My Girl
1991 · Directed by Howard Zieff
Original language: English
- comedy
- drama
The story
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...
What it’s like
Warm, sun-faded 1970s summer light fills the small-town Michigan rooms of this coming-of-age comedy-drama, with its funeral-parlor interiors lit in soft lamp tones and its bright suburban yards and lakeside scenes washed in gold. The camera tends toward steady, unhurried framing that lets awkward kids and grown-up grief sit in the same shot, and the score leans on gentle, wistful melodies rather than pushing emotion. Its vibe is bittersweet and tender, with a pinch of mischief: a cozy melancholy that gets lighter as it goes. The pacing is easygoing and conversational, letting its young lead's comic obsessions and small rebellions unfold at a child's pace, and its emotional arc follows a girl learning to face loss, and a close friendship changing shape. Intensity is low: there is some talk of death, a few sad and tearful moments, and an accidental injury with no gore or on-screen violence. Romance stays innocent. It suits a rainy weekend, a comfort rewatch, or a quiet evening, and it is for people who want something sweet and sad with humor and no real harshness.
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