AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY – SLIFF Review

The pre-teen years are trying for most young people. This is especially the case for this film’s heroine. She lost her Dad five years ago. And she’s pretty certain she’s an alien. From another planet. This comprises several pages in AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY, a sweet-natured coming of age French-Canadian dramedy. In the pre credit opening sequence she’s left stranded at the museum after the school bus heads out after the big field trip. The snarky, feisty, ninth grader clashes with her teachers and is a regular visitor to her principal’s office ( Ugh! He’s drenched in aftershave! ). She’s not a part of any clique, so she eats lunch in a bathroom stall ( she and her BFF Kat got into a spat ). At home her single, working Mom alternates between nagging her about her schoolwork and tidiness and embarrassing her ( Mom’s wearing a thong! And flirting with the principal! ). Once Aurielie and Kat mend their friendship they embark on series of adventures at the start of Grade Nine. Kat finds her dream guy, Truch, at the arcade while Aurelie begins a flirtation with the dreamy Nicholas ( why does her brain short-circuit around him? ). This leads to a disastrous Halloween party and a Christmas season that’s full of surprises. Who knows, perhaps the new year will bring a truce between mother and daughter.

This warm-hearted comedy benefits from its young energetic cast. Marianne Verville as Aurielie is endearing as she enacts the awkwardness and embarrassment of a young girl on the verge of womanhood. She aided well by Genevieve Chartrand as Kat who is maturing a bit faster and gets a jump on the whole dating scene. The adults at school are more than cartoon authority figures as they try to encourage Auriele’s independent spirit. Especially good is Valerie Blais as a still unsteady single Mom trying to walk the line between nurturer and disciplinarian. Youngsters should enjoy the many Walter-Mitty style fantasy sequences that help illustrate just what’s going in her head ( what imagination! ) Parents may squirm a bit at some feminine hygiene product jokes and a subplot involving baby hamsters, but this is a gentle, good-hearted that should engage young movie goers and perhaps remind their parents of similar ” alien ” emotions they felt not so very long ago.

Showtimes
Sunday, November 20th at 3:30pm – Washington University/Brown Auditorium