By Kelly Coyne

Tempestuous, wild, lively, emotional, and unforgettable describes Greta Gerwig’s new film, “Lady Bird.” As a director, Gerwig’s ability to balance comedy and drama is pure excellence. Gerwig managed to display the struggles of a teenage adolescence through Christine McPherson (Lady Bird). The story takes place in Sacramento, CA around 2002-03. McPherson, a rebellious teen with a loud mouth and pink hair, has a feisty personality and insists on being called Lady Bird.

“I gave it to myself, it’s given to me by me,” she explains when the college professor questions her name.

It’s very easy to relate with Lady Bird on a more personal level. She is trying to figure herself out in her last year of highschool while applying to her dream college–which her mother doesn’t approve of. She has big dreams that her mother doesn’t believe she can accomplish, which causes her to act out.

Attending a Catholic school isn’t the right fit for Lady Bird. She finds herself falling into a puddle of lies to impress the preppy popular girls and the cute boy she met at the coffee shop. Through the long struggle of finding herself, Lady Bird hits some major bumps in the road that shape her into the unique person she truly is. She learns not to fall into the wrong crowd and to remain loyal to her true self.

While watching this movie, you’ll tear up at the emotional heartache that loss of friendship and, more importantly, losing yourself causes. It eats away at your heart to watch Lady Bird and her mother’s relationship fall apart.

Although this movie tugs at your heart a little harder and deeper, the ending is very redeeming. This movie will make you think about what really matters in life. It portrays the importance of relationships and friendships. Lady Bird’s emotions come out through her actions while she experiments at life. Not only is it fun to watch a wild teen take charge but it also hurts when she crashes and burns.

This movie is a must see if you’re willing to let go of your ego and cry a little. In the end it’ll leave you with that warm fuzzy feeling you were coming for. It’ll also make you fall out of your seat when Lady Bird can’t help but to make the smallest and best comments to everything. I definitely recommend taking the time out of your day to go see this.