Movie Review
Netflix's latest original teen feature, Tall Girl 2, reintroduces viewers to Jodi Kreyman, played by Dance Moms alumni Ava Michelle; A sweet, all-American sixteen-year-old, breathing! - six feet tall. But this time, he owns every inch.
After a lengthy recap breathlessly narrated by Jodi and her now-boyfriend Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck), Tall Girl 2 picks up where the first film left off. Jodi's decision to embrace her height (announced in a rousing speech at the homecoming dance) has earned her admiration and popularity among her once-bullying peers.
However, Jody's confidence takes a turn for the worse when she flirts with stage star and loveable co-star Tommy (Jean Luis Castellanos). Will she be able to mend her relationship and overcome her anxiety during opening night?
According to Netflix's quarterly report, Tall Girl (2019) was watched by 41 million households during its first month of streaming. For context, that's almost two-thirds the audience as 2020's Tiger King phenomenon.
Unrealistic
However, not everyone was a fan, with many finding the film unrealistic and making no bones about conflating tallness with social inequality. The New York Times suggests that "many viewers have little empathy for the petty complaints of wealthy teenagers driving to school .
Tall Girl 2 avoids this criticism by moving past the woes of Jodie's tall daughters. (To be fair, were they funnier than Rachel Leigh Cook or Anne Hathaway playing the ugly duckling?) A curious onlooker asked Jody, "What - six-two, six-three?" while commenting. the teenager just smiles, even though "three months ago it was really bothering you" Dunkleman (exposition voiceover). Jodi may still be 6.1 tall, but the odds can't be lower.
Aside from a convoluted love triangle and a number of unnecessary subplots (were audiences really clamoring for a cameo by Stig's Swedish cousin?), the film's main conflict revolves around the amateurish production of "Guys and Dolls." Because what do 2022 teenage audiences love more than seventies musicals?
Light Plot
Despite this light plot, Tall Girl 2 has its charms. The cast has great chemistry and boasts a number of enjoyable performances, particularly Angela Kinsey and Steve Zahn as Jodi's loving, if eccentric, mother and father. In fact, only Ava seems to lack Michelle charisma and is somewhat flat in many scenes. Still, an actress can only work with the material she's given. Meryl Streep herself would struggle to bring life to such a one-note, vanilla character.
Tall Girl 2 also has some really funny dialogues. ("I don't know where to get pork intestines," one character says of Kimmy's Carrie-inspired girl plot. "Google it," she said.) The film's humor, though, is more High School Musical. More Than Average Girls. As with the Disney Channel franchise, Tall Girl 2 requires a high level of tolerance to enjoy.
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