In 1957, second-grader Bryce Loski first moves in and meets Juli "Julianna" Baker. When they look into each other’s eyes, Juli knows it’s love, but Bryce isn’t so sure and tries to avoid her. By the sixth grade in 1961, Bryce tries to get rid of Juli by dating Sherry Stalls, which Juli despises. However, Bryce's best friend Garrett takes an interest in Sherry and eventually tells her the truth about Bryce asking her out. Therefore, she doesn't take it well. After Juli finds out Bryce and Sherry broke up, she thinks she could have Bryce back, but then they reconsider their own choices as time goes on. In 1962, Bryce's grandfather Chet Duncan moves in with the family, who has different views about Juli. At one point, she falls in love with a large, old sycamore tree, but her relationship doesn't last long after the tree itself is cut down by a group of landscapers, much to the dismay of Juli. However, her father gives her a painting of the tree, causing Juli to overcome her distress. Juli is hurt when she finds out that Bryce has been throwing away the eggs she offered his family right under her nose, out of fear of salmonella. Chet helps Juli fix up her yard, while Bryce begins to develop feelings for Juli, who has mixed feelings about him. After visiting her disabled uncle Daniel, Juli overhears Bryce supporting Garrett's badmouthing of her, causing her to stop having any interest in him. The Bakers invite the Loskis over for dinner and once arriving there, Juli accuses Bryce about what he did and eventually rejects him. They sit on opposite sides during dinner, but they don't talk to each other. After dinner, she apologizes. Bryce has mixed feelings afterwards, since he isn't forgiven and she doesn't care enough to hold a grudge. As the 1963 basket boy auction approaches, Juli learns that Sherry is planning to bid on Bryce, but Bryce thinks Juli intends to bid on him when he is aware that she has a wad of cash. Bryce worries about what will happen if Juli tries to start a bidding war with Sherry, but she bids on Eddie Trulock out of sympathy as nobody was bidding for him. However, during lunch, Bryce can’t seem to ignore Juli talking with Eddie, while he talks with Sherry. Much to his jealousy, he gets up out of his table and walks towards Juli. He grabs her shoulders and tries to kiss her, causing her to dodge him and leave in humiliation. Afterwards, Juli’s feelings are hurt. Bryce does everything he can to reconcile with Juli, but because of what Bryce did, she refuses to talk to him. Two days later, Bryce plants a sapling sycamore tree in Juli's front yard to show her how he feels. When she sees this, she goes out to help him and realizes they have never really talked after all these years. As they plant the tree, they put hands on each other and they share loving smiles.
Flipped has received mixed reviews. On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has garnered a 55% "fresh" or 5.99/10 rating based on 75 reviews. The consensus reads: "While not without its nostalgic charms, Rob Reiner's sometimes awkward adaptation of Wendelin Van Draanen's childhood novel doesn't reach the heights of the director's earlier work like Stand By Me." On Metacritic, the film holds a 45/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
