Story by Ashley Bolek, Saint Reporter
Photo courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes

When I first saw the poster for “Lady Bird,” my thought was, Great, another boring indie movie. Then, a friend of mine saw it and told me I had to go that it was fantastic and really deserved the hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. I figured might as well since I had a free ticket. What I found was a beautiful movie that truly reflects life.

“Lady Bird” is about a high school girl named Lady Bird, played by Saoirse Ronan, who goes to a Catholic School and comes from a lower-income family. Lady Bird and her mother, played by Laurie Metcalf, always seem to be at war over something. The movie follows her final year of high school, filled with eating the communion wafers, prom, first love, and trying to get into her dream college.

One of the aspects of the movie that I absolutely loved is that Ronan had acne all over her face. She wasn’t some adult with perfect skin playing an high schooler. That was one thing I always hated about high school movies or TV shows. They always had perfect skin when that is not the case.

Another thing that they got right was coming from a lower-income family and going to Catholic School. I remember when I was in middle school, my family would always be shopping at Goodwill when everyone else had Aeropostale or Hollister shirts on. At one point in the movie, Lady Bird lies about where she lives because she is embarrassed and I remember when I lived at my grandparents, I never invited anyone except my best friend over.

Everyone always raves about the 1980s and the aesthetic, but I think the early 2000s will become the 1980s for movies soon. This is because the aesthetic of the movie felt like the 1980s, but it still had the cell phones and computers. Kids in the 1990s can also relate more to the early 2000s rather than the 1980s because they lived it.

Lastly, the mother-daughter relationship in this movie is a beautiful representation of family. There is a moment where Lady Bird and her mother are fighting in a thrift store one minute and then freaking out over a dress the next. The movie explores the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. There is love, but there is also hate. Instead of having the father be the hard parent, he is the one that goes easy on Lady Bird while the mom pushes her.

“Lady Bird” is currently sitting at a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and I have to agree. The movie is one of the best coming-of-age movies I have seen a very long time. It has something for everyone in it. Definitely check this movie out before the Oscars because it is a movie no one should miss, especially at a Catholic school. It is a relatable movie that anyone raised Catholic will understand. I highly recommend this movie and I hope to see it win big at the Oscars.