A tender and amusing coming-of-age tale about a little girl who’s had to grow up faster than any child ought to, My Girl has just enough spirit and spunk to be endearing but is mature enough to know when to stop laying it on so thick. Featuring some surprising performances from its main stars, this is the kind of semi-nostalgic film that everyone can enjoy but won’t likely linger too long in your memory.
Newcomer Anna Chlumsky is Vada Sultenfuss, an imaginative 11-year-old who’s not your typical girl. She likes to hang out with her best friend Thomas (Macaulay Culkin), sing oldies tunes and is a total tomboy. Her father is a mortician and her mother died when she was very young. Because of this, she always seems to be convinced that she’s got some kind of disease or another. It’s hard to say if she’s just a hypochondriac or if she does it to get attention from her distant father (Dan Aykroyd). During one summer, a number of things happen that change her life forever and usher her into adolescence.
While the focus is on Vada, Aykroyd is the one who gives one of the most impressive performances in the film. Eschewing his usual goofball comedy shtick for a different kind of humor, he hits the nail on the head as a middle-aged man with little self confidence outside of the morgue and who knows nothing about raising a pre-teen daughter. By playing things straight as possible, he helps bring out the subtle and situational humor of the film.
Certainly not the first or the best coming-of-age tale focused on a young girl, My Girl does its best to stand out from the crowd. The dialogue is mostly sharp and witty but knows when to go all sentimental on us. When it does, it usually doesn’t go too far. This restraint helps the film from being too smarmy but it also holds it back just a bit because it’s not willing to lay it all out on the table and go for broke.
Most people remember the relationship between Vada and Thomas and the tragic turn of events toward the end of the film. This is a key part of the story because it forces everyone to come together and just be there for Vada, something that doesn’t seem to happen much in her life up to that point. While it is sad for both Vada and the audience, it is also a critical part in her growth as an adolescent. It’s a shame that most people just remember how sad it is and forget about the happier aspects of the film’s ending.
My Girl certainly doesn’t avoid idealizing youth and nostalgia but it has its checks and balances in hand to treat youthful melodrama with a pleasantly surprising amount of honesty and maturity. The good news is that this film is not just a sappy childhood funfest. The bad news is that much of the film doesn’t stick in your mind for long after seeing it. It’s a solid film for children of Vada’s age to see to help foster the maturation process, which is never a bad thing.
A tender and amusing coming-of-age tale about a little girl who’s had to grow up faster than any child ought to, My Girl has just enough spirit and spunk to be endearing but is mature enough to know when to stop laying it on so thick. Featuring some surprising performances from its main stars, this is the kind of semi-nostalgic film that everyone can enjoy but won’t likely linger too long in your memory.
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