the half of it: a coming-of-age masterpiece

We're back with Amanda's ultimate comfort movie: Alice Wu's coming-of-age movie, The Half of It. It centers on Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), a quiet Chinese-American girl in a small town just trying to get through high school when Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer), the local and ultimate himbo, enlists her to write love letters to Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire), who is so stunning she just happens to be the object of literally everyone's desires in this high school. Listen to heal your queer (maybe religious, maybe small-town) trauma, or to just gush along with us. 

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Theme Song by Patrick Dunnevant, (https://www.youtube.com/c/AcappellaVGM)
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Transcript

Get home from school turn on my tv who are these friends staring right back at me now that we're older

Hi I'm Amanda

And I'm Jessica and this is 90s babies nostalgia where two 90s babies are having some fun

Just to be clear We're not sponsored by nor affiliated with anything that we talk about in this podcast We just like talking about Tv and movies and today the movie that we are talking about is the half of it before we get into it because we are Celebrating pride Baby Jessica what is one of your gay slash bi awakenings

for this one I am going to do seventy Jane who do you know who that is 

No

okay I'm pretty sure she's like nobody like she's just a hair stylist and nature photographer now But In the like I don't know around the time that we were graduating high school so like 2011 2012 she was a really really really big model and was on the cover of inked multiple times and she's just this little like Baddie blonde head to toe tattoos and I was up Obsessed with her like had her as my phone screen cover like absolutely loved her

Okay so a tattoo artist 

No she's a model 

Oh a tattoo model

Yeah I would say just in general a model but she At that time she would be most famous or well known for being on the cover of inked which is like specifically a tattoo magazine but she was just a model 

What does she look like 

like if Kesha was a little skinnier and had a like 7000 tattoos

Ok that makes sense

Yeah it checks out what is one of yours

for this one I will go with a danny phantom 

Ah ah ah ah

yeah Danny Phantom ah He was just 14 when his parents built a very strange machine anyway um I'm not going to do that whole song even though I can it was it was Danny and it was Sam it was the 2 of them both like that was and I'm not saying that I was like watching that show like oh my God I'm bisexual I'm saying I was watching that show like obsessed with them both and the idea of them maybe being together And yes it's a cartoon but like I'm sorry I Just they're both my type and I didn't realize it at the time but as an adult this is my thing about about gay awakenings that I've told you is like I've never watched something the way that kit Connor in heartstopper like watches Pirates and is like oh my God I'm bisexual I've never had that moment with media But I've had moments where I look back on media knowing I'm bisexual now and have been like oh I totally was crushing on that character

yeah yeah I told you I struggle with the concept of them as well Just because I feel like I've always kind of known and I was like experimenting in my life you know like just at A young age so it was like I just don't think I've had these same like awakenings the way other people did but I can look back and be like oh I bought every cover that Seventy Jane was on I like had her as my phone wallpaper like there were just There was definitely people who I had like obsessions with that were like a little bit past just like oh I think that person is really talented like

Yeah yeah and I think with women in particular there's very much the like do I want to be her or be with her and as kids we think it's the be her And then as a queer woman looking back on it You're like oh no I wanted to be with her 

Yes yeah yeah yeah

Yeah for me Danny Phantom is looking back and saying why did I care so much about their relationship when it was not a big deal in the cartoon mm Maybe because I just cared about like them as characters 

Yeah yeah

getting into it We have lots to discuss in our movie today

Yeah so we're talking about the half of it which was released on may first of 2020 on Netflix It's like a coming of age comedy drama um it was written directed and produced by Alice Wu Um besides for this movie she's known for saving face which came out in 2004 and she's also really really known for centering chinese american and lesbian characters in her works and she herself is a lesbian she started writing this in the Aftermath of the 2016 presidential election I thought it was funny to include this because the next movie that we cover for pride month in a couple weeks will be red white and royal blue which also was written in the aftermath Of the 2016 presidential election 

Wow I didn't know that about either of these this one feels so autobiographical that I just assumed it was something she was working on for most of her life

Yeah I think it's one of those things where that election just like struck a chord and especially so many creatives and artists who are like I need to dive into my art as a form of escapism because like I will not survive if I don't

I do think also a lot of queer people and women and people of color were really striving to make a statement that even if you hate us we're still here and we're still human

Yeah yeah it was inspired by Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play oh guys I always tell myself I'm to look up these words and how to pronounce them before the podcast and then I do not Cyrano de Bergerac 

I think it's Cyrano Cyrano de Bergerac 

yeah so it was very very loosely inspired by that but she does quote it as inspiration also for the half of it She chose Alice chose to do a test screening in a small conservative town because she wanted to know how conservatives would feel about the movie before it launched on Netflix she kind of wanted to know what she was getting herself into with it being like dropped on this huge streaming platform and they enjoyed it The test screenings went really well and it made her feel like a lot more confident going into the premiere additionally this was produced by Anthony Bregman who produced the 2021 in the height and do revenge as well as m blair breard

Mm do revenge is another one I've always meant to watch

Yeah it's on my list I haven't seen it but I know I should watch it

I feel like we should watch it for the podcast 

Yeah we should 

guys if you want to hear us talk about do revenge leave us a comment 

yeah let us know

our actors slash characters We are starring miss Ellie Chu who is 17 at the time She's a senior in high school and She is chinese-american her parents immigrated when she was young She's quiet She's shy She's a straight a student and she's very very responsible as we see early on She has sort of taken over the household responsibilities for her father after her mother passed who You know the her mother passed and then her father kind of like stopped trying as much

