What I liked and didn't

Great movie overall! I've rated it a 9.

I previously enjoyed writer/director Greta Gerwig in Damsels in Distress and was surprised that she chose not to act in this one, especially as it must be a very autobiographical story. (Gerwig was born in Sacramento, and graduated from Barnard.) Well, I suppose writing and directing is enough work already, especially the first time out, so we can look forward to her also acting in it next time. Lady Bird: the College Years? Or was Damsels in Distress already close enough? :)

The story she wrote is both funny and touching. Lots of laughs and yet also serious moments throughout, which was great to see.

It's interesting how often one doesn't know where the story is going and who the main characters are. For example, the [spoiler]Tracy Letts [/spoiler] character. You are not expecting him to play as large a role as he did. This brings up an entire topic of what I would like to call "false starts" in the film. This refers to plot developments that the viewer thinks are going to become major plot issues, but turn out to go nowhere, including [spoiler]the business with the teacher and cheating the grade, the drama teacher and his issues, the boyfriend who is an actor, the discovery that Lady Bird has lied about where her house is, etc.[/spoiler] I suspect that in most Hollywood movies, all these little bits would have been edited out as non-consequential to the ending. And while it's true that they are, it's likely the movie is better for keeping them in. In addition to providing false starts that keep us guessing about where the story is going, they help to create a whole world around this character, a world that is very inviting to visit and makes us want to spend more and more time in. Another effect is to help us feel what she feels. As I remarked on the way out of the theater, "Wow, even the life of a high school kid can be very complicated."

I've spent a fair amount of time in Sacramento and it was great seeing it here. I thought the way the sun was so strong that outdoor shots looked almost washed out was very appropriate. That's the way it really is there. In general I've never seen the area shot more lovingly.

It was interesting to see that the latest iteration of the school "popular girl" is no longer a blue-eyed blonde, but apparently an Hispanic (actually played by an Israeli). That was a refreshing change and really appropriate for California.

Feels like there was probably a lot of trouble over the ending. What we saw still isn't really satisfying to me. Of course the ending isn't everything and after accomplishing all that had gone before I'm willing to forgive all. But while watching, part of me thought that it should have been cut when she gets on the [spoiler]airplane[/spoiler]. Everything after that felt like too much anti-climax, but also too artificial. The things that happened in that section happened much too quickly to accept as part of this movie. Those incidents didn't seem like a natural outcome of what we had already seen either, but seemed more like part of another story, one that deserved its own time and serious treatment. I can understand the desire to bring things full circle in terms of the character's arc, but I just wish a shorter and more organic way to do that had been found.

But overall I loved it and look forward to more great work from Ms. Gerwig and friends!