The movie would not have worked without her. A YouTube star and winner of “America’s Got Talent” for her songwriting, VanderWaal brings a perfect blend of warmth and intrigue to her portrayal as Stargirl. The performances are grounded in naturalism and charisma, and VanderWaal is an especially exciting discovery.
Buckley nailed the saturated colors and retro vibes that really make “Stargirl” sing. Hart also did a bang-up job assembling a design team: Costumer Natalie O’Brien, art director Ian Scroggins, and production designer Gae S. A beloved indie filmmaker known for festival favorites “Miss Stevens” and “Fast Color,” Hart proves that her intimate, character-driven storytelling and eye for breakout actors is a huge asset to studio fare. Hart guides the actions with a sensitive and joyous hand, luxuriating in the palette of Arizona’s arid desert and gaping badlands. Conforming to the pressure, he urges her: “Why can’t you be more like everybody else?” Whether she heeds his plea - and how - forms the movie’s dramatic crux. Suddenly, Leo is once again hyper-visible, this time for dating a social pariah. This is all great for Leo, until Stargirl’s growing popularity is abruptly halted by a selfless choice to comfort an injured player on the other team. When Stargirl’s twee ukulele songs rouse the school’s football team to their first win in decades, suddenly everyone wants to be her friend. They begin a chaste and charming romance, scored to songs by Big Star and The Cars from Stargirl’s killer vinyl collection. When she discovers him crouching on the dirt road behind her mom’s car, she sends her pet rat to introduce himself. (Not creepy at all.) Stargirl being Stargirl, she is entirely non-plussed by Leo’s awkward approach. Leo is immediately smitten, and begins following her home from school. But this being small-town Arizona, she’s a weirdo. If she lived in New York or Los Angeles, she might be a fashion icon. She walks around with her ukulele slung round her shoulder, and dresses in bright plaids, bucket hats, and jumpsuits.
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But when a new student appears at his sleepy Arizona high school, she immediately catches Leo’s attention precisely for the way she stands out.īearing the unforgettable, and somewhat unbelievable, moniker of Stargirl Caraway (Grace VanderWaal), she is the epitome of a free spirit. Once an eccentric dresser with a penchant for wearing his late father’s famous porcupine tie, he quickly learned that blending in was the easiest way to avoid ridicule.
The story follows high school junior Leo Borlock (Graham Verchere), a music-loving free spirit who became quiet and unassuming after a traumatic run-in with some schoolyard bullies. Julia Hart’s faithful adaptation spins the magic of Spinelli’s writing into a beguiling and visually appealing crowdpleaser with a similarly worthy message. “Stargirl” was a mid-career hit for Spinelli, becoming a New York Times bestseller and earning critical praise for its celebration of non-conformity, long before such topics became status quo in YA literature. Wes Anderson's Favorite Movies: 35 Films the Auteur Wants You to See
'Stargirl' Filmmaker Julia Hart Explains Why Streaming Services Can Save Independent Filmĭisney Postpones 'Mulan' Release Date Because of Coronavirus “Maniac Magee” and “Wringer” are two of his most lauded novels, but he also penned the tomboy-celebrating “There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock” and the ode to sibling rivalry, “Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?” The film is based on the 2000 novel by Jerry Spinelli, a unique young adult novelist who specializes in crafting grounded, reality-adjacent universes with a comedic flare and just a hint of otherworldliness. That’s the question at the heart of “ Stargirl,” a tender and offbeat coming-of-age indie premiering this week on Disney+. How might your life have been different if someone who was so utterly and wholly themselves swooped in to remind you of your precious inner magic? At least, that’s what the perils of high school socialization led us to believe. After all, that’s what becoming an adult is. Who were you before the world beat you down? That so-called inner child that therapists and astrologers are always on about, how have you let them down? We’ve all let the pressures of popularity, society, and conformity mold and shape us into more palatable versions of ourselves.
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