autumnsoliloquy90 | flipped (2010) (Reply)

It's surprising this movie received very bad reviews online because personally I loved it. There are many films out there with more entertainment value, more complicated plots and definitely more aesthetically appealing, but it is only once in a while when you come across a gem of an emotional film about childhood innocence, young love and reality.

The story is told from the perspectives of two kids, Bryce and Juli. The narrative voice-over is abused a lot, but to good effect. Through it we learn more about the characters' personalities from the little mundane, seemingly trivial things they talk about. The conflicts and developments in the kids' story appear so juvenile and pointless, but they make the characters feel realistic and relateable. More importantly we can tell so much about their relationship and personal issues from their childish squabbles and conversations alone.

Juli is the sort of girl who's so special and unconventional she stands out in a bad way. She's like the Girl from 'My Sassy Girl' and Luna Lovegood from HP, minus the sass and over-the-top strange quirks, and with a whole lot of childhood innocence and passion. And boy, is she passionate. When Bryce first moves to their Juli's neighbourhood with his family, it was crush at first sight for Juli. She stalks him and latches on to him all the way till sixth grade, despite Bryce's annoyance with her. She finds her special place up a sycamore tree and refuses to climb down from it as protest to plans to cut the tree down. I wish I had a special place I'd defend like that. Like Bryce's grandpa says, she is one of those rare people you meet who're "iridescent" with "an iron backbone".

Of course, like a typical boy Bryce initially fails to see the wonder that is Juli. Though personally I think Bryce has always reciprocated Juli's feelings; it's just that like a typical immature boy, he took a long time to realise it. The title "flipped" refers to the development halfway through the film when the tables are turned and their situations reversed. That's not really a spoiler because it's in most synopsis, and in any case, knowing what to expect doesn't really ruin the movie. It's the little details throughout that makes this film special. There are no particularly weepy emotional scenes or romance with violins and fireworks; just a story about two kids dealing with growing up, life's realities and each other.

The cinematography is quirky enough for those who thought "500 days of summer" was a breath of fresh air. I have a feeling that this style would be the trend with romantic films targeted at a youthful demographic. The lead actors, 15-year-old Australian Callan McAullife and 14-year-old Madeline Carroll are cute and adorable in portraying their characters. Their acting came as a surprise because here I was thinking that there's very few child actors left with unaffected, natural acting. The film is based on the eponymous novel by Wendelin Van Draanen, directed by Rob Reiner whose most acclaimed work is "Stand By Me", another film about childhood and growing up which I love.

The ongoing theme in my body of work is that the women are always more emotionally developed than the men. If you notice in all my films, it's always a different version of the same film. The guys are always completely clueless, running around trying to figure out what's going on. Women are very emotionally mature; they know who they are, and it takes a while for the boy to realise how great the woman is. And that happens in "Flipped", it happens in "The Sure Thing", "When Harry Met Sally", "Princess Bride".

- Rob Reiner

I guess the era of films with this kind of theme was pretty much over by the early 90s, so it is nice to see a film dealing with the topic again. It is reminiscent of "My Girl" and "Now and Then", albeit maybe less cheese than these older movies. Some jokes in the film weren't funny at all, but if you can overlook that there were still some comedic moments. And of course, the stupidity of both characters and their actions are always good for a laugh and reminiscing.

Oh and it's set in the 60s, and the costumes look great. 8/10