Movie Review: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
The last thing I wanted to do on the Saturday before the 4th of July was desperately drive around looking for replacement bathing suits for Lil Momma who had managed to lose 2 during her first week of camp. As I took a break in the parking lot of my 3rd Target with 2 desperation options for my girl to try on, a text popped up from one of our close friends: “Want to go see Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken in an hour and then grab ice cream?”
To be honest, I thought she had the name of the movie wrong, but LM was onboard so I flew home, grabbed her, and we met the group at the small movie theater the next town over.
Now, I’m usually “in the know” with movies (something I pride myself on!!), but I’ve been out of the loop with all my life happening. To my surprise, this movie was exactly what the title promised:
image from Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Gillman,_Teenage_Kraken
“The film follows a shy but kind fifteen-year-old girl named Ruby Gillman who is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but when she went into the ocean by breaking her mother's rule with any would-be friends, she discovers that she is a direct descendant of battle-hardened krakens who have protected the land and sea from mermaids for generations, and is also destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.”
Will this movie change your life? Oh goodness, no! However, it was sweet and funny and really landed some of its points around inter-generational feels between mothers, daughters, and grandmothers. Ruby’s situation was obviously indicative of how many of us felt as teenagers, and I loved her boots, reminiscent of the Doc mMartens of my teenage years (and current can’t-quite-buy-but-constantly-research fixation of my mid-forties haha).
Another obvious correlation was Ruby becoming accustomed to her giant Kraken body, which is such an overt comparison to growing into a teenage body (without going as directly down the road like Turning Red did).
The kids (ranging from 5 years old to 10 years old) quite enjoyed it! The older girls got all giggly at the prom and crush parts; the littles loved the bright palette, squishy fun, pirates, and mermaids. Us moms mildly guffawed at some of the asides, always a win in a kids movie, and guessed at the voices throughout.
Final thoughts: a fun distraction on a summer night for a discount theater (but not for a fancy $$ theater. LM would watch again on streaming. But, it is one of those that we may forget we even saw until it pops up on a menu or someone mentions it.
This sounds cute! My daughter is always eager for movies about growing up. And oh! the search for bathing suits! We did that this weekend too as my daughter announced last week that one of hers is too small. Who knew I would support having more than one bathing suit let alone five but otherwise I would do so much laundry!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant plan, tho! i think the universe gave me a warning when the first lost bathing suit was loose around her legs (I swear it fit her in May!) and the second was our least favorite pattern choice, haha sigh!
DeleteI've never heard of this movie, but I'm pretty out of it with movies. My daughter has never liked movies (with a few exceptions.) It's hard for her to focus for that long. So we haven't been to a movie in years and years. But I'm envious- this sounds fun EXCEPT NOT THE BATHING SUIT PART. Ugh, my daughter also needs a new one. She's 14 and I can't seem to figure out her size anymore. It was so much easier with the kid sizes. I can't even find a suit that fits me decently, so I'm really struggling with her. And she won't go to the store and try them on- she wants to order one from Amazon which... doesn't really work. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to a movie theater since...um... I think it was 2003? When did the last LOTR movie come out in theaters? (A quick Google reassures me that I am right on this one...) Since then, I've moved to watching movies on streaming services, to now, not watching them at all. Which is weird, since in high school, a trip to Blockbuster happened any weekends I wasn't working. Yet, this sounds funny and interesting - even for an adult! - and like the kind of movie I'd happily watch... if I still did.
ReplyDeleteAnd also? I would be a HORRIBLE parent. Just horrible. Your patience and perseverance in the face of insurmountable bathing suit odds astound me. Go, you. :)