YMMV / Tall Girl

• Cliché Storm: Aside from Jodi's flaw of being 'too tall', the plot is a fairly standard high school comedy with all the regular tropes, such as the heroine who later gets a makeover, the black best friend who exists only to lift the protagonist up, the guy who constantly asks her out even though she's not interested (until the end), and the Love Triangle with the Big Man on Campus and the Alpha Bitch.
• Designated Hero:
  • Jodi comes across this way several times throughout the film; she kisses Stig and goes on dates with him, despite knowing that he's already dating Kimmy, ditches plans with her best friend Fareeda to go on a date with a guy she doesn't even like (to make Stig jealous), and never apologizes to Fareeda or her parents for repeatedly yelling at them throughout the film. The fact the movie opens with a monologue where she talks about how "hard" her life is for being tall really makes it hard to form any other opinion about her besides the fact she's entitled and stressing about an issue that's very trivial.
  • Dunklemann is supposed to be sided with the narrative as Jodi’s Dogged Nice Guy admirer but he’s incredibly possessive of Jodi both as her admirer and as her eventual boyfriend. It’s supposed to be that he’s finally gotten her attention after realizing that Stig is a jerk except Dunklemann was the one who manipulated Stig into dating Kimmy and that the only thing that matters is being popular.
• Designated Villain: Stig is meant to be seen as a horrible person who insults Jodi’s height in order to get attention from the popular kids but he actually did have a connection with Jodi and was coerced into dating Kimmy by a jealous and possessive Dunklemann. Overall he comes across as more easily manipulated than a malicious person.
• Don't Shoot the Message:
  • Yes, people have been bullied for their height before (including lead actress Ava Michelle), so the intended message isn't a bad one. However, the movie undermines it through a combination of wangst and Hollywood Homely (specifically, a few students making the age-old "How's the weather up there?" joke and Jodie saying her life is harder than that of anyone watching the movie because she wears big shoes).
  • The sequel attempts to correct for this by having a teacher parrot the same criticisms echoed by a lot of reviews, allowing Jodie to defend herself by stating that she's not minimizing other problems, but that her feelings are no less valid just because others have it worse. This is a good message however it may fall rather flat considering the line in question does explicitly portray being a tall girl as the worst thing imaginable.
• Harsher in Hindsight: At first glance, the lead's main flaw being "she's tall" seems pretty mock-worthy. Then you find out that the character's actress was a former Dance Moms member who was belittled, insulted and kicked off the show for exactly that. Suddenly, the film's plot seems less stupid and more ridden with uncomfortable Reality Subtext.
• Hollywood Homely:
  • Jodi isn't by any means unattractive. Even her "flaw" of being tall doesn't detract anything from her looks, especially since being tall is a sign of beauty in many circles. In fact, when she gets a makeover (which pretty much only consists of putting her hair down and nothing else), one of the guys who bullied her ends up instantly attracted to her and asks her out.
  • The apparently short Dunklemann is played by the 5’7” Griffin Gluck, who also is made fun of for being "short".
• Memetic Mutation: "You think your life is hard? I'm wearing Size 13 Nikes. Men's Size 13 Nikes. Beat that." This specific part of the Opening Monologue became a meme on TikTok, due to how Wangsty it is.
• Narm:
  • The Opening Monologue is clearly meant to make us sympathize with Jodi's sad life, but it's too Wangsty to take seriously. Her claim that wearing men's Nikes is harder on her than anything that's happened to the viewer is pretty much the icing on the cake.
  • Jodi's awful prom outfit? Mock-worthy by itself. Her announcing "Now this is me!" like this is her Moment of Awesome? Priceless.
  • The reason why Dunkleman carries his books in a milk carton? He later uses said milk carton as a stepping stone to kiss Jodi better. If the movie had any self-awareness beforehand, it's gone now.
• Questionable Casting: Dunkleman is played by Griffin Gluck (3/4 Caucasian, 1/4 Japanese). His mom is played by Christina Moses (1/2 Caucasian, 1/2 African-American). Unless there was a subplot about her being his step-mom or him being a foster child that was left out of the final film, it's given no explanation how the two of them could be related.
• So Bad, It's Good: If there's any entertainment value to gain from this movie, it's laughing at how stupid it is, given how hard it strains to portray the main character as "brave" and "self-assured". For being tall.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Whether or not it could be called good is up for debate, but Tall Girl 2 shows some definite signs of improvement: Jodie's wangsting over her height has been ditched in favor of a much more legitimate psychological issue (performance anxiety), she's much more outgoing and likable, and there is at least an attempt to give some of the one-dimensional bullies from the first movie some depth and Character Development.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Jodi is clearly meant to be sympathized with for her Height Angst and the other students bullying her. However, due to her rather obnoxious attitude, questionable actions and the fact that only around three people seem to actively bully her, it falls flat.
  • Dunkleman is clearly meant to be Jodi's perfect boyfriend who she had never given a chance. However, his jealous and controlling attitude towards Stig and his entitlement towards Jodi make him look more like a Dogged Nice Guy. And the scene where he goes to Jodi's bedroom and touches her face while she's sleeping even puts him into Stalker with a Crush territory.
• Wangst: In spades. Jodi's problem of being tall is just a non-issue from an outsider's perspective. Mostly because she comes from a wealthy family and thus should be able to afford any extra-sized clothing that would be otherwise too small. Plus, many called bullshit on the idea that no guy wants to date her.
• WTH, Costuming Department?: Some argue that the other students should be mocking Jodi for her rather questionable fashion sense instead of being tall. She wears overalls as her everyday attire and for her prom night, she dresses in a bright blue tux, with dark, cakey make-up. Some outright compared the latter to a clown or Willy Wonka.

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