I saw the 2010 film ‘Flipped’ for the first time when I was in college and it didn’t take much for me to adore the tale. Watching it years later, I began to understand what made the film seem endearing to me the first time – the memories of teen crushes were still fresh and watching a school-girl be outspoken about her feelings for a boy was new territory for a Bollywood enthusiast.
Despite being set in the 1960s, ‘Flipped’ was charming & relevant. Callan McAuliffe as Bryce Loski and Madeline Carroll as Juli Baker are so good in their roles that it’s hard to imagine anybody else play their characters. Based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s young adult novel of the same name, director Rob Reiner co-wrote the onscreen adaptation with the author to bring to us one of the sweetest coming of age tales ever. The makers brilliantly flip the narratives from the point of view of both the protagonists, wittily portraying how the same situation can be perceived differently by two people.
Bryce Loski moves into the house next door to Juli Baker, who falls in love at first sight. She does everything possible to show her affection, but he prefers avoiding her at all costs. When he finally begins to feel something, Juli Baker doesn’t want to do anything with him. The story is simple but has a nostalgic warmth to it, despite being set so far back in time.
The film is not without its flaws, stuff I only noticed after watching it again. Perhaps ten more years of movie watching experience has made me more critical – it’s slightly slow & some of the characters are a little caricatured. While the dual perspectives is nice, some of the scenes are unnecessarily repetitive and could’ve been done differently.
The film would appeal a lot more to romantics than cynics, even though I am on the cynical side these days, that hasn’t made me forget how much I loved the movie at first sight. Ten years ago, I would’ve given the film a 9/10 without batting an eyelid, now I might say it’s a 7/10. Worth a watch, either way.