23 Reasons Why You Should Watch “The Half Of It” by Alice Wu (with minimal spoilers).
It takes a lot of cliche, heterosexual tropes and makes them Gay.
There’s an amazing himbo/lesbian friendship.
Homophobia is a factor in the plot but is not exactly the “main villain”, if that makes sense.
In fact, i wouldn’t really say there is a main antagonist. Most of the plot is centred on the characters and their relationships with each other.
The main character and her father are Chinese, and there are several scenes of them just casually speaking Chinese (with subtitles).
It’s surprisingly funny. There were so many times where I found myself laughing out loud, which I didn’t really expect going in.
The (female) love interest is An Actual Real Human Person, not just a thing for the main character to chase after.
The romance is believable. I can definitely see why these people fell in love and why they got to the place they were at by end of the movie.
Just,,, all the characters were so well written man. I know I keep mentioning the characters but They Were Just So Well Written.
Also, the yearning is exquisite. The longing eye contact from across the room? Absolutely delectable.
The painting scene. That’s all I’ll say.
This will only appeal to a very niche audience, but there’s a lot of allusions and references to philosophy, which you don’t really see in a lot of movies and I, as a closeted philosophy nerd, very much enjoyed it.
Of course, the cinematography is phenomenal
“You have classic bone stricture”
Everyone…. is…… so…… attractive…………… As a bisexual I enjoyed this aspect very much.
There’s a really clever line that I don’t think many people noticed. The love interest, Aster, and the main character, Ellie, are talking, and Aster says something like “I feel like I’ve never had a conversation with another girl about something other than boys,” which I interpreted as a subtle nod to the Bechdel Test. Look it up and it’ll make sense.
I know I keep saying this, but just,,,, every main character experienced some sort of growth or character development in such satisfying ways and i just love it so much.
The climax of the movie was (without giving too many spoilers) so fucking good. It was awkward at first and I was starting to feel the second-hand embarrassment, but as it went on it got better and ended up being so bittersweet and i love it.
The final scene on the train lowkey made me cry a little.
The ending is left somewhat open-ended but was definitely not an unhappy ending. It was realistic, but still hopeful.
Overall, this may be one of the best queer movies I’ve ever seen. Maybe even just one of the best movies. It’d definitely be somewhere in my top 10.
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