Saving This Year

While there’s a lot NOT to look forward to in 2020 (like, I’m already so exhausted and the general election hasn’t even fucking started yet…), there are still many wonderful things to look forward to. And one of the biggest is a new Alice Wu movie. Alice, if you’ll recall, wrote and directed the utterly delightful “Saving Face,” which is easily among my Top 10 favorite lesbian films of all time. But after such an assured and nuanced debut, she basically disappeared from the film landscape. Now, 16 years later, we’re finally getting her follow-up.

As reported last April, “The Half of It” which is a modern and queer reimagining of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story.

The description per Netflix:

“Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul who needs help wooing the most popular girl in school. But their new & unlikely friendship gets tricky when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl. From writer/director Alice Wu.”

Ellie Chu is played by Leah Lewis, who had roles in the new “Nancy Drew” series and “Charmed” reboot on the CW. Relative newcomer Alexxis Lemire plays “the most popular girl in school” Aster Flores. And the And “inarticulate jock” Paul Munsky is played by other relative newcomer Daniel Diemer. Man, how’d you like “inarticulate jock” on your resume?



The film was shot last year, and wrapped in June. Now we’re just waiting - rather impatiently - for it to drop on Netflix.

After wrapping, Leah posted this about the film on her Instagram:
“This story is so special. The people attached to this are even more special. I raise a glass to our incredible director Alice Wu. It is her golden mind that planted these ideas, her heart that has sewn it all together…”



I mean, look how cute they look together. My heart, my damn heart.