Booky Makes Her Mark (2006)
The Thomsons, like many families, have hit hard times as Thomas can't find steady work. Fifteen year old Booky takes the family situation in stride, being matter-of-fact about being poor. Beyond her loving family, there are some things about her life she likes, such as being the president of her local Deanna Durbin fan club, and going out with a boy named Lorne.
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While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
It's Toronto during the Great Depression. Teenager Booky (Tatiana Maslany) and her family are evicted from their home. Her father can't find work and her mother is frustrated. Her best friend is Ada-May. She gets expelled from the free lunch program for complaining. Her brother Arthur is running wild. With the encouragement of her English teacher, she becomes a writer. She's befriended by rich girl Gloria who wishes to be a writer. She starts up a Deanna Durbin fan club with Gloria and Ada-May. Her health is deteriorating and gets sent to Aunt Aggie's farm. Upon returning, Gloria introduces Booky to her famous neighbor Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Arthur's friend Georgie Morgan has a crush on Bookie and gets them caught sneaking into the movie theater. At her 16th birthday, Lorne and Bookie almost kiss which angers Georgie and they cause a ruckus. Bookie wins a contest and gets published in the newspaper. She starts to get a big head driving everybody away. This is more like a series of episodes. It feels disjointed and lacks flow. The plot is a lot of little episodes of events jammed together in a coming-of-age story. The Depression Era provides an interesting backdrop. There are some fun scenes like using the oven to do Bookie's hair. There are also some emotional scenes. However they are not really strung together well. I wanted to see this for early Tatiana Maslany as lead actress and she does a wonderful job. She's showing a wide range. Megan Follows is compelling as the mom. The production is not rich. This really needs a plot but I find the actors endearing.