Tall Girl Movie Review (2024)

Jodi (Ava Michelle) is the title's TALL GIRL. At 16, she's an accomplished pianist and a bright student with a dry sense of humor (mostly directed at herself). Despite her gifts, she can't shake what has become the central and defining fact of her life: She's six-foot-one and a stand-out in exactly the way many adolescent girls don't want to be. Her best friend Fareeda (Anjelika Washington) encourages her to stop slouching, but Jodi stoops ahead, resigned. When Stig (Luke Eisner), a tall, handsome Swedish exchange student, appears at school, Jodi is instantly smitten -- as is every other girl in her grade. Jodi has spent years doing her best not to be seen, hiding behind sweatshirts and attire from men's shops, looking like a "very large little boy." Her sudden desire to be noticed by Stig brings her to beauty-contest-winning big sister Harper (Sabrina Carpenter) for advice on glamming up, a collaboration that creates new family loyalty and closeness. Stig, who has been snagged by Jodi's long-time tormenter Kimmy (Clara Wilsey), nevertheless takes to Jodi when they meet accidentally in a piano practice room where she plays for him. A sweet kiss follows -- and so does the guilt of pursuing a guy with a girlfriend, even an evil one like Kimmy. Jodi's short friend Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck) is jealous and tries to steer Stig away, which leads to awkwardness, misunderstandings, and a black eye. The rapid-fire highs and lows of the typical high school crush play out from there.