MovieChat Forums > The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) Discussion > This movie was great

This movie was great

posted 9 years ago by ZeeEnds
10 replies | jump to latest

This might be the first depiction of female teenage sexuality that didn't bundle itself in slut shaming since "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," and I loved it. Minnie was a realistic teenage girl who doesn't know what she wants, but knows she wants *something*. The boldness of her sexuality seemed fitting, considering the behavior of her mother and her understanding of men. It also seemed fitting how the relationship came to an end: with Minnie getting what she wanted, which was being wanted, and then realizing that it's ultimately an empty wish. Most of the criticism I'm reading about this film comes from people who don't seem willing to entertain that this was a different era, where gender fluidity was common, sex was a liberating experience, and drugs really weren't perceived as that big of a deal. There wasn't really an understanding that what you were in high school was who you were going to be the rest of your life; if that's how it is now, I feel sorry for teenagers.

The one thing missing is that I would have liked to know a little bit more about what it was like growing up in that house. Was there ever a time when her mother wasn't in a constant state of chaos? The reference to her childhood where her mother was very affectionate (and then suddenly wasn't) was especially potent. It's also interesting to me that her mother never seems to consider that she could have had him arrested for statutory rape. The leap from "wow, that's my boyfriend" to "then you two should get married" was just odd, but it revealed a lot about her mother's limited understanding of motherhood. A wonderful performance by Kristen Wiig.

[–] Maggiesview 9 years ago

Yes.,I agree with all of your points. Especially about feeling sorry for teenagers today. It seems there has been a huge backlash regarding female sexuality and the free and open experimentation that so typified the 70's and even carried over into the 80's, There is so much condemnation of Minnie and a total lack of empathy with her that it seems like female sexuality has been pushed back into the 50's. As I understand it ,it's recieving another big jolt backwards with stores like American Girl, and little girl fashions geared to the Princess motif with netting and mid calf gowns being considered daily wear for little girls. How sad.😔

[–] ZeeEnds 9 years ago

To be honest, I was worried when I read that this was being made into a movie, because I assumed that it would become yet another tale of a "girl gone wrong" where some adult super-hero would emerge and have a canned solution for every hormone. Life is not a series of solutions; it's a collection of experiences.

[–] monstermayhem32 9 years ago

I did like that minnie was sexually liberated.

[–] MTulliver 8 years ago

You feel sorry for teenagers not being used by men old enough to be their fathers, for woman not giving bj's in bar bathrooms for $15, and for them NOT being pimped out by lesbians to score ludes? I'm seriously not seeing any "female empowerment" here. Did Minnie ever seem at all happy w. what she was doing? Not to my eyes.
I actually felt empathy for her b/c she obviously was looking for something more than sex. She was looking for love and assuming she'd feel loved at some point if she just "experimented" enough.
She was wrong and realized that at the end. Hopefully she didn't catch any STDs in the meantime! She's lucky she didn't get knocked up, as well. It's actually quite stupid and frankly, meaningless and hollow, to go around "experimenting" with anything that moves. Maybe these "teenagers today" you pity value themselves more than as just private parts with legs.

[–] Stoshie 9 years ago

Sorry, but I disagree. I thought this was a vanity project taken from a book written by a woman with an ego so large she thought her story was unique. Note that the Trivia section here says the movie was semi-autobiographical, which I thought was likely as I was watching it. But her story was not unique. I have seen many movies that covered the same type of story line that were done so much better than this one was. Many European movies, especially, have covered this theme in a much more interesting way. But so have other American-made independent films.

I didn't care about any of the characters, especially the lead girl, since there really was nothing unique about her story. I didn't care about the plot; again, I've seen it all before, done much better. And I didn't care about the lead character's journey, for the same reason.

Maybe there is a target audience that hasn't seen this theme done before and can relate to this movie. But I wasn't part of that audience. I gave it a rating of 6.

[–] lazarillo 9 years ago

They always advise aspiring writers to write about what they know. That's what the author did here. You can't really call this a "vanity project" because 1. it doesn't exactly make the author look good, and 2. she is famous in the first place for her books like THIS, not for something else. The term you want maybe is "self-indulgent", but there is a line between personal and self-indulgent and this is on the RIGHT side of that line in my opinion. Years ago I wrote two semi-autographical novels about my youthful misadventures. If I had managed to get them published, I don't think it would have made me self-indulgent and it certainly wouldn't have been a "vanity project".

Also, there is no law that characters in books and movies need to be "unique". If they were TOO unique, readers wouldn't be able to relate to them.

"Let be be finale of seem/ The only emperor is the Emperor of Ice Cream"

[–] Stoshie 9 years ago

Yes, writers write about what they know. Fiction authors have to know about the subjects, time periods, etc., that are part of their stories to make you believe they understand them; that's what that means. But they don't make everything they write autobiographical. This clearly was. I will agree that your term "self-indulgent" is better than "vanity project". That is a more appropriate term. But my point still stands. I often see these kinds of stories as being cathartic for their authors, a way for them to come to terms with their experiences. There is nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. But their stories have to be interesting to other people. I see, from this thread and some (not all) other comments here, that this one was for some people. It was not for me.

As for characters having to be unique, maybe not entirely. But there does have to be something unique about the presentation of their stories, and, yes, the characters themselves have to be different from other characters in some ways from other projects, or there would be no reason to be interested in them. You can't have all characters being stereotypes, or that would be boring.

In this case, I've seen the same story before. Even that would be perfectly OK, but this movie wasn't written that well, wasn't directed that well, wasn't acted that well, and didn't differentiate itself enough from other movies I've seen about girls going through similar journeys. I've seen it done better. That is my main point.

[–] zappalover 9 years ago

This movie is an interesting and enjoyable blend of comedy, romance, sex, drama, and feminism, and captures the vibe of the decadent mid-1970's splendidly. Sort of the subject's viewpoint to a 70's story by R Crumb. Plus it gives a shout-out to Aline Kominsky! I agree with the OP -- great viewing, for adults with an open mind.

Life is a state of mind.

[–] Stoshie 9 years ago

Oh, please. Now you are accusing me of not having an open mind simply because I disagree with you? That's a pathetic argument.

My opinion is solid. You may not agree, but I'll retort by saying you must not have seen many movies, if you think there was much original or thought-provoking about this mess. But I'm done. No point in arguing with someone with a closed mind like yours...

[–] ed-pilling 9 years ago

I for one hate seeing movies about goofy but lovable teenagers. Yes it is comic relief but so far from the truth. Here is the thing about teenagers. Not every one of them are goody two shoes. Some make bad decisions, they take drugs, and they have sex. Sometimes they have sex with someone older and yet they are not scared for life. I found this movie raw, gritty and real. Another realist teenage movie I love is L.I.E. it’s about teenage boys growing up without any real parents in their lives.