To the Stars

Iris Deerborne (Kara Hayward) is a mousy ostracized teenager in 60's rural Oklahoma. She has a troubled relationship with her mother (Jordana Spiro) and a crush on similarly ostracized boy Jeff Owings (Lucas Jade Zumann). She is harassed by the boys when new arrival Maggie Richmond (Liana Liberato) comes to her rescue.

There is a bit too much here. There are too many characters and each one has their own issue. I had assumed that this was based on a book since filmmakers often try to stuff everything from the book into the movie. This is not based on a book. The writer should simply streamline this world. Not everything has to be there. When Maggie does the big reveal, the whole movie threatens to tip over like a game of Jenga. When there is too much going on, a character like Hazel Atkins doesn't have enough time and space to set up properly. Initially, I was concerned about Tony Hale. It seems like a desperate move to go against type or maybe Tony is trying to expand his range. Either way, he doesn't easily fit the role. He does redeem his worth by the end with a more complicated character portrayal. More than anything, this is elevated by the younger cast especially the two female leads. Both are worthy to do bigger things in the future.