Flipped review

 Number 577 on the top 1000 films of all time is Rob Reiner's 2010 coming of age romantic drama Flipped.

Flipped tells the story of Bryce Loski (Callan Mcauliffe) and Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) Upon meeting as kids, she falls in love with him. We see their love to and froe as they grow until adulthood where Juli is just about to give up when...

Rob Reiner's murder at the hands of his son is a tragedy. He will be best remembered for directing great films like The Princess Bride and Misery. Will he be remembered for directing Flipped? Nope. It was a very meh film and not particularly memorable. In terms of coming of age dramas, it was definitely no Stand By Me.

Much of this was down to the two lead characters and their rather insipid romance. Bryce is a major bonehead so much so that you do wonder why Juli was attracted to him in the first place. I guess love is both blind and deaf and dumb.

Callan Mcauliffe played Bryce At 15. He hasn't gone onto the most illustrious of careers other than a supporting role in the latter seasons of the Walking dead. He wasn't anything special as the bland protagonist. And wasn't particulary endearing either. The same can be said for Juli who was equally bland as Juli. I wasn't particularly interested in learning if the two get together or not.

Sure you could argue their messy love story is reflective of love stories everywhere but that didn't make it anymore interesting. It didn't help there wasn't much conflict keeping them apart except for their own pride and hubris. It was very much a case of stupid characters making stupid choices for no reason but to push the plot forward. Sure Bryce's father thinks Juli's family is beneath them but this felt more like an after thought.

Rob Reiner was a fine director who will be remembered for a great many films. However, Flipped is a film best forgotten.