And Ellie is played by Leah Lewis who was 24 at the time of filming Um she also is known for playing Georgia fan in the Nancy Drew series the more recent one as well as station 19 Fred three and the voice of ember lumen in elemental 

Yeah the Disney Pixar film also I've seen her in the charmed reboot in like 2018 or something was before this and that that was one of those moments that I've had where I've talked about this on the pod that I like see a face and I'll be like I why do I know that person

Yeah

Like I she's in she's a guest star in like 1 episode and I've not even watched the whole reboot But I've seen that episode and she has the ugliest makeup on it's terrible special effects I really encourage everyone to look it up for a laugh opposite of ellie chu We have Paul Munsky who is also seventeen years old a senior in high school and he is I can only describe him as the best example of a himbo that has ever graced my screen He is the love of my life I live and die for Paul Musky also he plays football

Paul Munsky is played by Daniel Diemer who also was 24 at the time he is known for playing a recurring role as cole in sacred lies as well as kent in the man in the high castle

Next up we have Miss Aster Flores another senior in high school surprise surprise she is the pretty girl She's popular She's also not from squahamish her family moved from Sacramento her Dad I think is hispanic and he is the local pAster and she kind of just keeps to herself like everyone likes her but they don't really know her

aster was played by Alexxis Lemire who's 24 um besides for this film she's known for a role in a Tv horror film Truth or dare as Jesse Havnell and a lifetime thriller The art of murder where she played Kate Miller

Edwin Chu is Ellie's father he is an immigrant from China with a phd in engineering who took a job as the station manager in the small town of squahamish which we haven't mentioned is where this is set It's a fictional town but it's loosely based on Various small towns in Washington Like I said he moved and took a job as the station manager but he's not been able to move upward in life because he doesn't speak English Super well and he's kind of stopped trying after the passing of his wife

Edwin is played by Collin Choo who's 53 he's known for playing seraph in the matrix reloaded and the matrix revolution plus has starred in like so many martial arts films Um including fearless flashpoint and the forbidden kingdom But when I say so many so many um to me I thought this was a fun inclusion on the cast because this really felt like Alice Wu who is taiwanese um grew up watching Colin and was like Oh my god we can get him to play Ellie's dad he only does martial arts films But let's get him like because everything else he's in just does not align with this movie but yeah it just felt like a fun ad

I feel like that is something that happens really beautifully in the Asian-american Cinema Community because there's been a lot lately of more asian american stories like everything everywhere all at once and shang-chi where A lot of the elder actors are Mainland Asian actors who have mostly done martial arts or done Chinese dramas or things like that but have been like ushered into American Cinema and it's been really beautiful to watch

Yeah yeah yeah looking at his Filmography I was like oh this is a really fun inclusion and I'm sure like the creator was stoked to be able to get him on the cast as well You know

Yeah that's what I love so much about it is that you know that for the average audience member It doesn't really matter But for the people involved in making the project that's like 1 of their heroes probably

yeah yeah

next in our cast is Trig Carson another senior in high school He's aster's boyfriend He's an idiot jock who's full of himself That's it

Yeah he is played by Wolfgang Novogratz um who's 23 he's very like Netflix films of this time type of guy so he was also in Sierra Burgess is a loser the last summer and feel the beat

and then Mrs Geselschap I don't know she's the english teacher guys She's the english teacher and she she's really the only person in the film who sees Ellie for who she is from the beginning So she kind of plays this voice of reason

And she is played by Becky Ann Baker who is 67 she's known for the role of jean weir in freaks and geeks loreen horvath on girls which she won an emmy for that role Um and then other tv roles on all my children younger big little lies as well as film credits including men in black war of the worlds Spiderman 3 she's another one on this cast that like if we were to cover all her film credits that would be the entire podcast

So that's the majority of our cast Obviously there's other actors but this is this is who matters so we open up with some It's kind of a montage This film is is is a fan of the montage if you're looking tonally for this film it like jess mentioned Netflix of this time it came out After Siera Burgess is a loser when to all the boys was dominating Netflix they put out a lot of like soft romcoms So we we have a lovely soft shot of the forest and ellie biking through and her classmates Are clearly all white They're all from families who have been there for generations they tease her when they pass her and she's biking to school and they're in their cars and they shout chugachuga choochoo but at the same time in this montage we find out that they've been paying her to write their essays because she is So smart So Mr Paul musky himbo extraordinaire comes up to her and asks her to help him write a love letter to aster flores because he thinks that it's romantic and at first Ellie says no But then the power company informs her that They are three months overdue on payments and without an immediate payment of $50 her power is going to be shut off so she agrees to one letter which obviously quickly becomes more letters Because what would this film be if it were just one letter So

and so this begins like an exchange of letters between Paul written by Ellie and Aster who's receptive to the letters because she just feels like really lonely and unheard in her life and she's kind of just going with the flow and because of this Paul and ellie begin hanging Out more and Paul pressures ellie to secure a date with aster and so they start using a messaging app so they kind of separate from the letters and start using a messaging app where Ellie can talk to aster as paul

Yeah and it's like not whatsapp It's like an anonymous one  

Ghost messenger 

Yeah yeah

which I think is they're playing on snapchat 

Yeah something like that

Paul absolutely fumbles The first date it goes terribly It's extremely awkward but Aster does agree to go on a second date with him but they give three weeks so this way Paul has time to be tutored by ellie on all things aster so she's tutoring him on classic films and books and they also spy on her

