The title says it all. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love is an amusing, light-hearted, and romantic affair.
It begins with Randy, the punk. The one who daydreams about her yet-to-be-formed rock band instead of doing homework. The one unashamedly out—and ostracized for it.
Now Evie, she’s oblivious to all that. Popular, scholarly, and conventionally pretty, sure. But naive. So when there’s something wrong with her car, it’s a nerve-wracking experience. Can someone, anyone help? Randy steps in with a smile. In more ways than one, she’s thinking, as she pretends to inflate Evie’s tires. Our characters are revealed.
A first move is made; a friendship blossoms. Scenes where the two interact (think a glance in the hallway while changing classes, or a smile over the table at the diner) capture well the nervous energy of young love. The acting in these moments is pitch-perfect (and redeems the very few moments of over-the-top anger which are clearly manufactured—and uncomfortable to witness). The writing is similarly heavy-handed a very few times, our characters throwing out platitudes that just don’t fit the scene; but again, these moments drown in the sea of good ones.
The story moves at a clip, and is full of humor. Even the dinners leave a mark. Evie’s: refined French inspirations with matter-of-fact conversation. Randy’s: a cacophonous, vegan, lesbian controlled chaos. Each endearing and silly in its own way.
The picture quality lends a certain nostalgic, romantic fuzz to it all. Smart close-ups retain focus on the girls even as they interact with others: We care about what they’re experiencing, after all.
Oh, young love! I hope it lasts. But if it doesn’t, hey, we’ll always have this movie!