The Half of It                      4 stars

While looking for new and interesting movies I happened upon one on Netflix called The Half of It. This is a new variation on the Cyrano de Bergerac story set in a small town high school with the kids going through the tortuous path of looking for love. Here we find Ellie Chu, a 17-year old Chinese American who seems to be the only minority in school and has not made any friends. She is very intelligent and well read as she seems to know about the great philosophers and great books. She also plays the piano and guitar and can write songs. Ellie lives with her immigrant father in a train station apartment where they are in danger of having their power cut off since they are poor. So, it makes sense that she makes a little extra money by writing class essays for her classmates for a fee. Along comes Paul, a jock who plays on the football team and is a little dimwitted but very sweet. Paul needs Ellie to write a love letter for him to the girl he is infatuated with, Aster, and is willing to pay for it. Ellie is soon drawn into this scheme and is soon coaching Paul on subjects like great books, films and art, so that he will sound more interesting to Aster. This arrangement only becomes more complicated when we see that Ellie is also attracted to Aster, so when she writes things for Paul she is really writing about her own feelings. Of course Ellie and Paul become closer too through the experience as he appears to be her first real friend. Eventually, things spiral out of control when the truth of what is going on is revealed. The movie is based on the director’s own life experiences. Alice Wu has written a genuine film that deals with the subjects of race, religion, family traditions and sexual orientation that feels real for the most part. Later in the film there are situations that depend on manufactured coincidences that felt contrived which goes along with the territory of teen romances. Viewers will not have to be concerned about any uncomfortable scenes. There is nothing more graphic than an occasional kiss throughout the movie. The Half of It is one 2020 movie that I highly recommend.