They do they do and also they have this like recurring thing where they're playing ping pong So that Ellie can teach him how to have a conversation through all of this They become genuine friends they have And all these scenes where he's like running after Ellie while she's on the bike going to school and he's like getting faster which is just kind of funny and unnecessary He starts standing up for her when people shout chugachuga choochoo at her he yells at them and We find out He drinks yakult which is a sugary yogurt drink That's very popular in Asia It's delicious and the coach stocks the vending machine for the football team for them and ellie makes a comment like she loves it But the nearest asian grocery store is 2 hours away by bike they're like learning more about each other as they're studying aster and also ellie is genuinely tutoring him like in the the station booth writing down things that aster likes and making him study like it's for a test

Yeah and whenever he gets off topic She tries to like steer him back to Aster

She's also not very receptive to any questions about herself for a while but we do learn that ellie wants to go to a school called Grinnell which I thought was made up for this film but it turns out is totally real It's a liberal arts college in Iowa but instead she's going to go to a school in Washington because she has a full ride and she doesn't can't afford to leave Paul we learn is from like a large chaotic family that has a sausage company And he wants to change the recipe and improve on it but he knows that his mom won't be receptive to it and also he started creating the sausage taco or taco sausage taco sausage 

Taco sausage

Which is a taco shell with a sausage in it and he thinks it's really good and he writes to local food reviewers because he needs to prove himself to his family It's very silly and very fun

and so Paul ends up making the taco sausage for Ellie and her dad and both of them really like it and they all eat it and watch a movie together and in this movie there's like a romantic scene where a guy's chasing after a train With a woman in it and both Paul and ellie's dad are like oh this is so sweet What a lovely gesture and ellie is like it's embarrassing He's making a huge scene for nothing then we get to the diner date number 2 where paul and Aster are on the second date after all of the tutoring and it is still off to another awkward start No surprise there ellie is watching through the window and she sees this and so she texts as paul to aster to try to keep the date on track and Paul is stressed because he doesn't know what Ellie is saying and he has aster right in front of him so he's like what the hell are you telling her um and so eventually he interrupts the texting and he's like I like you as more than a friend And at this point Ellie kind of stops listening in and watching on the date and rides her bike back home and later Paul shares that it went really well and they ended up going out and getting milkshakes and holding hands and that he kissed her

There's a winter talent show that is mandatory for all the seniors to perform in and trig and his friends sabotaged Ellie because everyone's a fucking dickhead so they like cut a couple chords in the piano which she was going to perform a song on and people try to boo her offstage but Paul just like very innocently slides a guitar to her and tells her to play her song and so she just quietly plays guitar and sings I think an original song We've seen her Playing before and everyone cheers and Trig is like when did ellie chu get kind of hot and then she gets invited to a party where suddenly people want to talk to her It's a little confusing but it's fun and she gets drunk so Paul takes her home to his home

and in the morning Aster shows up to Paul's house because she has a painting that she made to give to him and she got back from Sacramento early but instead finds Ellie in his bed Ellie explains like we're just friends Paul really likes you and aster's like okay cool I already lied to my dad about where I was going so can we hang out if Paul's not here and so they do and ellie takes her to the train light signals And then aster is like I want to share my special spot with you and drives her like off to this like forest area where there's like um 

A hot spring 

Yeah and they end up getting in the hot spring and listening to the radio and they're just like lying and floating in the water And talking It's very like the atmosphere is just beautiful The shots are really beautiful in this part of the film and 

It's so beautiful

yeah and aster is kind of Talking to ellie and opening up and it's like I don't really know what to do like I want to go to art school but I probably should just stay in squahamish and mary Trig like because that's what I'm supposed to do and then they kind of end The Little afternoon adventure

when they get back Aster sees Paul and kisses him which is interesting then there is the town football match and Paul because he has been running after ellie On her bike is so fast that he scores the first touchdown in this football team's history in fifteen years 

I fuckin love Paul

fifteen years their first score and he gets it and then we see ellie stocking up on yakult with her arms full at the vending machine and we have noticed there's been moments where Paul's like kind of looking at Ellie appreciating her as a human more and so he sees her there and he tries to kiss her and she's like bro what the fuck are you doing and Aster walks in at that moment and sees them and Ellie's like trying to explain to her like no no no it's not what it looks like and because Ellie does that Paul then realizes she cares more about what Aster thinks than him and that she likes Aster and says it's a sin and she's going to hell Not judgmentally just like very plainly

and this kind of causes Paul and ellie to stop hanging out He Googles about being gay and his mom He walks away from the laptop and shuts it But when she opens it She sees that he had googled this Paul ends up delivering sausage to ellie's dad and the 2 of them have a heart to heart about how Ellie is different and about Ellie's mom um it's very sweet Paul and ellie's dad have a very cute relationship

Yeah at church Trig proposes to Aster and this is where it all comes to a head because he proposes and ellie stands up and says no and she tries to speak but she fumbles a bit so then Paul stands up and tries to help her And then the 2 of them go back and forth and like the pastor and trig are trying to like interject and they're like no no no no no and through what they say Aster ends up realizing that Ellie's the one that's been writing the letters to her and so she just like very boss like slaps Paul in the face without even looking at him And walks out of the church and then Paul's mom asks if he's gay and trig is like am I the good painting not the great one and like all hell breaks loose in the church It's very funny

later on we see Ellie's dad is preparing food for her to go to grinnell because it's a long train ride So he's preparing enough dumplings um to get her through 

