You think your life is hard? This girl is wearing size 13 Nikes – men’s size 13 Nikes. 

“Tall Girl” is the new Netflix original movie spiraling over with teens buzzing on their opinions. Just like when “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” hit the platform, this movie has girls obsessing over new actor, Luke Eisner, who may be the next Noah Centineo. 

“Tall Girl” stars Ava Michelle as Jodi, a girl who’s 6 feet and 1 inch tall, struggling with the anxiety most teenagers face in high school, with her insecurities overwhelming her overall personality. With the pressure of dating, and her self consciousness pushing her back, she finally musters up the courage to talk to the new foreign exchange student who’s got girls approaching him left and right. 

This honestly was not my favorite Netflix original film due to the context following the rest of the movie with Jodi betraying her friends and treating them with disrespect, thinking that the world revolves around her and her vulnerability. Although it had it’s cute and cliche moments, the overall statement of the movie didn’t have the best representation for teens. 

In the beginning of the movie, it starts with Jodi sitting in the library, reading her book and making eye contact and small talk with a boy across the table from hers. After they start to hit it off, he proceeds to ask her on a date until he stops in his tracks after she stands up, with him gawking at her height and making an excuse to immediately leave, leaving her in the dust with not a trace of self-confidence. 

She’s made fun of in the hallways with people calling her skyscrapers and people asking, “how’s the weather up there?” Her best friend, Fareeda, is a confident young woman, dancing her way through the hallways and continuously uplifting Jodi through all her hardships. While Fareeda is always there for Jodi, Jodi lacks respect and never is there for her friend, and always making everything about her while never giving a care to ask if her friend is OK. 

The typical high school mean girl, Kimmy Stitcher, of course also appears, prank calling, bullying and harassing Jodi and stating that the new Swedish exchange student, was “her’s,” and that she would never be able to date him because she was the tall girl. 

Playing her own game, she finally runs into Stig, the exchange student, who is playing the piano in a music room, a place she was hoping she would be able to escape Kimmy and her group of friends. While Stig tries to play a melody on the piano, Jodi helps him in telling him to rest his hands, not to be too tense and to let everything relax. After she beautifully plays her song, they both discover their passion for Broadway and Musical Theatre. 

While they both start to catch feelings, the love triangle appears with Stig dating Kimmy, but Jodi and Stig having mutual feelings for each other, and Kimmy getting jealous and trying to make Jodi as far away as possible. 

Throughout the mess of the triangle and Jodi ditching her friends for her new crush, her childhood best friend known as Donkleman, has been in love with Jodi since the very beginning of their friendship. Trying to stop the exchange student from stealing “his girl”, his plans never really seem to work out with Jodi throwing him out of the way to get her new boyfriend. After making friends and sharing ideas and opinions with a sweet girl who seems to fit Donkleman perfectly, he rejects her homecoming offer because he wants Jodi to give him a chance. He lifts her up after she’s been rejected by Stig for becoming the new popular boy, and she still won’t give him a chance. 

When Stig blows off Jodi for a high school party set at Donkleman’s house, she’s sent a video of him trash-talking her, and Donkleman stands up for her in a striking way, trying to hit Stig. His black eye shows up before, nobody thinking too much of it, to her surprise finding out he’s always had her back. 

Homecoming night arrives, both Jodi and Donkleman without a date, and Fareeda living her best life without toxic friends. Of course, homecoming king and queen are winners Stig and Kimmy, only praising their terrible attitudes and popularity pride. For Stig’s confused feelings, he finally dumps Kimmy, and Jodi walks in, silver high heel pumps letting everything go, into the mic in front of the whole school, explaining her love triangle.  

She’s re-kindled her friendships, but the sparks fly between her and Donkleman. As she walks home, feeling confident with high heels in hand, Donkleman is waiting for her, stepping up onto a milk crate, with the ending scene of the two of them kissing, a happy ending for almost all. 

After the conflicts of the movie, it seems like this point could have been made in a twenty minute episode of a TV show, instead of dragging it out and waiting for something better to hit. The movie moved slowly, with many awkward and slow parts, seeming like it would never end. With everything ending sweet for all the friends, we seem to be missing what’s going to happen with Kimmy and what her school life will be like now. 

Every new teen Netflix movies seems to have the same conflict, new people but the same storyline. For most reviews, many people believe their first movies were better, now just creating problems with more acceptance and a slightly separate story. With most people searching for a new story to get hooked on, “Tall Girl” is not the answer. The movie shows what every teen girl thinks is necessary for high school, ending with the story point to be yourself. Seeing as this was the main point, “Tall Girl” represents to give people a chance and to not change for someone else.