While feminism has grown over the decades, a newer concept being fully realized and defined is girl power. The adolescent experience for girls can be confusing and tough, but also show incredible resilience and fire that helps these young individuals stand and survive in the face of threats and established patriarchy. With more and more women getting voices within creative spaces, it is only natural that this perspective would find its way into the zeitgeist. Adapting the same-titled book from Jennifer Mathieu, Amy Poehler‘s Moxie is a teen drama than defines itself within this perspective.
16-year-old Vivian (Hadley Robinson) has had enough of her school’s misogyny and is ready to stand up for herself and her classmates. From an unfair dress code to the protection of the school’s star jock Mitchell (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the girls of Rockport High School come together and begin to fight for change through a zine called “Moxie”. While incredibly uneven in execution, the heart of Moxie remains pure and clear.
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It is nothing short of wonderful to see a text celebrate girlhood and the power that these young women have. Tying together the efforts of the previous generation that fought for their rights and freedoms with the efforts today, there is a rather lovely heart to Moxie that shows the universal connections that can be found in the female experience. It is incredibly important for young women to be able to see a text made by other women to use as a guide. It is clear that there is a passion found for this project by all those involved, and the importance of a text like this cannot be overlooked.
The actual conversations within the feature are also rather needed. Giving a mainstream voice to ongoing issues within girlhood such as social media, dress codes, a lack of representation in education, etc…, Moxie immediately defines itself as a socially relevant feature that isn’t afraid to call out the truth of the situation. Not only is the text itself proud and vocal, but it also establishes that as something possible for girls to be. It shows that these are traits to be celebrated.
As mentioned, there are some issues found within the film. The easiest flaw to point out is runtime. For what ultimately still boils down to being a predictable teen drama, the film takes on a random 111-minute runtime that immediately proves to be simply too long. The film struggles to captivate audiences for this length and it is clear that something closer to 90-minutes would have been ideal.
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The dialogue is also rather rough at times. Even if the conversation is important, it is clear that there is a disconnect between how the writers of Moxie think girls talk to how they actually do. Often, the dialogue feels clunky and forced with the performances also suffering as a result. While these are not big enough problems to completely ruin the film, it will make the project a harder sell for anyone older than the younger teen demographic.
While Moxie might not be a masterpiece, it cannot be stated enough how important films like this are. Celebrating girlhood with a clear and empowering voice, this is the type of content that needs to be made. Even if the film doesn’t fully deliver, the final product is ultimately competent. For younger girls and their parents, this is an easy recommendation.
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