JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: How To Build a Girl


How To Build a Girl is cute and sometimes funny, but nothing new


Film critic Jason Evans does not want to waste your time with long-winded film reviews, so he is committed to tell you all you need to know about movies in exactly 100 words (not 99, not 101). So, here is his 100 word review of How To Build a Girl.

The Premise: 16-year-old Johanna (Beanie Feldstein, Jonah Hill’s sister and the star of Booksmart ) is a fairly typical nerdy teen living in lower-middle class England. She has a gift for writing though and lands a gig as a rock and roll critic. The cool rock journalists think she’s too awkward until she reinvents herself as the brash Dolly Wilde, a red haired party animal and a biting critic. But is that who Johanna really wants to be?   

The 100 Words: Feldstein is a wonderful comedic actress and does her best to carry this film. She’s in every scene, often as a voice-over narrator (a weak storytelling device), but the film never makes you care enough about the other characters to rise above its formulaic story. Though “based on a true story” I found many of the characters and scenes less than believable. The thick British accents make some of the jokes tough to understand but enough landed to keep me mostly smiling. The “teen writer finds a purpose through rock & roll” story was told much better in Almost Famous.

What do you think? Reach out to Jason Evans on twitter @JasonDukeEvans to let him know.

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