The Half of It had a lot of potentials to be one of the best rom-com out there. It had a great storyline and great characters, but it threw everything away towards the 2nd half of the film. Let's first talk about the opportunity it threw away. With an intriguing and novel plotline, it had so many different ways that it could end: the boy gets the girl, the girl gets the girl, or no one gets the girl. But on its way to the ending, it messed up the main conflict. When Paul Munsky, played by Daniel Diemer, finds out that Ellie Chu, played by Leah Lewis, is gay he suddenly becomes homophobic and shuns her. Throughout the beginning half of the movie, nothing made it apparent that Paul was homophobic or that the church and faith were such a big part of his life. In fact, there were times when he questioned if God existed and didn't properly abide by the Christian rules. This incident was random and wholly underdeveloped. Another severely underdeveloped character is Aster Flores, played by Alexxis Lemire. Instead of having her own backstory and personality, she simply becomes "the love interest". Just another pretty face. They should have included her internal conflict with her faith and her attraction toward Paul. Overall, if the movie should have focused on religion as the major instigator of conflict this movie would have flowed much more smoothly.
What I liked about this movie was that we finally have another movie that portrays not only an LGBT but an Asian American LGBT character. This story also skims the top of important issues regarding religion and sexuality, and how homosexuality is portrayed as a sin. This is a theme that isn't touched on in many modern rom-com and I'm glad that this film at least attempted to do so. Additionally, the genuine friendship between Paul and Ellie. He clearly isn't there to just exploit her talent for writing: he defends her from bullies and they have a real bond. Although I take issue with the two other main characters, Leah Lewis really sells Ellie. The delicate moments when they are texting each other and when they are floating in the pond are pretty authentic. Overall, I would say this movie is still an important stepping stone in LBGT movies, but it could be even better.
