience of white rural communities that was Three Billboards , but this one was probably the most conservative of them all in outlook and message.

@FatDrunkAndStupid said:

@rudely_murray said:

Looking forward to this very much - it doesn't open in my neck of the woods until April! - and I'm sure it's good. I'm much more sure, of course, that it isn't the best film ever!

Guardian story

Don't know what this reviewer is on about. Lady Bird was probably the most conservative Oscar film of the past 20 years. Religious leaders portrayed as "normal". The rich aren't demonized. Socioeconomic divisions are presented as something that exists only in the warped minds of the poor. Ostentatious body piercings are even correctly portrayed as the stupid barriers to gainful employment and happiness that they are. The only overt political moments of the entire film are the lead character's eye rolling over Ronald Reagan and her outburst at the abortion assembly but the ending makes clear that the lead character's worldview is faulty and misguided.

Yes, that's exactly what I got that this movie was saying as well. Well put!

@FatDrunkAndStupid I've long realised that most reviewers can'rt tell the difference between a portrayal and an endorsement of an idea or act in film... Many are the film equivalent of tone-deaf

From your comments it seems they misunderstood that here as they had done for Starship Troopers and to some extent Get Out, although I think some reviewers got the last one due to the comedy elements...

It's one of the reasons I want to see this film, to find out on my own... that and I really like Saoirse Ronan...

@FatDrunkAndStupid said: The rich aren't demonized. Socioeconomic divisions are presented as something that exists only in the warped minds of the poor.

I think you missed quite a lot. The rich weren't overt assholes, but they were portrayed as clueless and entitled. The first boyfriend didn't even realize there were train tracks to be on the wrong side of, the other boyfriend who was all anti-money as long as it didn't cause himself any hardship (like attending private school in order to avoid disappointing his father), and the girl with the tanning bed had zero curiosity about the world outside of sacto because her life was so easy right there. The only significant on-screen interaction with the rich grandmother was centered around lady bird's ability to fold napkins for the dinner table just like the help at a country club would.

Almost all the nominated films this year were extremely pro-Trump- from the wicked skewering of white liberals in Get Out

Yeah... nope. Pointing out how racism infects liberal quarters of white society isn't pro-trump, in trump's america 'reverse-racism' is the real problem which is about as far away from the message of Get Out as it gets. The only possible interpretation of Get Out as pro-trump is that he's turned the GOP into the party of liberal tears whose only consistent policy goal is pwning the libtards, so anything that criticizes liberals counts as pro-trump. But, by that logic, Dr King would be pro-trump because he criticized the "shallow understanding from people of good will."

to the meditation on the resilience of white rural communities that was Three Billboards

Hhhm, what I saw was a criticism of small town white america. Starting with a police department that was openly racist and utterly mismanaged because the sheriff's popularity in the community allowed him to get away with excusing the bad behavior of his deputies with a shrug and a, "what can you do?" It took the appointment of a black outsider sheriff to clean things up, a task he started on literally the first minute he walked into the building. There was also criticism of the media for shallow reporting that chases sensationalism and dabbles in conspiracy theories (when the reporter tried to link the billboards to the suicide, something it seemed the town was eager to buy into) which mirrors a lot of criticism of the media's treatment of trump's campaign. Meanwhile the deputy's story of redemption was a personal one that could easily fit into just about any setting (kind of reminded me of the cop in Crash).

lf-> @Dali Parton said:

@FatDrunkAndStupid said: The rich aren't demonized. Socioeconomic divisions are presented as something that exists only in the warped minds of the poor.

I think you missed quite a lot. The rich weren't overt assholes, but they were portrayed as clueless and entitled. The first boyfriend didn't even realize there were train tracks to be on the wrong side of, the other boyfriend who was all anti-money as long as it didn't cause himself any hardship (like attending private school in order to avoid disappointing his father), and the girl with the tanning bed had zero curiosity about the world outside of sacto because her life was so easy right there. The only significant on-screen interaction with the rich grandmother was centered around lady bird's ability to fold napkins for the dinner table just like the help at a country club would.

I took it as the rich trying to fit in with everyone else. The anti-money thing as trying to say to everyone else that it's not his money that defines him. The girl with the tanning bed went out of her way to make herself look like a slut in their eyes to ease the other girl's guard around her and accept that rich girls have flaws too, but gets the opposite result in that the girls just place her on a pedestal regardless because of her status. The first boyfriend was just naïve in that he saw no difference between himself and others. My take on the message of the movie was that Lady Bird kept expecting to face resistance from entitled snobs, but kept being proven wrong and that her expectations are far from reality (her very criminal and misguided actions are instantly forgiven by them). Lady Bird acts like the self-entitled snob that she expects the rich to be like, and justifies the very self-serving actions she does to reach that end, which just makes those on the other side appear even more delusional. The message she gets in the end is that the other side is not great and that she would have been happier where she was, also the rich are good, and the poor are stupid.

@Innovator said

also the rich are good, and the poor are stupid.

If that were the actual message of the movie, the howls of protest from the liberal quarter would be deafening and unending. Instead, the movie has been getting nearly universal adulation.

@AlienFanatic said:

I get so tired of seeing everything couched in how it relates to Trump and Trump's voters. Hollywood and the press are absolutely obsessed with it. I didn't vote for either candidate and strongly disliked how Obama conducted himself while in office. Yet I didn't spend those years, or these, constantly inserting politics into every discussion. I have my own life to live and have come to the realization that politics are incredibly transitory; it makes no difference who is in office.

It's goddamn movie, folks. It's one of a thousand and its influence is minimal. It's sure to comfort those who agree with its social commentary and those that disagree will stay away. The Earth will turn and nobody will be talking about it after the Oscars or at least after another critical darling takes its place.

Now, when's the next Terminator movie coming out, again?

Lady Bird isn't even close to being a political movie. for one thing it is set almost 20 years ago. It is a coming of age movie, a chick flick with the primary focus being a young woman's relationship with her mother. It's well done by the standards of the genre and the acting is first rate. Laurie Metcalf in particular is sublime.