Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Best friends consider a relationship; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
My Amanda
What's the Story?
In MY AMANDA, Amanda (Alessandra de Rossi) adores her best friend TJ (Piolo Pascual). They share a fun, easy, and deep camaraderie and comfort. Both have romantic relationships on the side but, for unexplained reasons, they always fail. The only constant in their lives is their enduring friendship. They take trips together. They sit in their hammock and look at the starry sky. They barge into the bathroom while the other is showering. They sleep innocently in the same bed. They drink and dance and party together. The movie focuses on that connection, so we know little about what occupies the rest of their lives, jobs, other friends, family. They visit Amanda's grandmother, played by Luz Valdez, and she hopelessly roots for a romantic connection between the two so she can enjoy a wedding, but the friends continue to date others. Can they keep their special connection going?
Is It Any Good?
The characters and actors are winning enough to make this tearjerker work. While the film is moving, My Amanda could've been a better film had it opened the curtain on all the real drama, events that happen offscreen and are described later. While lead actor Allesandra de Rossi does a great job playing the ebullient Amanda (nicknamed Fream), and capably directs the film, her script makes amateur errors. Couples break up offscreen, and we don't know how or why. An ex turns out to be a bad guy, but we never see his badness in action. Everything we know about him comes in the form of an after-the-fact description. We are told that there's something wrong with TJ (Fuffy). The proof? Offscreen, he can't keep a girlfriend. Yet onscreen, he seems perfect, a flawless, gentle man, loyal, kind, caring, funny, and compassionate. As narrator, he tells us how surprised he is to change into a better person, but we've never seen the qualities that would make him want to change. Piolo Pascual is a charismatic actor with a Brad Pitt tenderness and strength. His relaxed give and take with de Rossi makes the film.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes a friendship different from a romance. What do you think kept the friends here from crossing over to a committed romantic relationship?
What made the friendship here special?
Amanda seems like a strong independent woman, yet she makes excuses for her abusive husband. What does this movie tell us about domestic abuse?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 15, 2021
- Cast : Alessandra de Rossi
- Director : Alessandra de Rossi
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 89 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : July 26, 2021
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