Millennials Get the Awkward and Heartbreaking Coming-of-Age Film We Deserve — Review

Coming-of-age films are a staple of Sundance. The past decade has premiered instant classics of the genre, including Lady Bird and CODA, as well as underrated gems like My Old Ass and Dìdi. This year alone has several films that touch on growing up, including the quirkyExtra Geography, horror filmLeviticus, father-son drama If I Go Will They Miss Me, mother-son dramedy Hot Water, dark comedy Run Amok, and even crime thriller Josephine. In its examination of queer girlhood in the mid-2000s, characterized by chat rooms and belly button piercings, Big Girls Don’t Cry fits somewhere in the Lady Bird and My Old Ass sphere, though there are shades of the rebellious spirit of Thirteen and painful awkwardness of Eighth Grade as well.