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Romantic movies directed at young adults have, at times, been given a bad rap. The humor may be hokey and the setups may be predictable but it’s all for the purpose of looking forward to (or maybe reliving) young love. Alice Wu’s The Half of It doesn’t really fall into those same stereotypes, which is what makes it so refreshing. In a damp, gloomy, small town we meet Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis). She lives alone with her single father and balances a multitude of responsibilities. In order to make some extra cash, she charges her less academically inclined classmates for her impressive essays, which they gladly pass off as their own. One day, she is propositioned by an awkward, bumbling jock, Paul (Daniel Diemer) to take on an extra special assignment. She may be well-versed in history, mythology, and poetry… but how good is she at writing love notes?
A high school romantic comedy is bound to have its fair share of archetypes. Ellie’s school is bursting at the seams with football players that think they run their tiny town. They tote their seemingly endless power by bullying Ellie, who is quietly reserved but seething with resentment for her classmates — all but one. When she shares a music class or bumps into Aster (Alexxis Lemire) in the halls, she feels as though this “other half” she’s only ever read about may be closer than she thinks. But Aster has one of those pesky aforementioned sporty type boys always hanging off her arm, so perhaps she’ll never be able to explore why she suddenly gets so flummoxed when she’s close. That is until Paul approaches her for help. Using Ellie’s gift with words, he is hoping to make Aster fall in love with him by paying top dollar for some carefully crafted love notes. Ellie is immediately reluctant for a number of reasons. Writing something as personal as a love note would require her to tap into a vulnerability that she refuses to show to anyone. Writing these declarations of love to someone she has complicated feelings for…well, that might open up a can of worms that she’s just not ready to deal with. But, money is tight at home so for a premium fee, Ellie’s in. The problem is, she can’t seem to stop at one letter.
Ellie Is Unapologetically Herself
We have seen Ellie’s type of character in teen romantic flicks before. As soon as she and Paul start to develop a friendship of their own, visions of nerdy girls letting their hair down and removing their glasses come to mind. Time and time again in films like Clueless, The Princess Diaries and She’s All That, all it takes for a young lady to become desirable are a few quick tweaks (and a lot of detangler). Suddenly, the guy she’s been secretly pining after realizes it’s been her all along! A nice, sweet cut-to-the-chase is not what happens in The Half of It, thankfully. Even though Ellie does fall victim to some stereotypes: she’s attractive but doesn’t know it, has a chip on her shoulder, struggles with bullies, and the belief that love is too plebeian, it is clear that those attributes are not her entire personality, they’re defense mechanisms.
She was forced to grow up quickly when her mom passed away at a young age. She manages the home where she and her father reside and takes over some aspects of his job, too. In her mind, vulnerability leaves room for error, and she can’t afford to make any mistakes. She knows what her values are and rigorously upholds them, despite the fact that she’s missing out on her youth. Even her education has taken a back seat. She is so devoted to her father’s well-being that she won’t consider top universities because they are too far away. Her blossoming relationship with Paul encourages her to challenge her rigid beliefs and routine, not change who she is as a person. As they become closer via their mission to nab Aster, their good qualities rub off on one another. Even though they are wildly different people, they appreciate each other and show each other new experiences, as friends often do. Even when their secrets begin to unravel in an explosive way, they find a way back to each other.
Romance Isn’t the Only Type of Love in ‘The Half of It’
While the driving force of The Half of It is romantic, It is refreshing to see that all the relationships in Ellie’s life are important to her, she doesn’t lose sight of everything else just because she’s developed a crush. After Paul pays her to write that first love letter to Aster, Ellie becomes invested and insists that she train him to be the type of man that Aster would even want to date. Ellie gathers intel by continuing to write letters, texting, and performing grand romantic gestures for Aster, all under Paul’s alias. They go toe-to-toe, playfully sparring with their sharp wits and extensive passion for literature. Unsurprisingly, when Paul shows up for the first in-person date with Aster, that spark has sputtered out to a fizzle. Ellie is determined to keep at it because this connection through Paul is the only way she can continue to fawn over Aster without being discovered. Her reasons for not coming clean are layered, and yes, all rooted in love.
Her closeness with Paul is a huge factor. He has proven that he is so determined to try and be the man Aster wants that she feels bad using him. Ellie is also fiercely protective and loving of her father. They’re the only Asian-American residents of their town, it would be even harder on them if, on top of that, she were the only one who was openly queer. Ellie playing piano in the community’s church also reminds her that as hard as it would be for her to come out, Aster is the daughter of a preacher. Each character struggling with how they show love to God makes them question whose happiness should come first. This is what makes the concept of Ellie’s letters so compelling, they allow Aster to fall in love with someone’s soul before their appearance.
‘The Half of It’ Isn’t About Getting What You Want, It’s About Getting What You Need
Intuition is a fickle thing. In Paul’s case, it leads him down the wrong road romantically, and in more instances than one. But along the way, he does make a couple of unlikely new friends and breaks some boundaries. Instead of resigning himself to just playing football and working for his family business, he embraces a creative side as well as the confidence to show it off. Creativity also comes back into Aster’s life. Ellie inspires her to not only make bold strokes in her pursuit of painting but to reclaim agency over her choices. Ellie appreciates and understands Aster’s mind. Knowing that there are people out there that see her for who she is makes it easier to walk away from the people that don’t.
And finally, while Ellie doesn’t get to ride off into the sunset with her dream girl, she does finally muster the courage to be open about her feelings. She lets her armor fall to give Aster a brief glimpse at the girl she’s slowly been falling in love with before they say goodbye. Ellie too has learned that sometimes it’s okay to put yourself first as she hops aboard a train that’ll take her to her dream school, homemade dinner care packages in hand. While these teens may not have ended the film hand-in-hand with their love interests, they got what they wanted, not who.
While the film starts with an explanation of how humankind is pretty well doomed to aimlessly roam the earth forever searching for our other halves, Alice Wu’s delicate and sweet narrative slowly unveils to us that all we need to do to feel complete is to look inward. This lesson doesn’t come easily to her characters as sure as it doesn’t come easily for us sometimes. This is why it is so excellent that none of the characters in this story found their bliss the easy way. Any resulting romances would have been built on deceit, or coercion to address one’s sexuality when they’re not ready to. Just like a strong romance, a strong sense of self takes time, patience, and self-love. Sometimes it’s good not to get what you want.
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