Rating: ★★★★½

Remember your first love? Remember those days where much of your thoughts and actions were invested in trying to spend time with your special someone, while that person diligently avoided you, or vice versa? Well, if no, “Flipped” will be more than happy to take you back to that point of your life where the world isn’t much of a concern, where responsibilities were minimal, where feelings were everything.

Most of “Flipped” takes place in the year of 1963, a time where kids are required to talk to each other in order to achieve an actual conversation. (“What is this In-ter-net?”) Young Bryce, and the rest of the Loski family, has just moved in to a different neighborhood. And a new home comes with new neighbors. Bryce is getting ready for second grade, who believes that it will be torture because Juli Baker from across the street is publicly in love with him. Juli is trying to get Bryce to like her while Bryce is trying to get Juli to leave him alone. Now tell me, when you were younger, were you a Bryce or a Julie?

We see that these kids act out their immediate emotions, and we know that they have yet to understand the depth and reasons behind them. What’s to adore other than Bryce’s dazzling eyes? So what if Juli likes to spend hours on top of a tree? These kids didn’t really ask these questions to themselves, but they didn’t need to. They are in the second grade, and are reasonably immature. But, as Bryce and Julie grow older, more mature, they start seeing things at a deeper, more curious perspective. A few years have passed, and Bryce and Juli notice things about the other that were invisible to them before, and their feelings start to flip.

The two of them can’t fully comprehend what’s gotten into them. How can this be? How can a boy with eyes that dazzling have an attitude so unattractive? How can a girl so annoying at first turn out to be so amazing? The opposite sex is something of a mystery. Young girls dream of their first kiss while boys of the same age dream of their first car. This difference is demonstrated in a scene where we see how a snake eats breakfast. To the boys, it’s cool. To the girls, it’s icky.

Growing up could be terrifying. We learn of so many things so fast. “Flipped” doesn’t only cause us to remember our good ‘ol days, but it also helps us understand some of the things we never did get the chance to figure out. In the many happenings between Bryce and Julie, we get to see each event from the point of view of them both, and we are never tempted to take a side. The movie doesn’t want us to take sides. Rather, it makes us cheer for both boy and girl, which is something very few romantic comedies aim for nowadays.

“Flipped” is such a lovely film. I think what makes it all the more loveable is that it contains real people. We never do question the emotions of Bryce and Juli because, in one way or another, we’ve been there, and it’s fun to have movies like “Flipped” that makes us remember.

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