Six days

Yeah yeah later Ellie finds aster outside of a restaurant and she apologizes for lying and aster deep down She's like you know I kind of always knew this wasn't paul like he was very different in person Also you didn't use enough emojis And she opens up that she is gonna go to art school and she's hoping to figure more out about like what she wants to do and who she wants to be there and Ellie kisses her before leaving

before she kisses her they do have a talk about sexuality without talking about sexuality because Aster says like it's not like I haven't thought about it Maybe I'll find out if I could be different I don't know and Ellie's like oh not me I couldn't be different I mean what does god think and it's like a little playful thing before she kisses her and then Polly's Polly ha Paul sees ellie off on the train to Iowa and in this really sweet beautiful ending he chases after the train and she cries 

Yeah

and it's so sweet and that's the end 

It is sweet 

That's the half of it 

Yeah

Oh my God I just have to say like this is my ultimate comfort movie No matter what Jess has to say next because I know what some of it is this is my ultimate comfort movie like full stop I hadn't seen it in over a year because I went through a phase where was watching it about once a month 

Oh my God I didn't realize it was that often 

I've seen it about a dozen times which is a lot for me because I don't rewatch movies very often 

Mhmm

Ah this one and to all the boys of love before are pretty much the only ones that I like instinctively rewatch I'll just like put them on I've also made  At least 4 of my friends watch this movie Ah so that's 4 times I've watched it just with other people I love it It's just like comforting It's beautifully shot The music is like soothing and it the stakes are never high There's no sex or drugs which some people might say is unrealistic I don't personally care It's just like it's a warm hug for me

I know I have seen this movie multiple times Maybe this was my third time maybe fourth But Amanda always brings it up as one of her comfort movies when we're texting Um and I always read the description and I'm like I think maybe I've seen that sounds vaguely familiar and then a few months ago before we even decided to do this on the podcast I went to sit down and watch it and I fell asleep and then I remembered oh I have tried to watch this movie multiple times before I always fall asleep For the podcast I did not fall asleep I watched the whole thing It is really good It's all the things that Amanda's saying it's beautifully shot It's a really lovely story told in an interesting way It is great I just think because of the way it's shot and the pace of it It does feel a little slow for it not being that long of a movie It's only like an hour and 50 minutes or something and the way that it makes me so tired 45 minutes in and I just want to curl up and fall asleep

Do you think that's because it's too soothing

I Think it is like the way it's shot in the music is so it's not like challengers where it's like (sound effect) and 

yeah there's no suspense

yeah like you were kind of like Woken up like the music doesn't wake you up Everything is just like lovely and comforting and beautiful and I think it makes me want to take a nap but not in a way that it made me tired because I hated it You know what I mean

Yeah

I'm not sleeping because I disliked it and I would rather be sleeping I'm sleeping because it's like Cozy and it's just a little slow like the pace does feel slow

I will say watching it I I watched it last night The pacing wasn't as slow as I remembered which I was surprised by but that might be because I've seen it so many times although I would think that it would feel slower because I know what's coming I don't know It felt like it went by Quicker this time there have been times I've watched it where it felt a little slower like it dragged a little I think in general there is that suspense of you don't know what's going to happen because you know with the letter writing something has to happen right that has to culminate in something

yeah

And you can tell before the letter writing ever happens that Ellie has a crush on aster but you don't ever feel like the stakes are that high and part of that is that this isn't a romance and part of it is that they are all Seniors in high school who are inevitably going to leave squahamish or not leave squahamish and that's equally the conundrum of the story You know so but that's also what I like about it like this is this film is a huge part of The inspiration towards 1 of the books that I'm writing on that I always describe as like a coming of age written as a romance where I want it to feel like the stakes are like so inconsequential I just really like it I'm glad you don't Dislike it You can tell me if you dislike it It's okay

I Don't dislike it but I would never go out of my way to watch it But if someone wanted to put it on I wouldn't like I would be fine to watch it You know

okay getting into things that we have to talk about 

Yeah

our favorite moments just get jumping off the bat So sorry if you hear my cat scratching the box that she's in Alexxis Lemire who plays Aster flores is stunning She's so beautiful and aster doesn't even have that much of a personality and I'm fine with that because yeah yeah that's it that was my first note

She's just like pretty pretty girl that moved from the big city to the small town like that's very the vibe She's giving but not much more big city 

I mean she moved from Sacramento that's not that big of a city

sure but compared to squahamish like I feel like that is the role that she is playing in that film

Yeah

Because everyone else is from there

from the very beginning we find out Ellie Not only does she write Everyone's essays but she gives different takes on it like it So it's clearly not like fake Although the Teacher knows anyway So the teacher's like wow 6 different takes on plato I'm impressed and I'm like how does she even do that I could barely get the one essay done How is she doing 6 different takes on plato

And also that was my thing only for $20 I'm like that is a lot of effort and a lot of brain power for only $20 an essay sure but still

Well it's a small town 

Sure but still

but she does have a rule It's an a or you don't pay which is a gamble

she also doesn't write anything over 10 pages which I was like you know good that you have rules girl

Yeah but I can't remember right I don't think I ever wrote anything over 10 pages for high school I only wrote a handful of things over 10 pages for college

Oh I wrote many things over 10 pages for college But yeah high school No this movie I like that its scene breaks in its transition scenes It will have like quotes from famous authors philosophers 

And then the characters

poets yeah and so it will have just like different quotes instead of having like B roll or something to transition the scene and I kind of liked that because it really played into the story too

