I'll start with the things I liked. I LOVED Emma Stone. Honestly, I feel like her performance was probably the best part of the movie. She was enjoyable to watch, which honestly was a good thing because if she wasn't the movie would have probably been horrible. Her family was also an upside to the movie (oh hey! A good family for once with parents who actually function as human beings who might actually care for their child?! What is this madness?!).
Now, before I move on to what I didn't like I'm just going to put this on the table because I KNOW that a major reason why I didn't like the movie is going to be this: I am a Christian. I grew up going to church, I believe in God and in heaven, I'm a (trying really hard to) love everybody type person, and I honestly believe that God is a huge part and a huge truth in my life. I try really hard not to push that on people (in huge part, I feel, due to my Lutheran upbringings. Lutherans aren't really big on in-your-face-proselytizing) although I do hope that people realize they can come to me with any question they might have and would receive no judgement on my part towards them.
And now I'm going to admit it, I was pretty offended by the movie.
I tried so hard not to be offended, you guys. I really really really did. I knew going into the movie that Amanda Bynes played the over-stereotyped, bitchy, blond, over-zealous, judging, Christian and that I doubted anything else in the movie would soften that. Although I did appreciate Olive going and attempting to read the Bible, going to different churches, mentioning the fact that Marianne (and her friends) were extremists, and a few other tiny mentions that not all Christians are crazy, but these mentions were a little far and few between. I also had SERIOUS problems with the depiction of Marianne's dad (the pastor) especially at the end due to some of my own past experiences that I don't really feel like going into on the internet at this moment in time.
And before anyone reading this feels the need to point out the injustices done by Christians in both large and small scales, and that Christians have marginalized people for centuries, and whatever... Just don't because I know this already. I just don't understand the constant need in the media to point out how horrible Christians are. People wouldn't feel a need to harp on someone of a racial minority if they were offended due to their ethnicity being negatively stereotyped. People are horrified by old Disney cartoons and children's books that depict gross representations of different groups of people. So why do I feel guilty? Why do I currently feel that I shouldn't be such an easily offended Christian? Why do I feel like I'm not allowed to be offended by this movie?
I'm annoyed that a movie that seems to promote imaging people complexly, that we shouldn't believe everything we see and hear, and there's so much more to people than we realize has every character except the main one be predictable, flat, and stereotyped (except *perhaps* her parents and the teacher she liked). I disliked that I felt that I wasn't allowed to identify with the movie because part of my identity was tied to the villains in the movie. And, honestly, I so identified with Olive, but I felt it ripped away as I felt judged by everything else in the movie. Why am I not allowed to share in these things?
And why can't there be movies that portray normal Christians? Why can't there be TV shows about perfectly normal kids who are Christian? Maybe in my highly offended state right now I can't quite remember them, but beyond the Christian movies I've seen (produced by Christian companies that are often cheesy and campy) I can't think of movies/tv shows/or too many average books with a main character or a friend of the main character who was religious AND normal.
Anyway, the movie wasn't the worst thing I'd ever seen in my. It has a good message that gets distorted by hypocritical views (that are brought to light, I suppose, if you are an easily offended Christian) so if you haven't seen it and you're still interested it could be worth a rental. I, unfortunately, will be a little disappointed (but still loving Emma Stone/Olive and her capacity to still try and love and understand and forgive people in the movie).
WTWA: In my Children's Literature class we got those scholastic book orders you used to get in Elementary school, and we get to order books from them! WIN!
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