Before I Fall - Liked It

Stars:  Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Cynthy Wu 
Run Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

​Before I Fall is based on a novel of the same name and stars Zoey Deutch (Why Him? and Vampire Academy) as Samantha Kingston, a senior in high school with three best friends. Her and her friends are the popular kids, the ones that bully others and aren't very nice to people they don't like or don't think fit in with the others. On Cupid Day, the four girls head to high school like any normal day. Being Cupid Day, roses are handed out. To be mean, they send a rose to a girl that they deem as a "psycho" as a joke. Later that night, they all go to a party where the "psycho" girl shows up. There's a girl fight and the poor girl gets shamed and drink thrown on her by everyone. Immediately after she leaves, the group of girls leave as well and they hit something on the road and lose control of the car. 

Then Samantha wakes up and it is the same day. Before I Fall doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel here. There are so many movies that I've watched with the main character waking up each morning only to relive the same day - in this case the day that she dies - only to try to figure out how to stop it. Obviously, there needs to be some self-awareness and self-discovery. Is Samantha really the person she wants to be? Should she change? Be nicer to her family and those at school that aren't her immediate friends? Is her boyfriend really who she needs to be with? All of these are the typical things you would question for this young adult film. And we are given just that. 

By the end of the film, she realizes that her and her friends are horrible people to others in school. The main part is, she doesn't even know why they are that way. With the reliving of the same day, she is finally able to put the pieces together and discover why she just does whatever her friends do and the reasoning behind it. She is able to change her feelings and put others first. Being a young adult film - which are typically my favorite, who knows why - there are many scenes that can bring an adult (well for me anyway) back to high school. Dancing in the car with my best friends, caring about what people think while walking down the halls of the high school, doing things that are fun but probably stupid all the same. 

I liked this film even though it was extremely predictable. Especially the music. I may have to look up the soundtrack and download some songs. There is a good chance I have this book at home and have never read it - story of my bookcase - but would be interested. I am going to give this movie a "Liked It" and if you like predictable, young adult movies that are based on novels this one is for you. 
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