Yeah you can tell that they're using that to signify that this is another part of the story and their growth and it's really fun because you can see the inspiration that Alice Wu brought into this with like Different philosophers or authors mentioned like there's Oscar Wilde and there's Plato and all of that But then as it progresses There's a quote that's Ellie and there's an emoji that is part of it because at the end or because while they're they're talking Paul has at 1 point said that Ellie should send emojis the owl emoji the caterpillar with glasses and a pineapple and so the last one of these is a pineapple an owl and a caterpillar with glasses and then it just says various sources 

Various sources Yeah so funny

1 of the first quotes that you see that Is both in one of those ah little what's it called cut scenes and is also on the board when we first see the English teacher is hell is other people by jean Paul Satre I don't know how to pronounce his last name Ah but he's a French playwright I think and that to me Is just hilarious because as an Introvert hell is other people

even as an extrovert something I liked we kind of brought it up with the ghost Messenger app is I like when you have to get creative When you're implying that they're using something that exists but you can't use the brand name so to me Ghost Messenger is a take on snapchat because the little ghost is the brand symbol for snapchat But another thing they do is Hushmo me instead of venmo me

I like it too because I've I've always said this I feel weird about things that take place in our universe that aren't supposed to be so I like that it's like signifying this is our time and and place but it is not exactly the same It's similar to how um all of the Nickelodeon shows had pear phones instead of iphones

Yes yes 

It's familiar but different

mhmm Amanda mentioned this in the summary but I really appreciate how you saw Paul and Ellie's relationship grow to the point that like I wouldn't say Paul was a Popular kid but he also doesn't give me unpopular vibes because he's on the football team and stuff like that and I just appreciated that when people start shouting chugachuga choohoo paul Yells at them like he full on stands up for her and I really like loved that

Yeah I will say on that note about whether or not he's popular I think one of the things that's a little lacking in this film or feels a little confusing is that none of these characters seem to have friends even though they're all just meeting or talking for the first time really now

Yeah that is true

Like you would think Ellie would have at least 1 friend she spent the majority of her life there Paul's never like no I can't do this I have to hang out with people

Yeah and they talk about like him being busy with training and stuff but we don't really see it all that much

no There's that one girl at the party that's like Ellie Chu I've always wanted to tell you I love your nails and she's like yeah I can never get the bite grease out of them and she's like they look bad ass but like you would I just you would think That she would have 1 friend and you would think Paul would have a handful

Yeah totally it's not realistic that they wouldn't have any friends and we don't see any friends

But I do appreciate I I do think that adds to the story because you don't need to care about side characters You just care about these 3 and you get to know them really well

a scene that really stands out that we didn't really include in the summary but is part of the letters that Paul and Ellie or 

Ellie and aster

Paul and aster But yes ellie writing as Paul are exchanging and they are talking about how 1 time they read that the difference between a good painting and a great painting is just 5 strokes and it's normally the 5 boldest strokes and so ellie sets up this just wall and basically challenges aster to paint the 5 boldest strokes and so they're doing street art on this like random Wall and it's just really sweet It's very fun I Really liked that scene

Yeah it's a montage where all of the dialogue is just Ellie and Aster reading the letters back and forth and it's this sort of banter where they're challenging each other and that is sort of the point of the film is about Having the bravery to live your life boldly whether it's admitting that you're gay in a small religious town or going to the school as out of state or going to art school and trying to find yourself instead of just marrying the quarterback You know Ah but I do have to say respectfully to aster while I was watching that this is the first time I think actually in the dozen times that I've seen this film while I was watching it last night I was like ah who in their right mind thinks that Paul is doing this painting

Also that Paul came up with the idea like for him to go and do the painting I feel like is more realistic than to come up with the idea 

Well that too

you know

Yeah yeah like like there's a reason aster said deep down she knew because she knew because come on 

Yeah yeah 

But she wanted to believe that was within Paul and I get that man

Yeah it also I'm like this is how people get catfished because people are just gullible there is this scene because a lot of the exchanges between Ellie and Paul happen in the confessional booth at church and there's this one scene where they are talking about emojis and the use of emojis and Ellie is like I Just don't get them like what does that mean I don't know what they mean meanwhile in the middle is the pastor sitting and they don't realize he's in the confessional booth So he's like hearing them talk about all of this and is like confused and it is Hilarious like

They might realize he's there He's not allowed to tell people secrets So yeah

That's true I Guess I just assumed they didn't know because they constantly use that as a place to like you know have their exchanges about aster But um it was so funny It is like the well needed ah comedy breaks that this ah film kind of Because it's so beautifully shot and kind of slow as I mentioned when they have these like punchy really funny bits it really helps move the film along and so I really enjoyed that one

Yeah in that ah scene is when Paul says to send a pineapple owl and caterpillar with glasses and ellie goes what does that mean and he says the glasses make the caterpillar look smart and then later they show it on that cut scene and then when she's leaving For grinnell on the train He's looking kind of sad Paul looks like he might cry and Ellie takes out her phone and says here hits sent and then he looks at his phone and he says the glasses do make the caterpillar look smart But

Yeah it's so cute

I Also really like how ah there's a lot of things There's a lot of details in this film that are like that where it comes back around

Yeah it doesn't feel like things are just included for like a ha ha or even for a dramatic moment like everything that is included in these characters or that these characters say to 1 another has a point and so they do constantly come back around at multiple points throughout the film which is nice

