"Looking for Alibrandi" was one of those films that received a huge push on release due to the popularity of the book and its position as a major Australian release in 2000. Because of these petty reasons I avoided it on release but finally got around to seeing it recently. This film is an enjoyable experience that won't really test anyone's intelligence but makes following Josie Alibrandi through her last year of school an enjoyable one.
For those viewers who need a comparative base to decide if they will like a film, "Looking..." shares similarities with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - both films have female protagonists facing the prospect of growing up in strong ethnic backgrounds and trying to escape it to some extent. Overall I prefer "Looking..." to "MBFGW" since it has more depth and isn't a flat-out sitcom premise, but I believe if you enjoyed one you will at least be entertained by the other.
My two main gripes with "Looking..." are the ending (*spoiler* - it's the old "I want to get away from my family... oh wait, I love them now" ending that is pretty cliched *end spoiler*) and that Josie Alibrandi can be pretty grating at times - she isn't always the sympathetic heroine and can be very off-putting in her behaviour. Still, she's meant to be a teenage girl and I'm fairly sure that 'real' teenage girls can be pretty surly at times too!
Overall, "Looking for Alibrandi" is a coming of age film that features strong performances for the most part. An audience could do much worse than this for a night's entertainment.
For those viewers who need a comparative base to decide if they will like a film, "Looking..." shares similarities with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - both films have female protagonists facing the prospect of growing up in strong ethnic backgrounds and trying to escape it to some extent. Overall I prefer "Looking..." to "MBFGW" since it has more depth and isn't a flat-out sitcom premise, but I believe if you enjoyed one you will at least be entertained by the other.
My two main gripes with "Looking..." are the ending (*spoiler* - it's the old "I want to get away from my family... oh wait, I love them now" ending that is pretty cliched *end spoiler*) and that Josie Alibrandi can be pretty grating at times - she isn't always the sympathetic heroine and can be very off-putting in her behaviour. Still, she's meant to be a teenage girl and I'm fairly sure that 'real' teenage girls can be pretty surly at times too!
Overall, "Looking for Alibrandi" is a coming of age film that features strong performances for the most part. An audience could do much worse than this for a night's entertainment.