Fan Girl (TV Movie 2015)
10KFan Girl: Directed by Paul Jarrett. With Scott Adsit, Nadia Alexander, Pico Alexander, Susan Blommaert. A 15-year-old girl decides to bring her two passions together for her final film project: making movies and her favorite band.
“Hereu0026#39;s the thing about Fan Girl – itu0026#39;s great if you like the band All Time Low rather than if you like its appealing cast. That is to say, if you donu0026#39;t know who All Time Low are or you arenu0026#39;t a fan of modern pop punk, itu0026#39;s going to be struggle to get into it. Iu0026#39;ve heard of the group but I hadnu0026#39;t really heard their music, I generally find the genre inoffensive so I could go with the filmu0026#39;s flow. Admittedly it should have definitely invented a band instead of recruiting one. It too often ends up being the Alex Gaskarth – aka frontman of the band – worship show rather than the Kiernan Shipka hour.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eShe stars as Telulah Farrow, a high school sophomore who adores All Time Low and filmmaking. A birthday video she makes for Gaskarth goes viral but sheu0026#39;s in the midst of stressing over a project sheu0026#39;s behind on for film class. So she utilizes her passion for the band to complete her assignment. I do love how her motivation is that she wants to impress Tina Fey, a judge for the film festival sheu0026#39;ll be entered in. Iu0026#39;m on board with that. But Iu0026#39;m disappointed to report that she does not make appearance, not until a series of stills in the end credits. Donu0026#39;t forget, this is an All Time Low promo.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt feels like thereu0026#39;s a race to be the iconic teen movie of the 2010s, desperately updating the subgenre for the social network generation with nothing landing yet. Since John Hughesu0026#39; heyday, itu0026#39;s been pretty barren besides Mean Girls, Juno and Easy A, if you only dig in the PG-13 barrel rather than the onslaught of sex comedies. Naturally, Fan Girl is crammed full of references to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and so on – calling instagram pictures u0026#39;insteesu0026#39; without ever explaining it to those out of the loop. The filmu0026#39;s plot revolves entirely around how popular you can be online and where that can take you in life. Time will tell whether this makes these films instantly dated or a fresh snapshot of an era. It at least boasts contemporary fashion with its array of costumes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThatu0026#39;s pretty much all Fan Girl has to offer for originality – that being in the grand scheme of teen movies. Itu0026#39;s unfortunate that it relies on such obvious humour. For example, the school announcer reads out: u0026quot;the debate club meeting is cancelled because they couldnu0026#39;t decide where to meet.u0026quot; Hilarious if youu0026#39;ve never heard the joke before. It has few charming moments, but it can be nauseatingly forced, such as Talulahu0026#39;s fake British accent she puts on whenever sheu0026#39;s around her crush, as well as a Ron Slater-junior whou0026#39;s nicknamed u0026#39;Hashtag.u0026#39; Just as it wins me over, it finds a special way to grate me. At the very least, itu0026#39;s an attractively shot film, even if it struggles to blend its styles including DSLR video and concert style footage.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOf course, the filmu0026#39;s greatest strength is Kiernan Shipka. While she always efficiently fit in with the low-key pompousness of Mad Men, she absolutely shines here in a leading role that feels comfortable in her skin. It is her commitment to the film that makes Fan Girl worthwhile. Itu0026#39;s the first time seeing Kara Hayward since Moonrise Kingdom and she too seems delighted to be out of the 1960s. They make a great pair. Meg Ryan also appears as her out-of-touch mother, but is only given tried and tested punchlines as she catches onto todayu0026#39;s technology. Scott Adsit is the highlight of the familiar faces as the overenthusiastic film teacher. Maybe watch it for these guys, but otherwise itu0026#39;s skippable. Fan Girlu0026#39;s very narrow niche will surely connect to it more than anyone.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e6/10u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRead more @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com/)”