Yeah even one of the things that ellie's dad does We didn't talk about him very much but he most of the time when we see him he's sat at home watching foreign films supposedly to learn english though He also really likes old french cinema and Whenever there's a climactic moment about to happen in the film He says best part and then when we have that beautiful scene at the hot springs where ellie is with aster and they're listening to the radio a song comes on where Ellie says that her mom really loved that song and that something about like you can always find like the 5 seconds that are the best part and aster's trying to identify the best part of that song and then she does so like everything all these little bits of dialogue and details really come around like this film is really well thought out

Yeah yeah and speaking of well thought out you know as more of these films the 2020 and later films have come up obviously texting is a huge part of life and so characters texts and so filmmakers have had to find a way to like include that on screen and I liked the way this happened um when atser and Paul are on their date and Ellie is texting as Paul you see the date happen and you see shots of Ellie in the car and you also see the text popping up on the screen and you see Paul texting Ellie but Ellie also texting aster and it's all happening simultaneously but you see it all on the screen at once I just really liked that I think that's one of my favorite ways that like showing texting has been done Like I really enjoyed it

What I love about that scene First of all I prefer it without the bubbles Some people prefer to use the bubbles I don't like the bubbles So this is just white text over the brick wall of the restaurant which is nice and what I really love is the pacing and the sound effects because they Emphasize the text as part of the film So every text that gets sent in this film gets a little like whoop like imessage sound but when Paul is texting her He's sending like with all caps and with periods and because he wants to know and he's very Stern so he goes what are you Doing and instead of hearing that because you're not reading it out loud They said do do do like sound effects added to it so you really feel the difference in tone between the messages as well It's so fun and animated

Yeah it was really when I was watching it I actually rewinded it because I was like dang I don't know if I've seen texting done like this and maybe I have but I really enjoyed it

Yeah it's hard to pull it off like that 

Totally 

There's a cute cute scene before the talent show after the second date where Paul and ellie go thrift shopping for outfits for the talent show and They're talking about the date and various things and then Paul just looks at Ellie and is like you know they have dressing rooms because she's been trying on a skirt over her jeans and then he helps her pick out He tells her to go in the dressing room and he'll pick out stuff for her because he has a sister and like this isn't a big deal but it just like Showed a softer I mean he is a soft boy but it showed a more feminine side to him as well and it was just really cute

Yeah because she very much was like I can't ask you to do that and he's like I have sisters go in the fitting room like I'll toss you stuff like he wanted to do it

Yeah and I think that probably meant a lot since her mom passed when she was 13 not just four years ago I thought her mom passed a lot longer ago but I realized in this watch through was when she was 13 so she really doesn't have like a feminine figure in her life to help her with things like clothing and her appearance And I'm not saying Paul is that feminine figure but just having someone to care enough about you to want to help dress you kind of means a lot

speaking of her not having a feminine figure I get that this is her character and that her and her dad are not very well off and all of these things However they put her in the loosest terrible fitting jeans Multiple times in this film and I'm like we couldn't put her in better fitting pants like just pants that are her size 

I Never even noticed

oh my God they're just so Ill fitting and I'm like can we just put her in pants that fit her like I'm not asking for anything more than that just make them fit please

yeah I think it was really part of the character Obviously they needed to dress Leah Lewis down but I I get it You want you want better for her 

Yeah Yeah I Do I do

when aster finds Ellie in Paul's bed ellie moves way too fast 

This facts

that that girl is supposed to be hungover as hell like she was do drunk and Paul left her advil and water and she's about to take it has not taken It has just woken up and she hears as her and she like jumps out of bed and has her jacket halfway on by the time Aster shows up down those steps and I'm like girl your head must be pounding like I want to throw up

yeah there's no way even if you do realize that like you need to move your butt the pace that you are able to do that at is a third of the speed she was moving at


Yeah I at least wanted something like a like a hand on the head or something like some acknowledgement of her condition

Yeah we didn't really touch on this too much in the plot because it's just not important but there is this thing where trig's like oh I know Ellie you're into me and how he's like hey did ellie get a little hot and he kind of like comes on to ellie and one of these moments is outside Ellie's house and we see ellie's dad out the window spray him with the like sink Um 

The sink extension 

yeah and it is hilarious

Yeah because her dad really we only see him in the house He is not involved in her life He becomes friends with Paul because Paul comes to hang out so to see him stick up for her And do that even just that little bit of an interaction is so good and trig deserved so much worse than that 

Oh yeah 

but speaking of ellie's dad I just have to highlight what has always been my favorite scene of this movie even though it's Fairly inconsequential to the plot Not that this film has a lot of plot is when Paul and Ellie haven't made up yet but he knows that she's gay he brings the sausage delivery over and her dad Asks if they've had a fight or broke up and so he explains that they were never together and tries to explain that Ellie's different he says that her dad doesn't see her and that she's capable of so much like he's trying in simplified english to explain that she Has so much potential in life and in return her dad speaks about the passing of his wife in chinese to Paul and Paul doesn't like try to tell him he doesn't understand he doesn't Look around awkwardly he stands and gives an expression as if he is genuinely trying to listen and I just think it's so beautiful I think it's so touching and respectful and then her dad does speak a bit more in english about how He loves her so much He never wants her to change and while he's speaking chinese we learn more about her and him because he says that when her mom passed when she was 13 he was devastated and a few days later she was in the booth doing the lights for him and and he was so proud and like You know she's been taking on that role literally ever since like hasn't even really properly grieved her mom but I just I love that scene of the 2 of them who don't really understand each other but love the same person coming together and finding a way to To love and respect each other 

