<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Directed By: Rob Reiner<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Starring: Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Anthony Edwards, Aidan Quinn, Rebecca De Mornay, Penelope Ann Miller, John Mahoney, Morgan Lily, Ryan Ketzner<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n When little kids have an imaginary tea party or action figure battle, tossing in an unimaginative parent could completely ruin the fun. What once felt real could be suddenly spoiled by a wise adult. There’s no rule barring adults from coming of age movies, but in Flipped’<\/em>s case there should be. What starts off as a beautifully innocent tale of two teens navigating their confusing feelings for one another, is stomped all over and tarnished by painfully overdone grownup nonsense. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Juli Baker’s (Madeline Carroll) had a crush on Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe) since the day Bryce moved to town. They were just seven-years-old, but Juli was positive Bryce would be her first kiss. The problem is, Bryce didn’t share the sentiment. In fact, he couldn’t stand Juli and still can\u2019t six years later. He hates her barren yard, when she announces the school bus’ ETA block-by-block from the top of a sycamore tree and even when she just attempts to be neighborly and bring his family batches of eggs from the hens she owns. Bryce shuns just about everything Juli does until an inexplicable feeling begins to creep up inside of him; maybe he likes her a little bit too.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Flipped<\/span><\/em> is just a simple tale of two young kids managing their often hazy feelings for one another and that simplicity works in its favor, but against it as well. The film kicks off during that first encounter when a pre-teen Juli insists on helping Bryce and his father move their belongings from the moving truck into the house, but quickly shifts to their days in the eighth grade. Two kids falling for one another at 13 or 14-years-old is going to be a juvenile romance and Reiner does a fantastic job exemplifying that innocence. Both Bryce and Juli are thoughtful and compassionate, especially compared to their classmates, but they’re not so wise beyond their years that their behavior seems unnatural.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n What is unnatural is everything around them. None of the adult characters are mature; they\u2019re all on a similar level as Bryce and Juli, but what works for the kids is an absolute disaster for the parents. The dialogue is so simplistic it comes across as mindless. Making matters worse, every adult in the film seems as though they were pulled straight from a 50s sitcom. They blurt out clich\u00e9 after clich\u00e9 from the time period and behave as though they’ve merely been instructed to set themselves back 60 years and it feels contrived.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Even worse, Anthony Edwards’ portrayal of Bryce’s father is atrocious and the combination of bad acting and a poorly developed character is detrimental. Luckily, Aidan Quinn pulls off a few moving moments with his family, somewhat salvaging the film\u2019s older generation. His relationship with Juli feels real and when he gets mad, unlike Edwards, you don’t get the urge to laugh. The one element of his storyline that\u2019s out of place is a situation with his mentally debilitated brother. Juli, who’s never met her uncle, agrees to accompany her father on his weekly trip to the institution. It plays out exactly how you’d expect; she\u2019s apprehensive then meets her uncle and he grows on her, trouble comes in the form of a breakdown and Juli learns a valuable lesson. Good for her, but the only thing the film gets out of the whole scenario is an easy route to a nasty joke that makes Juli second think her feelings for Bryce. <\/span><\/p>\n
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