Jodi Kreyman is sixteen years old and tall. She has been perceived as unusually tall since she was three, a source of insecurity for her, not helped by her dad's worry that her height is a medical risk. Students continually ask Jodi "how's the weather up there?", eventually causing Jodi's friend Fareeda to snap at one boy. Contrastingly, Jodi's older sister Harper is of average height and a winner of multiple beauty pageants. A boy in Jodi's class who always carries a milk crate, Dunkleman, frequently asks her out, but she is reluctant to date somebody she has known for so long, or someone shorter than her. Stig Mohlin, a Swedish foreign exchange student, joins Jodi's class, and she is immediately taken aback by his looks and intelligence. However, Kimmy Stitcher—a bully—starts showing him around. Dunkleman is distressed to learn that Stig will be staying in his house, his mother having volunteered to be the host family. Jodi asks her sister for help getting Stig to notice her but Harper does not believe Jodi can get an exchange student to be interested in her unless she stops dressing like a little boy. After a week of watching Kimmy follow Stig around, Jodi tells Harper that she is jealous. Harper and their mother go shopping with her to find a homecoming dress and to change Jodi's style. Kimmy, now in a relationship with Stig, gets her friend Schnipper to prank call Jodi pretending to be Stig and asking her to the homecoming dance. To Fareeda's frustration, Jodi hides in the bathroom to avoid Kimmy. Stumbling across Stig playing the piano, he encourages her to play and they sing the duet "I've Never Been in Love Before" from the musical Guys and Dolls. When she returns home, Jodi's father has organised a Tip Toppers chapter meeting in their house—a club for tall people—but rather than encouraging, she finds it upsetting. Stig calls and she yells at him, thinking it is another prank call, but he invites her to watch musicals with him. She turns up to Dunkleman's house and his shock turns to jealousy when he realizes she is there to see Stig. Dunkleman continually interrupts their evening, but as Stig escorts Jodi home, they kiss. Feeling guilty, Stig asks Dunkleman for advice and he tells him to focus on being with Kimmy. Jodi gets angry at Dunkleman when she learns this. Meanwhile, another girl—Liz—asks Dunkleman on a date. Schnipper likes Jodi so he gets Kimmy to ask her to join them for an escape room; Jodi ditches a concert with Fareeda to go. In the escape room, they kiss in couples: Jodi and Schnipper, Kimmy and Stig and Dunkleman and Liz, until Jodi gets frustrated and leaves. Jealous, Stig talks to Jodi and agrees to go on a date to Harper's pageant competition. Harper wins, but Stig does not turn up. At Dunkleman's party, Stig explains that he lost track of time helping Dunkleman set up. Dunkleman rejects Liz when she asks him to the homecoming dance. He gives Jodi a present—high heels—to apologize for being a bad friend. Jodi discovers that after she left the party, Kimmy confronted Stig and he pretended that Jodi had unrequited love for him, but Dunkleman tries to hit him. Dunkleman stands up for Jodi, leading to a fight between Dunkleman and Schnipper. At the homecoming dance, Kimmy and Stig are crowned Homecoming Queen and King, but he breaks up with her. Jodi arrives in the high heels Dunkleman gave her and makes a speech expressing newfound confidence in herself. Stig asks Jodi out but she rejects him. She talks to Dunkleman: he reveals the reason he always carries a milk crate as he stands on it and leans in to kiss her.
Cast
Ava Michelle as Jodi Kreyman, a self-conscious 16-year-old girl who is tall.
Griffin Gluck as Jack Dunkleman, a friend of Jodi's who has made his crush on her well known for years.
Luke Eisner as Stig Mohlin, a Swedish foreign exchange student who is staying with Dunkleman.
Clara Wilsey as Kimmy Stitcher, a selfish but conventionally attractive girl who mocks Jodi.
Sabrina Carpenter as Harper Kreyman, Jodi's older sister and a pageant queen with horrible allergies.
Paris Berelc as Liz, a kind friend of Kimmy's with a crush on Dunkleman.
Rico Paris as Schnipper, a boy who, along with Kimmy, has tormented Jodi since they were kids.
Anjelika Washington as Fareeda, Jodi's best friend.
Angela Kinsey as Helaine Kreyman, a former pageant queen, Harper and Jodi's mother, and Richie's wife.
Steve Zahn as Richie Kreyman, Harper and Jodi's paranoid father, and Helaine's husband, who tries hard to help Jodi feel normal.
In November 2018, it was announced that Netflix would collaborate with McG of Wonderland Sound and Vision for a fourth time on the film Tall Girl, with Nzingha Stewart set as the director. In January 2019, Ava Michelle, Griffin Gluck, Luke Eisner, Sabrina Carpenter, Paris Berelc, Steve Zahn, Angela Kinsey, Anjelika Washington, Clara Wilsey, and Rico Paris joined the cast of the film. Principal photography on the film began in January 2019 in New Orleans and ended in March 2019.
Release
The trailer was released on August 29, 2019, with the film released on September 13, 2019. On October 17, 2019, Netflix announced that the film had been viewed by over 41 million viewers after its release on their platform.
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 44% based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10. The sites critics consensus reads, "While charming at times, Tall Girl is mostly an uninspired teen comedy that fails to bring anything new to the genre."
