⭐⭐⭐/5
*Spoilers*
I wasn't too impressed with this one. Though it had some important concepts, and intense side plots, it was kind of slow building. But the writing was casual enough to keep me interested, like an old friend tell you a story about her past.
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We begin with a college freshman, Greer Kadetsky. A reserved young woman trying to find her way through all the ins and outs of college life. She decides to show her face at a party, with her new friend Zee, and along the way gets groped by the schools "main man." Rejecting him, this fraternity loser throws a temper tantrum and belittles her, making her feel about 2 inches tall. He gets a "slap on the wrist," of course 🙄.
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She mostly copes with her injustice in silence, until a "feminist hero," Faith Frank, comes to her school to give a talk. Greer listens in amazement to this strong icon for change and equality. She pipes in a question in a small meek voice, "What do we do about the unpunishable misogyny all around us?" Or something to that effect. And Faith basically tells her to never stop using your voice and never stop fighting for what's right.
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They, Greer and Zee, follow her into the bathroom after the speech and gush over her. Faith takes a liking to Greer and offers her to come in for an interview to work with her program.
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Of course Zee gets jealous and asks Greer to give Faith a letter she has written, introducing her value to the program as well. But Greer wants this for herself. She never gives her the letter.
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Important concept #1: What the fuck?! What is wrong with women?! Why are we constantly sabotaging opportunities for each other?! Why couldn't they BOTH enjoy that job?! We should be rising each other up! Not knocking each other down. SHE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN FAITH THE LETTER. She does end up regretting that decision later. Which shows she does have SOME conscience. Anyway! Moving on. She then tells Faith about the letter, which she encourages Greer to do what she feels is best for GREER. Um! Yeah, you are a 60-something woman giving advice to a young girl in her 20's, this is when you are supposed to encourage her to GIVE YOU THE LETTER SO YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION ABOUT HIRING HER AND THAT GREER IS AN ASSHOLE EVEN CONSIDERING KEEPING IT TO HERSELF. UGH.
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She has a high school boyfriend, Cory. Apparently, they were both accepted to ivy-league schools, but Greers parents half-assed (haphazardly) the financial aid forms and that was the end of that. Which, again, what the fuck, parents?! Your child is dreaming of even GOING to college in general, let alone YALE! WHY WOULD YOU NOT TAKE THE FINANCIAL FORMS SERIOUSLY?! Yeah, so she was forced to go to a lower-acclaimed college. BUT with a full ride scholarship, so 🤷, maybe it worked out.
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INTENSE SIDE PLOT: While Cory gains momentum in his career, he gets a call from home. His mother accidently (obviously) ran over his little brother in the drive-way, when he was looking for his turtle. WHAT?! Brutal. His dad blames his mom and bolts. He abandons all his responsibilities at his dream job, to take care of his mom.
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For fear of being insensitive, I hesitate to say... Kinda random. Greer and Cory's relationship was already kind of snagged due to the long distance... Why did you have to go and kill off a kid?
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As I said, the whole thing is slow building, so all I really remember is the basics. Greer finds out that a new program Faith is running is a scam. Putting on the performance that they are doing something great for underprivileged foreign women, giving them the chance at life. Faith claims she was turning a blind eye. Greer stands up to Faith and quits her job. But before she leaves, Faith makes sure to give Greer one last jab, that she did the exact same thing to Zee. "Turned a blind eye." So... you didn't tell her to do the RIGHT thing so you could use it for ammo against her later? How very FEMINIST of you 🙄.
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OKAY. So basically the ONLY good characters are Zee and Alby, Cory's dead little brother... Oh! And Slowy, the turtle. Faith and Greer both unlikable characters. Zee, first of all never annoyed me, she was always funny, cute, and chill. Then, secondly, Greer confesses she never gave her the letter, and though, disappointed, accepts Greers apology and says, "You made a mistake. And you learned from it. We were young." Yeah.... Best. Friend. Ever.
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Greer and Cory reconnect, get married, have a baby, and Greer writes a book.
Anyway, that's that.
