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You ever heard of that skating documentary Minding the Gap? The one about the skaters going into adulthood? Great documentary. I bring it up for a reason. Before directing the travesty than stemmed from a One Direction fanfic: After, Jenny Gage directed a similar movie over the course of three years. This movie chronicled the relationships of a group of lady friends, notably the sisters Dusty and Ginger, and the different takes on life that they have. Lemma tell you, I was pretty damn interested in this, despite the mixed ratings around the world. RYM thinks it's mediocre, Imdb's lukewarm and Letterboxd loves it.
I think it's an honest look at the kind of things we see happening everyday among families with teen girls trying to live their lives. There's a lot of commentary on the various interpretations on relationships, a la Claire of the Moon, although it really doesn't have that deep philosophical touch, because instead of a bunch of novelists, we're hearing about it from teen girls. So there are pros and cons to the very basis of this documentary. I mean, it's good that these girls are getting their struggles out on camera, but I really don't see how strangers from across the country can help them when they need not only an ear, but advice. It seems that maybe some of these stories going on over three years might be a little too personal at times.
I think this movie fails in comparison to Minding the Gap for two very good reasons. First of all, I didn't really feel like these girls were growing up, not the way Minding the Gap's subjects were. The second reason is that we could feel the struggles more in MtG because we saw them more often. We witnessed some very harsh arguments in that movie. The third reason is probably the most important: the subjects of Minding the Gap are UNIQUE. We don't get a lot of very deep and philosophical movies or documentaries about skaters, and seeing things from their perspective is a viewpoint we rarely see. But like the last movie I reviewed, as well as the last Jenny Gage movie I reviewed, After, this movie really just shows you all the stuff teen girls argue about. In other words, we've kind of heard a fair portion of these discussions and arguments in the real world.
I think Jenny Gage's auteurist action here had some well-meaning, and it certainly shows in this documentary. We can't really get the full connection without directly being just like them, but there really isn't a story here that can't be fixed with some online research on how to fix families and a few therapy sessions. While I sympathize with these girls for their struggles, and was interested in some of the things they had to say, this is the kind of thing I can get in the real world without making a documentary over it. It's lifelike and real, but not life-changing.
= 63
Jenny Gage needs 2 more movie for an average score.
All This Panic
(2016) - Directed by Jenny Gage
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Documentary
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(2016) - Directed by Jenny Gage
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Documentary
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"You only want greatness if it's delivered."
You ever heard of that skating documentary Minding the Gap? The one about the skaters going into adulthood? Great documentary. I bring it up for a reason. Before directing the travesty than stemmed from a One Direction fanfic: After, Jenny Gage directed a similar movie over the course of three years. This movie chronicled the relationships of a group of lady friends, notably the sisters Dusty and Ginger, and the different takes on life that they have. Lemma tell you, I was pretty damn interested in this, despite the mixed ratings around the world. RYM thinks it's mediocre, Imdb's lukewarm and Letterboxd loves it.
I think it's an honest look at the kind of things we see happening everyday among families with teen girls trying to live their lives. There's a lot of commentary on the various interpretations on relationships, a la Claire of the Moon, although it really doesn't have that deep philosophical touch, because instead of a bunch of novelists, we're hearing about it from teen girls. So there are pros and cons to the very basis of this documentary. I mean, it's good that these girls are getting their struggles out on camera, but I really don't see how strangers from across the country can help them when they need not only an ear, but advice. It seems that maybe some of these stories going on over three years might be a little too personal at times.
I think this movie fails in comparison to Minding the Gap for two very good reasons. First of all, I didn't really feel like these girls were growing up, not the way Minding the Gap's subjects were. The second reason is that we could feel the struggles more in MtG because we saw them more often. We witnessed some very harsh arguments in that movie. The third reason is probably the most important: the subjects of Minding the Gap are UNIQUE. We don't get a lot of very deep and philosophical movies or documentaries about skaters, and seeing things from their perspective is a viewpoint we rarely see. But like the last movie I reviewed, as well as the last Jenny Gage movie I reviewed, After, this movie really just shows you all the stuff teen girls argue about. In other words, we've kind of heard a fair portion of these discussions and arguments in the real world.
I think Jenny Gage's auteurist action here had some well-meaning, and it certainly shows in this documentary. We can't really get the full connection without directly being just like them, but there really isn't a story here that can't be fixed with some online research on how to fix families and a few therapy sessions. While I sympathize with these girls for their struggles, and was interested in some of the things they had to say, this is the kind of thing I can get in the real world without making a documentary over it. It's lifelike and real, but not life-changing.
= 63
Jenny Gage needs 2 more movie for an average score.