When I was in elementary school, almost every other Friday, my mom would let me and my sisters skip school. Practically every skip day would result in us going to the movies. It was our tradition to run by Family Dollar and buy all the snacks we would need. Going to the movies has always been an enormous part of bonding with my family. Which makes these current conditions of COVID a little discouraging. I have not been to the movies since December. The last movie I saw in theaters was the newest version of Little Women.

        Since the day I found out from the 20 fan pages I follow on Instagram that America’s sweetheart, Timothée Chalamet, was set to star in this film, I knew I had to see it. Not only was Timothée going to be in the movie, but also his former co-star from the Oscar-nominated film Lady Bird, Saoirse Ronan would play the main character. Mr. Chalamet alone would have been enough for me to go and see the film opening night, but things kept getting better. The director of the movie, Greta Gerwig, who had also directed Lady Bird, played in many more of my favorite movies. In addition to all of these things, because of my sister, I grew up watching the 1994 adaptation of Little Women all the time. It was one of her favorite movies growing up. So, naturally, this movie had a soft spot in my heart. The cast is an undoubtedly strong group of women that also includes big names such as Emma Watson, Laura Dern, and Meryl Streep. Pictured below are some of the cast of the film.

On December 24th, I miraculously convinced my mother to go with me to see Little Women on opening day. The next day, after opening presents with my sisters and stepdad, my mom and I loaded up and headed to Texarkana to watch this movie. I had never been to the movies on the opening day of a film, much less on Christmas Day. When we got there around midafternoon, we paid about $12 each for our tickets. For some reason, I thought it would be deserted and we would be the only people there. Surprisingly, it wasn’t. People were bustling around, the same as us, to get to their seats on time. We bought some snacks and drinks, which is very unlike us, but considering the occasion, mom made an exception. I don’t remember the exact prices, but according to this website, I estimated how much we paid. We easily spent $30 on the underwhelming amount of things that we got. 

Mom and I got there early so we could get the best seats and watch all of the previews. My mom thinks that if you don’t get to see the previews then why even bother going. The audience there were mainly groups of girls my age and their mothers. You could tell the daughters were there for Timothée and the moms were there for the nostalgia from either reading the book or watching the previous films when they were younger. Which was my exact situation. The audience was pretty full but not as full as the theater during a Marvel movie. Looking back, it was comical the way the audience reacted to the movie. The first time Timothée Chalamet made an appearance you could hear all the teenage girls gasp and whisper to their moms explaining who he was. There were a lot of entertaining moments in the film too that had everyone laughing collectively. As well as moments that were emotional. I couldn’t tell you if anyone else cried, but I know I sobbed like a baby. 

Considering the movie was based in the 1860s, I would have to say there probably was not any product placement. Unless they wanted to team up with whoever designed the dresses Amy wore while she was in Europe because I would buy one so fast. The movie was evidently directed towards women. Older women who had grown up with reading the books and watching the movies were one target, but younger women and girls were also enticed by the theme of women empowerment. So, even if they had never heard of the book or other movies they would still want to see the film because, from a female perspective, it is very inspirational. They also had their secret weapon, charming ole Chalamet. They were very successful in reaching their intended target because as far as I could tell, that’s who came to see the movie.

The plot of the movie revolves around the March family, which consists of all girls excluding their dad that is away at war for a majority of the film. The theme deals with personal growth and how it's okay to not join the status quo or is okay if that is what you see for yourself. The movie’s purpose is to make whoever is watching feel like their opinions and feelings are valid. In my opinion, the production quality was genuinely good. The aesthetic of the movie was elegant. Twelve dollars to see this movie was well worth it. Not only was it a 2-hour experience of someone's artwork, but it also left the viewers with a lesson to take home. Since the release, Little Women has been nominated for 187 different awards and scored a win at the 2020 Oscars for “Best Achievement in Costume Design.” It currently sits at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.