For Millennials. By Millennials.
Netflix’s Tall Girl 2 is finally coming to the streaming service. In the first movie, we saw Jodi (Ava Michelle) battle with the societal expectations and bullying because she was so tall. We see her find her strength and to believe in herself against all odds. Now, we’ll see her fight another battle, and this one is universally relatable, no matter your height. She has to fight the voice inside her head that’s making her anxious and making her feel as if she doesn’t deserve the lead role in the Spring Recital show.
Related: Tall Girl’s Luke Eisner Takes a Step To Help Domestic Abuse Survivors
Check out the trailer here
Jodi Montgomery learns to love herself with the help of her best friends Fareeda (Anjelika Washington), Dunkleman (Griffin Gluck) and sister Harper (Sabrina Carpenter) in the first movie. Jodi and Dunkleman even get into a relationship despite their huge height difference.
In the new movie, we see Jodi get the lead in the school play ‘Bye Bye Birdie’. But old insecurities and self esteem issues start to creep up on her. Jodi has to fight a monster we all have to in our lives: our own self doubt.
The director Emily Ting shares with Teen Vogue:
“In Tall Girl 2, Jodi lands the lead role in the school musical and then becomes plagued by self-doubt. I love how instead of the mean girl, her bully this time is herself. And as someone who had just landed her first big studio film, I found myself going through the same emotional journey as Jodi, dealing with imposter syndrome and feeling like I didn’t deserve this incredible opportunity I had been given. Jodi eventually overcomes her fear and achieves her dream. Through the process of making this film, I also learned to trust my abilities and gained so much more confidence in myself. And it’s my sincere hope that this film can help anyone dealing with self-doubt or anxiety realize that they are good enough and that they’re not alone.”
Jodi also has to strengthen her friendships more as more people enter her life. Her friendships go through trials and difficulty and Jodi has to navigate it all, while overcoming her self-doubt.
We’ll see another cast member Jan Luis Castellanos, he’ll play Tommy Torres. Tommy is going to be a potential love interest for Jodi as the two are going to be playing costars in their school play. We see in the trailer that Tommy is low-key flirting with Jodi. And Jodi’s relationship with Dunkleman isn’t doing so great as he can’t easily accept the changes happening in Jodi’s life.
Previously, Jodi paid attention to her selective friends and not many people knew her. Now, she’s quite popular and everyone knows her now so it’s quite difficult for her to spend time with her boyfriend who is feeling sidelined.
Jodi’s parents (Angela Kinsey and Steve Zahn) and sister are staying by her side though, and helping her cope with all the new changes unfolding in her life.
The Netflix’s plot reads as:
“After her inspiring speech at the homecoming dance, Jodi is no longer just the ‘tall girl’ — she’s popular, confident, has a boyfriend, and just booked the lead role in this year’s school musical. But as the pressure of her newfound popularity intensifies, so do her insecurities, and new relationships are formed while old ones are tested. As the world she built starts to crumble around her, Jodi realizes that standing tall was only just the beginning.”
There is still the recurrence of the old themes of self-esteem and confidence.
When we achieve anything, there are often voices in our heads that make us feel like we don’t deserve it. It’s something that we all can relate to at one point in our lives. Ava Michelle shares that the message of the movie is overcoming yourself and learning to love yourself:
“The heart of this film is so beautiful and really dives deep into the many things that teenagers, and everyone deals with, including anxiety and the bully in our own heads. It was such a joy continuing Jodi’s journey, and I am hoping that people will be able to relate to this story even more. There’s also a bonus with some very fun singing and dancing!”
Tall Girl 2 is coming to Netflix on February 11th globally. Are you excited about this news? Let us know what you think down in the comments below!