Lady Bird (R)
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This came out in 2017, but I didn't see it until 2025. I mainly wanted to see it because it stars Saoirse Ronan. It's a good movie, and it received critical acclaim, but I'm afraid I couldn't manage to like it as much as critics did. I'm not sure why. But I do think it was rather depressing, a lot of the time. There were some happier moments peppered throughout it, though. I liked the story, and all the acting, and everything. But I guess it's just not one of my favorite genres, or whatever. But I did like it.

Anyway, it's set in Sacramento, California, in 2002-03. Ronan plays Christine McPherson, who calls herself "Lady Bird". She often argues with her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), about various things, especially their family's financial situation. There are moments when they seem to love each other, but most of the time they can't stand each other. Lady Bird has a better relationship with her father, Larry, who secretly supports her ambition to apply to East Coast schools, which her mother is against. Lady Bird barely seems to have any relationship at all with her brother, Miguel (who I'm guessing was adopted), and Miguel's live-in girlfriend, Shelly. But she has a best (perhaps only) friend named Julie, with whom she auditions for a play at their Cathoic school. Lady Bird soon starts dating another actor in the play, Danny, and for awhile they seem very happy together. But that doesn't work out, for a reason I won't spoil. Later, she starts dating a guy named Kyle, though I really don't know what she saw in him. And I won't spoil how that turns out, either. She also hangs out with a friend of Kyle's named Jenna, a more popular and wealthy girl at school. Anyway, lots of other stuff happens throughout the film, and eventually Lady Bird leaves for college. She comes to realize she loves her mother, and... I dunno what else to say.

I really wish I could think of some sort of insights about the film, or whatever. But I can't. I mostly liked Lady Bird well enough, but not all the time. It was definitely an interesting, complicated relationship between her and her mother, but as I said before, often depressing. But yeah, a decent story overall.