Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.

source: Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.

I feel the current comment listed does not do this film justice. The audience is presented with, Chantel, a woman of the projects. Throughout the entire film we see that she wants to get out of that life and move on to college. However, she becomes trapped and as a young woman tries to conceal her obstacle. Chantel is a real woman in this film and neither she nor her problem is not "sugar coated." The viewer gets an eye opening glimpse at what these women are up against. I enjoyed this film because Chantel continues to hold on to her dream once she has overcome her fear/obstacle, her pregnancy. I would like to further add that a connection with Chantel can not be formed by all, because many do not experience the life of a Black Woman in the Projects of NYC-Brooklyn!

The movie, Just Another Girl on the I. R.T. recreates a story about a teenager known as Chantal who is 17 years old and pregnant with her first child thats a girl. She lives temporarily with her parent's that are married, and two brother's. Both parent's are professional's. Chantal is in the 11th grade in school, and also works at the grocery store as a cashier. She is on the Merit Roll in high school, and is dating both Gerard and Tyrone.

If there was one truly great thing about "Just Another Girl On The I.R.T.", it's the incredibly realistic dialogue. This fact is especially remarkable when considering that most of the film's cast haven't acted in a film previously, including Ariyan A. Johnson, who plays the protagonist, Chantel Mitchell. Not only is the dialogue funny at times and poignant at others, but it's almost as if you're in New York City listening in on real people's conversations. Any other movie with as low a budget or as unknown and as amateur a cast would have had dialogue that was wooden or may have sounded forced. No one can critique this film without mentioning the character who represents "Just Another Girl", namely Chantel. Chantel is certainly not "just another girl", as she makes perfectly clear when she breaks the fourth wall. The best thing about Chantel, and what some critics (especially on this site) don't seem to understand about her, is that she is a complicated, round character. At her best, she's ambitious, hard-working, clearly very smart, and incredibly charismatic. However, she clearly makes some wrong choices in this movie which most viewers probably look at in dumbfounded awe. The reactions that Johnson reflects upon realizing those wrong choices are very familiar and genuine. There is unfortunately very little written about Johnson's life and background anywhere on the Internet, which may account for her strong, believable debut performance in this movie. However, Johnson plays this complicated character so convincingly that it's hard to believe this is her feature film debut. She has since had noticeable supporting roles in two critically acclaimed features ("Bulworth" in 1998, and "The General's Daughter" in 1999), but hasn't acted in a movie or TV show since 2004. To say she is an underrated actress is indeed an understatement, and I would love to see her appear in another film sometime soon. Of course, the plot is something which other reviewers on this site have been critical about. Although it is true that the plot is somewhat unusual, it's not exactly a bad thing when the plot of a movie can't be explained in one sentence. If anything, plot complication can be a valuable asset to a film, and "Just Another Girl on the I.R.T." is certainly no exception. But then again, a number of Spike Lee's films had similar non-linear plots. This film reminded me of something Spike Lee would have directed not just because it had a majority African-American cast. This film drew parallels to "She's Gotta Have It" with a strong, independent female protagonist, the constant breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience, and the frank discussions about sex. It also reminded me of "Crooklyn" and "Do The Right Thing", along with a number of character-driven films by Jonathan Singleton. I'm not so sure if this was a film "Hollywood didn't dare to make", as stated in the closing credits. After all, Spike Lee revolutionized black cinema, and is still no stranger to controversy with the messages in his films. Plus, the issue of teen pregnancy has been dealt with in cinema before (e.g., 1989's "For Keeps") and since (2007's "Juno"). So what Leslie Harris meant by that statement is unclear to me, and did actually come off as a bit cocky. Still, this film deserves a lot of credit for its dialogue, characterization, and uniqueness in its own right. Ariyan Johnson brought a lot to this film which other actresses with her experience may not have been able to handle. It's too bad director Leslie Harris didn't make a follow-up feature, or even a sequel. But still, to make a mark on Hollywood with a film like this, even if it's only one time, is quite the accomplishment. I just wish more people could see this film. I was fortunate to find a used DVD of this film in a local music store. I only paid about $7 for it, and it remains a priceless addition to my DVD collection.

