Lady Bird (2017)

Movie · 2017 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 34m · R · English

Curator score: 8.2/10 (3.3M ratings)

Fly away home.

Overview

Lady Bird McPherson, a strong willed, deeply opinionated, artistic 17 year old comes of age in Sacramento. Her relationship with her mother and her upbringing are questioned and tested as she plans to head off to college.

Ratings

Director

Greta Gerwig

Production

IAC Films, Scott Rudin Productions, Entertainment 360

Cast

Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Lois Smith, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Odeya Rush, Jordan Rodrigues, Marielle Scott, John Karna, Jake McDorman, Bayne Gibby, Laura Marano, Marietta DePrima, Daniel Zovatto, Kristen Cloke, Andy Buckley, Paul Keller

Curator Review

Verdict

A sharply observed, deeply felt coming-of-age film that balances humor, irritation, and tenderness with unusual precision. Its emotional power comes from how honestly it captures the push-pull between a daughter and mother, and how ordinary adolescent longing can feel monumental.

Best for

  • coming-of-age dramas with wit and bite
  • mother-daughter stories
  • viewers who like emotionally precise character studies
  • fans of naturalistic teen life and first-love awkwardness
  • audiences who appreciate bittersweet endings

Skip if

  • you want high-concept plotting or big twists
  • you dislike emotionally raw family conflict
  • you prefer broad teen comedy over grounded realism
  • you’re not in the mood for nostalgia-laced melancholy

Overview

Lady Bird is one of the rare coming-of-age films that feels both specific and universal. It understands how adolescence is made up of tiny humiliations, impulsive declarations, and private fantasies of escape, all rendered with a light touch that never undercuts the pain underneath.

Worth noting

The film’s greatest strength is the mother-daughter relationship, which is written with such exactness that every argument lands like a history lesson. It’s funny, prickly, and devastating in equal measure, and the movie trusts that love can look like criticism, control, sacrifice, and exasperation all at once.

Bottom line

Greta Gerwig stages Sacramento as a lived-in emotional map rather than a postcard, and the result is a story that feels intimate without being small. By the end, it has transformed familiar teen-movie material into something quietly profound about identity, class, family, and the ache of leaving home.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Matt Singer (5★) · 29471 likes

Two names. Two boyfriends. Two best friends. Two semesters. Two school plays. Two dances. Two parties. Two distinct relationships with her parents. Two potential colleges. Two churches. And a hundred million kajillion tears for the scene at the airport.

˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ (5★) · 28210 likes

"I wish that you liked me." "Of course I love you."

sree (5★) · 21840 likes

WELL I HOPE NOT CUZ I'D FUCKING KILL YOUR FAMILY

Mike Ginn (5★) · 20049 likes

So moved that I’m about to accept my mom’s follow request on instagram

michaelgonzalez (4★) · 16619 likes

Call Me By the Name I Gave Myself

Recommended similar titles

The Edge of Seventeen

2016 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 45m · R · Curator 6.1/10 (974.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu

A sharp, funny, and emotionally honest teen portrait with a similarly prickly lead and a strong sense of adolescent self-importance colliding with real vulnerability.

Frances Ha

2013 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 26m · R · Curator 8.6/10 (712.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now

Shares the same blend of wit, self-invention, and bittersweet transition, with a heroine whose identity is still being improvised in real time.

20th Century Women

2016 · Drama · 1h 58m · R · Curator 8.5/10 (279.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

An empathetic, character-rich family film about generational tension, maternal influence, and the messy process of becoming yourself.

Boyhood

2014 · Drama · 2h 45m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (991.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now, MUBI

A patient, observant coming-of-age story that finds emotional weight in ordinary moments, family friction, and the passage of time.

Little Women

2019 · Drama, Romance · 2h 15m · PG · Curator 9.3/10 (2.9M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu

For viewers drawn to Gerwig’s emotional intelligence, family dynamics, and tender attention to young women defining themselves against home and history.

The Virgin Suicides

2000 · Drama, Romance · 1h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV

A moodier companion piece about girlhood, longing, and the distance between how young women are seen and how they feel.

Juno

2007 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 36m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (2M ratings)

Another witty, emotionally direct coming-of-age film that balances humor with sincere feeling and a strong sense of voice.

Thirteen

2003 · Drama · 1h 40m · R · Curator 5.3/10 (713K ratings)

A more volatile and raw adolescent descent, but similarly attuned to the intensity of teenage identity, friendship, and family strain.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

2012 · Drama · 1h 43m · PG-13 · Curator 7.9/10 (3.4M ratings) · Where to watch: AMC+, Philo

A sensitive high-school story about loneliness, friendship, and the emotional stakes of growing up and moving forward.

Almost Famous

2000 · Drama, Music · 2h 4m · R · Curator 8.9/10 (1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential

Captures the exhilaration and confusion of youth with warmth, music, and a strong sense of a young person trying to find a place in the world.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

2015 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 45m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (420.5K ratings)

A funny-sad teen film with an offbeat voice and a strong sense of awkward emotional honesty.

Eighth Grade

2018 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 34m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (531.8K ratings)

A painfully accurate portrait of teenage self-consciousness, social performance, and the gap between inner life and outward confidence.

Topics

coming-of-age, dramedy, teen life, family drama, mother-daughter conflict, nostalgic, bittersweet, naturalistic, indie cinema, adolescence

Open Lady Bird (2017) on Curator TV