Lady Bird Spoiler-free Review

The Oscars are literally around the damn corner, and as per usual I had to bring you guys my reviews for all the Best Picture nominees. We’ve got most of them covered so far, but you’ll see the last few here in a bit. First up is Lady Bird which stars Saoirse Ronan and is directed by Greta Gerwig.

IMDB Synopsis: In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.

Greta Gerwig seemed to come out of nowhere, but long time fans will know that she’s worked with some of the top directors and writers in Hollywood in front of and behind the camera. I first heard about Lady Bird when the buzz started to form based on its ridiculously awesome ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and elsewhere.

The film is pretty straight forward as it follows a young girl who is basically just navigating life and dealing with friends, family, boys and deciding what to do with her future. So what sets this film apart from all of the other coming of age films out there in the world? Well, the truth is that I really don’t know.

There’s no doubt that the film is really well directed, and taps into its realism in the way the relationships between people are constructed. What really stood out for me in a big way was how Lady Bird and her mom literally go from arguing to discussing how cool a dress is in the same sentence.

This and other examples in the film is exactly how families talk to one another. The ebb and flow of conflict and affectation is what defines family, and that’s something we can all relate to and what makes the story so universal.

I feel weird about this one because I think it’s an unremarkable story that’s constructed on a technical level (from script to screen) in a very remarkable way. An issue I had with the film is with the trailer which doesn’t seem to hit the mark in terms of the tone of the film itself. The trailer appears way more quirky, and while the film does explore the quirkiness and doesn’t shy away from funny moments, the trailer makes it seem like Lady Bird really leans into that, which I don’t think it does.

Overall, Lady Bird is one of the better made films this year, with some cool moments, but mostly it’s just a pretty average story about an average girl from Sacramento. And there’s really nothing wrong with that.

Rating: 7/10

You can watch the trailer for Lady Bird below:

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