Ashby Semple's character Natalie cracks me up whenever she has a scene in the film. Too bad, A Little Romance is Semple's one and only film. I'll bet director John Hughes could use her in one of his films and made a bigger name for herself if she would only come on scene five years later.
This is very late, but I hope you ignored the stupid~very stupid, in fact~remarks! Natalie is funny and exactly right. I taught youngsters that age, and they can be as divided in behavior as shown in the film. There are Natalies in every class about that age and even older, if truth be told: sweet, open, well-meaning, excitable and a bit of an airhead ("terminally dense", according to Lauren).
I think she's a delightful part of the cast, and I can believe the friendship. They don't really seem to be an odd match as friends. Lauren probably is outcast due to her intelligence, which obviously doesn't bother Natalie. She is outgoing enough to counterbalance Lauren's reserve. Crazily, it reminds me of MacGyver having Jack as his best friend; it's that sort of odd-couple friendship.
Plenty of people praise the rest of the cast. Natalie needs her share of support.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
I loved her conversations with Daniel and, especially, his friend. I always laugh at Lauren's remark about her French and his English.
When I was teaching, I recall several girls just like her: very funny, sweet and enthusiastic. Often, they were girls taller than the boys, at least for a year or so. Some people might think they were especially silly because they didn't realize how young they were, judging them by their height.
In contrast, Lauren acts older than her years, just as I did at her age. I'd be in the corner reading a book, too. I might have liked having a friend like Natalie.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
I agree.. Natalie seemed very "real" not like an actress portrayal of a kid that age, but a real kid... not the sharpest pencil in the drawer but likeable..
Sure, it falls under the trope of geeky friend of a main character, but I didn't mind that. She seemed so real and it was sad when she bowed out before the final third of the movie. Although I can picture her still sitting there and emphatically describing the phone call, so maybe it was fine that that was the last time we saw her.