When we think of classic movies that absolutely everyone has to see we often think of the crew from The Breakfast Club or the unforgettable emotions from Forrest Gump. Movies such as these all have something in common: They were released before we were even born. Now, it’s not a bad thing to be aware of popular culture of the past, but why don’t we ever dwell on the movies of our generation? It’s cinematic pieces such as The Emoji Movie that make it difficult to really praise the film of our time, but I think we can make an exception, if not many. There are some good movies out there these days, but it seems that the buzz only lasts for a few months at most.
This past Christmas break, I saw the movie Lady Bird, and I went in with no expectations. It follows the story of a teenage girl who is going through her senior year of high school while facing a multitude of challenges and big moments. Her relationship with her mother is specifically focused on, and it is a balanced mix of moments of love and hatred. After leaving the theater, I couldn’t help but be held up with emotion. This movie is special and memorable, and it is a new classic that I believe will live on for years to come.
Lady Bird has a plot line that everyone can relate to. The main character, Christine McPherson, decides for her 18-year-old self that she will be called Lady Bird, which her mother hesitates to accept. She is going through a very shaping year of her life where she is figuring out where to go to college and ultimately what to do with her whole life. No pressure, right? She’s also experiencing the typical struggles with school involvement and finding out that the brand new “love of her life” isn’t exactly who she thought he was (no spoilers here). The overall plot, as I’ve mentioned, and the ideas within the film are easy to relate to, as some other movies are, but it’s the specific details that make it unforgettable.
From the beginning, we witness Lady Bird and her mother in the car on the way back from a college road trip. She expresses to her mom that she hates California, where they’re living, and she just wants something more for herself. We all struggle with where we are in our lives at some point, so right away I was captivated. Her mother aggressively rolls her eyes, which is also unfortunately a relatable reaction. A few scenes later, Lady Bird and her best friend are at the grocery store gawking over fashion magazines wondering “Why don’t I look like that?” Meanwhile, her brother is working at the register picking a fight about anything that he can. Sibling rivalry is automatically there for us to laugh at, but also to nod our heads at because we understand. As the movie progresses and we learn more about Lady Bird and her life, the more moments there are like these that are quite relatable.
For all those ex-Catholic school students out there, we can relate on another level to this movie. Lady Bird attends her local Catholic school where the girls are ridiculed for the length of their skirts and fantasize over the “hot” teacher, just because he’s younger than most of the teachers around campus. For me, and many others that have experienced this schooling, it’s refreshing to see that we aren’t crazy and that these things actually happen. While attending all-school mass, the girls are daydreaming and eyeing the boy they have a crush on in hopes that they can hold their hand during the “Our Father” prayer. The all too relatable private school moments had me in tears from laughing, but even if you didn’t attend Catholic school, don’t fret. This is only one small aspect of the movie.
Towards the latter of the movie, Lady Bird argues with her best friend, but eventually they make up. She gets accepted into her dream school across the country, which causes extreme tension with her mother. She turns 18 and eventually goes off to the college where she takes advantage of her freedom the very first night. She goes through everything that we have. I couldn’t help but get a Holden Caulfield-meets-Christine McPherson vibe, thus being the ultimate coming of age story.
We often look back on our high school days and major experiences, no matter how long ago they were. Even the adults in our lives go on and on about their days as teenagers. This is the very reason why Lady Bird is the new ultimate classic movie of our generation. It’s not something that we can only understand as young people, but we can also relate when we’re older looking back. Being able to relate is a powerful thing and makes us feel better about ourselves as people. Movies that only purely entertain us can still be good movies, but the ones that make us smile and think about our own lives are the ones that are classics.
It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. An hour-and-a-half sitting made me feel better about myself, and I encourage you to take the time to sit back and watch what I believe may be one of the most influential movies of our generation. Yes, life may be “like a box of chocolates,” but there are other ways to look at it, one being through the eyes of Lady Bird.