Rob Reiner's "Flipped," based on the novel by Wendelin Van Draanen, is an all-around likeable film, a sweet, nostalgic, and reliable coming of age story about first loves and family dramas. It could even be described as a romantic comedy, even if the leads are really too young to know anything about romance. Do you remember how, as kids, you would talk about how you liked someone, and not just liked them, but REALLY liked them, you know, as more than a friend? That's the kind of innocence this movie brings to mind, which I guess is fitting since it mostly takes place in the early 1960s. The plot is perhaps a bit conventional, but it's also undeniably charming, and it features two strong leads who, although young, competently navigate their way through the screenplay, even when it falls victim to sentimental contrivances.The story is about a boy named Bryce Loski and a girl named Julianna Baker, who first met in 1957 when they were only seven years old. Julianna, or Juli (Morgan Lily), bursting with energy and enthusiasm, immediately fell for Bryce (Ryan Ketzner) or, at the very least, developed what can only be described as a puppy-love crush. Bryce, being only seven, had absolutely no interest in girls, and found her affections frightening. He spent every waking moment trying to avoid her, made impossible by the fact that they live across the street from each other and attended the same school.
Flash forward six years to the story proper. A now thirteen-year-old Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) has successfully kept Juli (Madeline Carroll) at a distance, although he keeps bumping into her, and she persists in being outgoing and affectionate. Then things start to change. Juli, who enjoyed climbing a towering sycamore tree and admiring the view, is crushed when developers cut it down, and she feels betrayed when Bryce fails to offer her support. She had been giving Bryce's family boxes of eggs from her own backyard hens, only to discover that Bryce had been throwing them away. Her backyard, he reasons, is filthy and could be breeding salmonella. She angrily tells him that she could have sold those eggs to other neighbors, who have always been willing to pay her for them. Maybe Bryce isn't who she thought he was. Maybe she should just forget about him altogether. The thing is, Bryce is starting to tolerate her. Why, he might even actually LIKE her. He's flipped!
She finds solace in Bryce's grandfather, Chet (John Mahoney), who now lives with Bryce and his family. He likes Juli because of her "iron backbone," which reminds him of his recently deceased wife. She, in turn, likes him, probably because he's the only Loski that doesn't look down on her family. In this middle-American, middle class neighborhood, the Bakers are easy targets; her father, a painter (Aidan Quinn), gives every cent he earns to the hospital caring for his mentally retarded brother, David (Kevin Weisman), meaning his wife (Penelope Ann Miller) has to find temporary work just to make ends meet. Bryce's father, Steven (Anthony Edwards), is especially judgmental, although it's for reasons left a little obscure, save for a vague and passing reference to an unfulfilled life.
The story is structured as a He-Said, She-Said, Bryce narrating scenes from his point of view before the same scenes are replayed and narrated from Juli's point of view. Not surprisingly, they think along very different lines. Bryce's mind is relentlessly one-tracked, always stuck on how he should avoid Juli, how he should approach Juli, or how he should or apologize to Juli. The one line that's repeated like a mantra is, "I couldn't stop thinking about Juli." Perhaps he wouldn't be on this psychological treadmill if he actually bothered to consider her feelings. Compare this with Juli, who's far more introspective. She tries to see people for who they really are and not for how they present themselves. Now that she's a teenager, Bryce is more of an attractive curiosity, a mystery that she wants to solve. But can he be figured out? Or is there truly nothing behind those eyes she loves to look into?
While lacking the drama and complexity of Reiner's earlier coming of age period film, "Stand by Me," "Flipped" is still a warm, caring, resonant film, taking the conventions of today's romantic comedies and successfully reworking them for a more adolescent audience. The cast is pleasant, especially the young leads. McAuliffe in particular is surprising, at age fifteen already in command of a flawless American accent (he's Australian). That being said, it's doubtful that "Flipped" will ever be mentioned in the same sentence as Reiner's most memorable films, including "This is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride," "Misery," and "When Harry Met Sally ..." Oh, it gets the job done nicely, and it's worth seeing, but don't expect to be quoting lines from it twenty years from now.
The plot involves the relationship of two teenagers; Juli and Bryce they are the same age but the girl's natural character is far superior to the boy's. She has loved him since they were seven years old but his only desire it to get away from her. He thinks he is too good for her, but during seventh grade, his eyes are opened to her true value and to his own petty littleness. I loved how the story uses Bryce's grandfather as the "voice of his consiense" that he cannot escape, and how he slowly rises above the fate of being just as arrogant, nasty and shallow as his Dad is.
Juli, in turn begins to see him for the common and cowardly person that he is. Her growing into freedom from Bryce is a beautiful coming of age story in and of itself. You can see where she gets her character by the affinity between Juli and her parents, especially her father, who is the very picture of duty, courage and integrity. People like Juli are few and far between, and those who fail to recognize them are losers in every sense of the word.
As this boy learns and grows from his mistakes, he becomes a better person in the course of the lessons learned in his seventh grade year. It is great that his eyes are opened about her true worth, but one hopes that his growth will continue to make him not just aware of her worth, but that he will actually find enough integrity in his own heart to be eventually worthy of her. Is his change of heart too late or can she forgive him? With Julie's influence and his grandfather's fine example, maybe he has a fightning chance! Whether or not he wins Juli's respect in the end, he is a better person for having known her.
Read Best Reviews of Flipped (2010) Here
The movie Flipped is excellent. It is very well acted and directed, and I was amazed by how closely it actually follows the book. Highly recommended.Awhhhhhhh! This movie is super cute. I am 16 years old, and still thought it was worth going to see. It is one of those movies that leaves you with a warm and fluttery feeling when you leave the theater. I will definitely buy this when it comes out on DVD!!And, when it comes to red box, i will rent it there as well.
A must see!
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