13 Going On 30 ~ Surprisingly Cool Movie

When I caught sight of this movie on cable, I ran right over it,
thinking it was just a fluff, teeny-bopper, girly movie. Afterall,
what matter of substance could be arrived at, from a Jeniffer
Garner (of Alias fame) vehicle ?. So it must have been fate, that
I found myself the other day, totally engrossed in this movie.




The plot deals with the age-old dilemma of the inexperienced
and unwise to overlook their blessings and desperately ache
for something that wouldn’t be good for them, in the long run.
A 13 year old girl in school (Garner) with a devoted, but dorky
boyfriend wants to be ’cool’ and grown-up. She gets her wish,
but to get there, she has had to make certain ’compromises’
along the way. She has become a bitch and everybody hates
her.

When she realizes that her co-workers deride her at work, she
has ’’no real friends’’ and she’s estranged from her parents, she
wants to make amends. She hooks-up with that old, reliable,
genuine ’dorky’ boyfriend, who it turns out, is getting married
in two weeks. At the end of the two weeks together, she wants
him, not her ’cool’ lifestyle. She basically wants to do a do-over.

Sure, in the movie she gets it. But how many get to do that in
real life ?. Jennifer Garner is simply adorable in this movie. She
is naturally bubbly, torn-inside composed-outside, remorseful,
and dozens of shades in between. All arrived at, with honesty,
charm and quite dignity that were required of her part.

All of this under the guise of bubble-gum, glitter paint, fun and
laughter. I would recommend this movie for the seven and seventy
crowd. There’s a message (arresting/affirming) in it, for everybody.

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