It was worth every penny , yo one question why is this lady not doing more work! yall come on now! This was an incredible piece of lifetime history that transcends art , yes the Baldwin type ending is rough but it works , everything works in this gem I highly recommend it big time , I really think its a major tagedy that this lady who created this is not doing tons of stuff, this is who should be making some superhero movies to make them fun and give them some cool humane themes and all that good stuff!

Let me say that I would imagine that I am the target audience for this film. By this, I mean that I am not a young, economically challenged African-American woman living in an urban area, since I would imagine that that particular demographic does not need to be made aware of the difficulties they face on a day to day basis. That said, I did not feel Leslie Harris did the best job in trying to bring these issues across. As others have said, I found the main character to be thoroughly unpleasant. While flawed characters can be more interesting to watch, their character strengths should be far less superficial for them to merit any sympathy or empathy from the viewer (i.e., just being intelligent and ambitious is not enough for me to like a character). Also of note is the amateurish acting, which truly detracts from the viewing experience. The documentary-style camerawork could have added to the feeling of verisimilitude, but coupled with the acting, it constantly draws attention to the fact that the viewer is watching a film. I understand certain allowances must be made when watching low-budget independent films, but the filmmakers should have realized that today's audiences are spoiled and have little patience for elements that feel unnatural. I also take issue with the film's ending, which rings completely false in light of everything that has preceded it. One person compared it to the seemingly tacked-on happy endings from melodramas of the past. The problem with that logic is the fact that those endings were imposed by the studio and sometimes by censors. This is an independent film (one "Hollywood dared not do") and can take the risk of having the ending that fits best. I have heard it suggested that all the elements I have called attention to were aesthetic choices by the filmmakers. To that, I must say that, if this is so, it causes the film to be rather self-defeating. To call attention to the film's artifice, thereby pulling the viewer out of the story, causes them to view it as just another light show on a screen. It can be safely viewed as just a film, all thoughts of it depicting reality left aside. Films are often attacked for being too manipulative. Here is a film that is not manipulative enough. If a filmmaker wants an audience to be able to identify with a situation she/he should take great pains to make certain they are not taken out of the film throughout. While I admire the fact that Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. tries to show me a world I have minimal knowledge of, it did not involve me enough to give the subject matter much of a second thought after the credits rolled. Instead, I just kept thinking about its quality as a film.

The ending credits read: "A film Hollywood dare not do." I don't know why not, Hollywood has put out plenty of terrible movies and this would just be another one. This movie was atrocious. The main character, Chantel (Ariyan Johnson), was "smart" as she claimed. She was going to go to college and she "was not like everybody else" yet and still she had a loud mouth, very little respect for any adults, a desire the be clad in the latest gear, and also dumb enough to have unprotected sex. If she wasn't like everybody else then there's hope because that would mean everybody else is the total opposite. There was nothing to like about this movie: not Chantel, not her friends, not her man, no one... especially not Chantel, and since she dominated the movie so it went. It was either Chantel yelling, Chantel cussing, Chantel cackling, Chantel arguing, Chantel screaming... need I say more? There was only so much ghetto fabulous chatter I could take.

Just Another Girl On The IRT is one of my favorite movies. I was introduced to this movie about ten years ago and fell in love with it. I thought it was well acted and I could relate to Chantell's character.I love the music and I just loved the movie I know ever word by heart.I think so many other teenage girls can benefit from seeing this movie. All the things she goes through with being a teenager is reality. Chantell deals with trying to live a life of her own but also having to take responsibility for her family life as well. But as she learns trying to live a life of your own also has responsibilities that you must own up to. So I high recommend that all teenagers check this movie out and maybe you'll learn something.

source: Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.

Trailer—Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.