Speaking of all things women in rock, and as I am talking about 'My So Called Life' whenever I can, I thought I should mention a film that I saw in my teens that I became totally obsessed with - and in my mind is (or was) a precursor to 'My So Called Life' - called 'Girl'.
Girl (dir. Jonathan Kahn, 1998)
'Girl' starred late 90s ingenue Dominiqe Swain in the lead role and yes she does look a bit like Claire Danes with the fair skin and red hair, and yes one was called Andrea and the other Angela, AND both had a penchant for over-thinking, um, everything - but the main thing that 'MSCL' and 'Girl' have in common is the story line about a mid-teens middle class girl throwing in her safe middle-of-the-road high-achieving lifestyle for a more "dangerous" grunge crowd - hello the 90s - and also allowing them to pursue their fantasy man from the wrong side of the tracks who also happens to be in a band.
Both 'Girl' and 'MSCL' are incredibly well down, and authentically "of the time". Honestly I don't know why it seems so hard for people in film and TV to create complex characters and relative simple story's like these but its so rare that its done right.
Girl (dir. Jonathan Kahn, 1998)
'Girl' starred late 90s ingenue Dominiqe Swain in the lead role and yes she does look a bit like Claire Danes with the fair skin and red hair, and yes one was called Andrea and the other Angela, AND both had a penchant for over-thinking, um, everything - but the main thing that 'MSCL' and 'Girl' have in common is the story line about a mid-teens middle class girl throwing in her safe middle-of-the-road high-achieving lifestyle for a more "dangerous" grunge crowd - hello the 90s - and also allowing them to pursue their fantasy man from the wrong side of the tracks who also happens to be in a band.
Both 'Girl' and 'MSCL' are incredibly well down, and authentically "of the time". Honestly I don't know why it seems so hard for people in film and TV to create complex characters and relative simple story's like these but its so rare that its done right.
Just an aside but the whole groupie storyline also makes it a great companion for double feature screenings with 'Almost Famous' another favourite from my adolescence.
'Girl' is based on the book by Blake Nelson (which yes, I own and yes he is such a DUDE e.g. Girl started as 3 part excerpts in Sassy Magazine) and had a ridiculously good late 90s cast including Selma Blair, Tara Reid (as the lesbian punk skater no less), Summer Phoenix, Portia de Rossi and a brief but pivotal cameo by Adam Scott which I've mentioned before here. Yet it still went straight to video? What is wrong with these distribs?
TRIVIA! Just for real nerds of either 'Girl or 'My So Called Life' though - everyone else please skip ahead:
- theres a scene in both where they accidentally walk into a room with their fantasy object of desire man and the door locks behind them.
- AND there is also a moment in both where they hanging out late at venue - past curfew - waiting for said fantasy man and they get put in a car just as said man arrives but they share a long gaze - which anybody who ever had a teenage crush will know is manna from heaven.
- I'm sure theres more but these are just a couple of 'similarities' that spring to mind.
Now I just have one more thing to get out of my system - The Colour Green! Todd Sparrow! Cow Print Dress! OK I'm done. See this movie.
3 comments:
I need to see this movie SO BAD xx
I LOVE GIRL!
Ha ha. Oh my god. I was OBSESSED with this book when I was a teenager. The scene where she does it outside with Todd Sparrow and then they're stuck together with jizz and she is thinking "this is the best moment of my life..."
But I've never seen the movie!! I knew it was made but I was just afraid it would never live up to the book and I would just get incredibly angry and throw things at the screen.
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