Yeah

It's just so beautiful

Mhmm yeah I also really appreciated that like it's not even that Paul just like stood there It Paul was actively listening Even though he could not comprehend He was actively listening and it was really sweet

And I think people really knock on nonverbal communication I can say as someone who has lived in countries but especially 1 country where english is not the native tongue and there's been a lot of communication barriers Even when you don't understand what someone's saying tone means a lot and you can listen and you can comprehend some of the sentiment just by paying attention to tone and delivery 

Totally

So Just a beautiful example of that and my last thing when I really need to shout out is like boys and girls can just be friends 

Yeah

and that's like something I Really loved about this movie like it's not really a romance It is a coming of age even though romance is part of it I Will say one of the people that I made watch this at the end was like did they kind of ruin it did she and Paul kind of like do does she love paul is that way She's crying and I'm like no she's crying because they're friends I just love movies about boys and girls being friends

Yeah I think I could I get why it happened but I think I could have done without the Paul kissing her scene again It was there for like Drama and to like lead into other things that happen in the film like I get it But I think that without that scene It could have solidified their friendship a little bit more like I Just don't know that I needed that scene

I think that I like I hear what you're saying and I agree with it that it could have done without I Do think it's very natural at any age and especially at their age to confuse those feelings 

Sure

And Paul has started appreciating who she is as a human but until he knows that she's gay he doesn't fully know her 

Yeah

so I don't mind it I don't 

but I get what you're saying that like it could have been even pure if he never had that confusion 

yeah

getting into things We don't love as much I'm the only one that added to this 

Yeah

is your would yours just be the pacing

Yeah mine would be the pacing but here's the thing I think I'm torn because I understand why the pacing is what it is and I do agree that it makes it a beautiful film and without that pacing I don't think the story would have been told as Like beautifully because it does give them opportunity to have these like gorgeous shots of just like Ellie and Aster floating for a minute and a half you know so the pacing allows for things that makes this film what it is but like as I've said in other things like I like things quick snappy Active like I think it's more of a Me problem and a less of this film problem but the pacing does make me sleepy So I guess I could say that's something I don't love as much but it's not that I would want it to change 

Yeah and I do think that one of the reasons I love this film so much and like you said can that slow pacing can allow for those beautiful shots and there's so many beautiful shots There's so much beautiful music The score Lends itself to those moments of suspense where you like you know Ellie's going to Kiss Aster before she does because the music is building up to it which by the way guys she like throws her bike on the ground and runs after her like it's not It's it's it's great cinema But I think it's really rare to find queer stories that are such low stakes and are so beautiful I think so often it's about getting thrown out of your home or getting bullied or really struggling to understand who you are and what your identity is and that's never That like Ellie likes Aster from the beginning She's not conflicted about it That's not the point of the story No one's disowning her Paul comes around and that's not something that we've mentioned yet actually is I I really love the sympathy towards the small town people And the religion of it and that Paul says you know it's a sin you're going to hell and then he comes around to it because it's just something he knows

yeah and it's not even that he inherently knows or believes that it's just that is what he was told and so he when he says it to her It's just like oh you're going to hell But as again it's not accusatory It's not mad It's just very Matter of fact because that is what he's been told 

He's sad when he says it because this person he cares for is going to hell So I think that yeah I just I This is not something we dislike um we haven't gotten into that section yet that was more of me rambling about how much I love this movie Okay but things that we don't love as much since I added to this I could have used a hug before Ellie and Paul got or but between Elie and Paul before she got on the train 

Agreed agreed

when I was watching it this time I was like what is this lacking a hug

A hug Yeah

she it's really cute She calls him a wussy for almost crying and like that that's cute but I could have used a hug before the wussy stuff 

Yep I second that

also because he's so big and she's so small 

Yeah so cute

Okay the only like smallest gripe I have is because the first time I watched this film I was a little confused by this and I know when I've watched this with other people They've been a little confused by this There is a scene earlier in the film where Ellie asks Paul What he loves about aster And he's like well she's pretty and she's nice and what else why else would you love someone and then she goes on clearly losing track of herself saying you know the way that her eyes see through you and how she has at least 5 different voices and her laugh busts out of her like she can't control it and he says I'm so stupid That's what you say when you love someone and that scene feels like an aha he's figured it out moment But then he backtracks because he says like that's what you say when you love someone and you don't even care and she's like okay cool Relieved and they keep talking about Paul and Aster But the first like couple times that I saw it that felt like an aha moment So then later when he's like oh you like Aster and has that whole moment I felt like wait a second didn't he already figure that out like I was confused

I guess because when that moment happens Ellie does backtrack out of it and goes no no no I didn't mean that like Love is how much effort you put in and you've been putting in all this effort and turns it back on him so I felt like 

It didn't confuse you 

Yeah it didn't confuse me as much also like Paul is dumb like he doesn't 

He is dumb

he doesn't read into things Until they happen multiple times because there's even like you know which we also didn't touch on but there are things where like he's starting to get calls and stuff from food critics in Seattle and he is like Oh I'm getting more attention and then later he finds letters that Ellie has written to send out and so 

On his behalf yeah

on his behalf and so I think it takes him a few times to connect the dots like that's just 1 example but there are other things where it's like it just takes him a little extra time So I think this is setting Up in his brain and then later on when he realizes It's like everything connects and he's like oh you like her

that's fair That's fair I think there was just something about that initial scene that could have been a little clearer in the dialogue or direction for me personally

