Plot Summary
Jim McKay follows up on the critical success of his Girls Town (1996) with this sensitively-wrought, finely-etched character study of three teenaged girls living in the Crown Heights section of New York City. Though it is summer, the trio find themselves locked in a demanding rehearsal schedule for their prize-winning marching band. Yet this is one of a sundry responsibilities these girls must shoulder. With their parents over-worked, absent, or in jail, they must take care of all household chores and hold down dreary soul-deadening jobs. To make matters worse, their school is closing down for asbestos removal. Yet the most pressing concern for Maria (Melissa Martinez) is her discovery that she is pregnant, for a second time, after a latex-free tryst with a classmate. She is reluctant to consider an abortion, though the prospect of telling her harried mother seems no less daunting. Her best friend Lanisha (Kerry Washington) is supportive, but Joy (Anna Simpson), the third in the trio, cools to Maria, preferring to retreat into a world of fantasy. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
90%- Reviews Counted: 52
- Fresh: 47
- Rotten: 5
- Average Rating: 7.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Takes familiar material and develops it with such tact and skill that we find ourselves moved and sort of amazed at the same time.
Fresh: Rich with scenes of affection, anger and reconciliation, along with moments of unfeigned humor.
Fresh: The movie's soul isn't its plot but the relationships among the girls.
Fresh: Our Song has no illusions about easy fixes. But neither does it traffic in facile despair as its three Graces saunter along the cracked pavement and into our hearts.
Customer Reviews
if you are going to cry, do so quietly...thank you
A sincere and sympathetic look at the lives of inner city adolescent girls, it’s impossible to not empathize with these three characters. Jim McKay very aptly catches the dramatic up-and-down emotions of young womanhood and beautifly constructs his character relationships. Nothing about this movie seems far-fetched or forced, and the main actresses fall so naturally into their respective roles.
More than just a movie...
I loved this movie and how it is so touching and beautiful. Crying in movies is rare for me, but this wasn't an ordinary movie. With amazing quality and lessons it will keep you crying and uplifted the entire time!
Not Bad
I'm torn on this movie but I don't think it's bad. I didn't feel cheated and I didn't mind watching it. I just feel like the director was trying to tackle a whole lot of different issues at once and never really takes a deep look at one issue before moving on to the next. A lot of stuff is just put out there and not explained. I mean you have these three girls that seem somewhat well-adjusted but then you figure out that they've been through things are will go through things that aren't necessarily bad or wrong but you just don't expect it from how the character is being portrayed in the movie. All these elements and people are put into the movie and they all say and do things that could really mean something or symbolize something but instead they are just put there and leave and it's like, "what's the point?!" lol It's a coming to age story. It doesn't really end dumb, it just ends with everybody starting a new beginning because they've simply grown up and things can't always be summed up into a perfect ending. If it had more funding and was a bit longer, it would have really been nice. You don't see too many comineg to age stories with Blacks and Hispanics anymore.
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