My thoughts on “Lady Bird” (2007)

Oftentimes, we get a better sense of adult humor (or similar concepts) from a piece of media at the second pass of consuming it after a while. Watching Lady Bird, directed by Greta Gerwig, at different times of my life is a great example of this kind of phenomenon.  

My first time watching Lady Bird was closer to the time it premiered, and while I had just graduated from middle school, I wasn’t sure of what to make of the witty humor of the film. Now living through the entirety of high school (although there are slight differences in mine in comparison to Lady Bird), it sort of gave me the right to thoroughly enjoy the themes of the film. 

While being a dramatic movie, the plot doesn’t dive in too high with stakes and you can really see that flourish of Lady Bird’s relationship with her mother. I feel like most teenagers in high school have had moments of wanting to be a part of that clique-y group. To be seen by ones who are well-liked is to want to be desired, whether that be for the wrong or right reason. Some of the scenes exceptionally expressed that raw tension between Lady Bird and Jenna, just to “fit in” and be desirable. Perhaps she was only with Kyle to feel validation and not because they actually felt affection for one another.  

(SPOILERS?! in this paragraph) I found it very appealing how the director established more heartbreak when Lady Bird betrayed her best friend, Julie, for someone she barely established a pure connection with. It was less heartbreaking and cathartic when she found out her first boyfriend was gay and wasn’t romantically interested in her. Their relationship was more so surface level puppy love and not as passionate and emotional as Lady Bird’s and Julie’s. 

Lady Bird is a fun watch and leaves out the need to deeply intellectualize or analyze to enjoy the themes expressed. An album that could encapsulate this film would be Lorde’s Pure Heroine as it does have that sense of living in suburbia whilst being young and naïve.