Yeah

But you're right it is in Paul's character to be extra extra oblivious 

Mhmm mhmm

the detail we forgot to mention that I also find is hilarious because again Alice wu just thought of everything is that Aster is going to art school to figure things out and I cannot believe that there was not a joke on Ellie's behalf About how oh if you're not gay now you will be after art school 

Yeah yeah yeah

like it was right there but I get it Ellie wouldn't have made that joke but I want to make that joke every time I watch that scene

yeah

some awards that the half of it has won so they won the founders award for best us narrative feature at tribeca film festival and then they were nominated for best screen play at The independent spirit awards and outstanding film at the glaad media awards so not only was this like well received on Netflix and watched a bunch of times It also was like 

well received

nominated and won Yeah

I will say it has a 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB and I don't like that 

Yeah that feels a little low 

Yeah it's a beautiful piece of cinema guys 

I agree

This is the awards go in our fun fact section and my only other fun fact is that Leah Lewis is buff as fuck 

Yeah Amanda sent me instagrams of her like ah doing pullups and yeah I didn't realize that she didn't look anything like Ellie Chu But yeah she's very buff and like kind of like hot and sensual and I was like this is not Ellie like at all 

There was a time during the pandemic where she was just posting a lot of yoga videos and she's one of those people that can do like every single muscle of isolation like she has abs and has had abs for years 

yeah crazy getting into quotes 

We have a lot guys because it's so well written So just like bear with us

yeah yeah also like credit to Alice because like that's why we have so many quotes the first one I wrote an exchange between Paul and ellie towards the beginning of the film where Paul goes love makes you screwy don't you get screwy she's like no

When they are discussing aster and love and stuff Paul says something about effort and Ellie says there's no points for effort and he says isn't that what love is how much effort you put into loving someone which is a common theme in the film is What is love another fun one is if I knew what love was I would quote myself 

Yeah that's a good one

that was Ellie in 1 of her letters to aster

less meaningful of a quote got a good Paul quote here Um speaking about his taco sausage when he's first introducing the concept to Ellie of the taco sausage He goes 2 hand foods one great taste

And he says it almost like to himself He's like looking at his hands and he's like 2 hand foods one great taste

Yeah it's so cute

When talking about her dad Ellie is explaining how he ended up being stuck at the station manager as the station manager in squahamish and Paul interjects He doesn't speak very good and she says he's not bad and says I don't speak very good either

Which I really liked because um a lot of native English speakers don't have that kind of humility 

Yeah

Ah when ah she Ellie is talking to the teacher The teacher says everyone in this town fears God but you know who God fears The teacher's union 

Yes yeah and I also think this is in a either the same kind It might be the same conversation or another conversation with the teacher But I think it's around the same time where the teacher says to Ellie you know where else you can meet people your age who get you college Which I'm like truth

at the party Ellie is she goes from being looking kind of sober to suddenly being very drunk Paul goes up to her and asks how many drinks she's had and she's hilariously goes I want you to know that I can tell I have been drinking spirits because I have to pee far more often than would be indicated by plain punch So don't think I haven't been monitoring the situation then he just goes cool cool and takes her home 

Yeah yeah he's like let's get you out of here

It's such a nerdy way to describe being drunk and it makes me giggle every time

Yeah yeah it It was very in character But also you could tell she was intoxicated It was just real It was well acted well written It was a It's a great scene 

It's when you're a nerd and you're fighting being drunk

Yeah yeah when she's with Aster and they're at the little Lake Pond hot spring whatever it is Aster like keeps looking at her because she's so much clothing on even though they're in the water and aster's like are you wearing long underwear and she's like I'm a russian doll of clothing

Yeah in that same scene at 1 point Ellie says gravity is matter's response to loneliness which is like is it profound or is it weird yes

yes 

I like it 

Yeah yeah

It sounds nice and then in the church scene when after Asters slaps Paul on the face and walks off Paul's mom stands up and says mommy wants you to know in case you are gay mommy loves you anyway and he goes I'm not gay Oh thank god I might want to change up the sausage recipe though Are you insane I love that recipe

Yes which is the exact response he knew he was going to get which is why he had not been wanting to say it yeah too good

Yeah but it's so funny that this small religious town and his mom is more accepting of him being gay than changing the family sausage recipe

Yes yes

Okay final thoughts I Love coming of age stories I would like more coming of age stories I Just really love them I think they're often very beautiful

me too and This is a really really really well told 1

My other final thought is really more of a question Do you at all find it confusing that it's like kind of set up about finding your other half at the very beginning but then she says it's not a romance And then it's called the half of it and no one really falls in love and is Paul supposed to be like the other half and like your soulmate or is it about completing yourself like was any of that confusing or was it just like yeah

I Think it's kind of about all of it like 

Yeah I mean that is the coming of age story right

because I think like it is about love But it's not a love story

And it's not about romantic Love It's about all kinds of love Anyway that's the half of it if you haven't watched this movie like I cannot emphasize enough Go go watch it especially if you have like queer trauma and insecurities and you just want to watch something wholesome

and it's just beautiful if you like like beautifully shot Cinema like watch it So good up next in our pride month Um series we are doing like a fun music Episode where we're going to talk about all things demi Lovato which we are both huge demi fans So I am excited for this one please go give it us a like and follow on all our social media nineties babies nostalgia on Instagram and Youtube spell out the word nineties but on Tiktok use The numericals there Also if you have a moment give us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify because it really helps us out and with that one We'll see you in the next one bye

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