Do you ever watch a movie and find that it just checks all of your boxes? It doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, the moment stays with you forever. TheHalfOfIt is one of those movies
Photo: KC Bailey/Netflix / KC Bailey Do you ever watch a movie and find that it just checks all of your boxes? It doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, the moment stays with you forever. For me, this happened the first time I watched a paint-splattered Heath Ledger kiss Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You, and later at the moment when Meryl Streep ethers Anne Hathaway over cerulean blue in The Devil Wears Prada.
I had another moment like this a few weeks back, when I first watched The Half of It, out now on Netflix. The film tells the story of Ellie Chu , a quiet, scrappy teenager who helps her single dad pay the bills by ghostwriting essays for her peers. One day, her services are solicited by Paul , a bumbling jock with a crush on popular girl Aster . Ellie is also into Aster, and in spite of this , she agrees to pen love letters to her on Paul’s behalf.
You might recognize the plot as a version of Cyrano de Bergerac, refashioned as a queer, YA love story. And while director Alice Wu imbued the film with all the sweetness of a standard coming-of-age rom-com, she also wove in commentary on race, class, religion, and gender in a way that is rarely seen in the genre.
The Half of It just won Best Narrative Feature at the postponed Tribeca Film Festival, and it seems that critics agree that Wu has made something enduring. As for me, I won’t be forgetting a scene between Paul and Ellie’s dad, Mr. Chu : Paul, an aspiring chef, brings him the ingredients to braised pork sausage, Ellie’s favorite dish. Mr. Chu, wordlessly, begins making it, and Paul copies him, forehead creased in concentration.
The scene is simple and silent, but it was the moment I knew I’d be carrying The Half of It in my bag of beloved films forever. And I’m certain, after watching, it will join yours, too.
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