Tall Girl 2 continues the heart and important lessons from Tall Girl, in a film that fans of the original will truly appreciate.
Tall Girl is a great movie for teens and tweens that helps them learn to overcome obstacles and stranding up for themselves. Tall Girl 2 continues those lessons, and throws in a few more about friendship, young love, and finding your inner confidence. Some might even say it is better than the first movie, and I am one of those people.
These Netflix teen/tween movies all feel similar. They teach the same lessons in a fun and engaging way. They have their ups and downs, and they almost always have a couple of tearjerker moments. This is exactly the way to describe Tall Girl 2, and I can say with confidence fans of the first one, will be thrilled with this one.
If you didn’t watch Tall Girl, you don’t need to. They do a great job of going over everything that happened. However if you want to find yourself connecting more with the characters, and really understanding their lives and where they are coming from, Tall Girl is available to watch on Netflix now, and I highly recommend it. For those who watched it back 2019, the retelling of events is definitely appreciated, and quickly puts the viewers back in that frame of mind.
Tall Girl 2 takes place three months after the end of Tall Girl and while the actors are certainly a little bit older, it isn’t too noticeable. The costuming, angles, and makeup help them feel on par to their appearances in the first one. Sometimes with actors on the younger side this can be a glaring issues, so I was pleased that it was not.
Related: 50+ Of The Best Tall Girl 2 Quotes
Jodi and Dunkleman are dating, of course, and Jodi is getting ready to do something she has always wanted to do but has been too afraid — try out for the school play. When she gets a role, she doesn’t realize just how demanding the rehearsals were going to be on her time, and it causes some issues with her love life. Her hunky co-lead. Tommy, doesn’t help the situation either.
Couple this with Stig’s sister, a fellow tall girl, coming to town to visit, and there is all the drama unleashed, in just ninety minutes. The story is a bit of an emotional roller coaster, with lots of predictable ups and downs, but it knows its audience and sticks to what they want.
While the focus of the movie is on Jodi, all of the supporting roles have their individual journeys to go on. Tommy may seem like a ball of confidence on the outside, but even he struggles with loving himself and being okay with how he looks. The message here is important for the younger generation — everyone struggles with something and you are not alone. Finding friends and family that can help you whenever you are down is only going to help you in life.
Sabrina Carpenter, who plays Jodi’s sister Harper, is not in this sequel nearly enough. She shines every time she is on camera and has a fantastic, although small, story line. She is another example of the fact that everyone has an inner voice that tries to push them down, and we all just need to learn how to quiet it.
Kimmy and Schnipper, but specifically Kimmy, is probably my favorite character arc of the entire film — including Jodi. On more than one occasion she made me tear up and feel things deep in my heart. I was never a mean girl, so it isn’t like I can relate to her on that level. Not sure what it is about her path in Tall Girl 2 but I absolutely love it — and feel it is an important one for teens to see play out.
Anjelika Washington who plays Fardeeda, and who I adore as Beth Chapel in DC’s Stargirl, works on building her confidence as a fashion designer in Tall Girl 2. Another subplot that is interesting, but doesn’t get enough time on screen. With just an hour and a half to play with, which truly is the ideal time frame for a movie like this, I get it. However if there is a Tall Girl 3 I need more of her and this journey — and more of her and Stig.
Tall Girl 2 is certainly not groundbreaking, and it follows the same tropes that all teen rom-coms do. That said, it is one of the better ones. Heck, it is even better than the first Tall Girl. There is music, dancing, and a whole lot of messy drama. Things wrap up in a neat little bow too quickly, but that is usually the case with these types of movie so I can’t be mad at it.
Rating: 3 out of 5
About Tall Girl 2
After her inspiring speech at the homecoming dance, Jodi (Ava Michelle) 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.
Tall Girl 2 hits Netflix on February 11th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.