Reel Review: Good Girl Jane (2024)

Growing up can be hell, especially for teen girls, and “Good Girl Jane” captures that fraught drama with beauty, depth, and believability.

Good Girl Jane, written and directed by (Sarah Elizabeth Mintz), is based on the autobiographical short film sharing the same name. It’s a harrowing coming-of-age film that doesn’t shy from showing you the grueling, harsh reality of growing up.

The film has a stellar cast jam-packed with standout performances; every scene is a stealer. Our protagonist, Jane (Rain Spencer), delivers a breakout performance that puts her front and center in a very vulnerable role. She’s joined by a group of outcast friends, with Bailey (Odessa A’zion) rising to the most notable and memorable. Watching her bounce off Jane as they fight for Jamie’s (Patrick Gibson) attention is fun.

It would also be a crime not to mention the brilliant Andie MacDowell in the role of Jane’s mother.

Going into this viewing blind, I was pleasantly surprised when she arrived onscreen, knowing we’d be treated to some show-stopping scenes. MacDowell steals the show for sure, playing the role of the clueless mother who simply says, “Well, why can’t you just not take drugs anymore?” when her daughters are at the height of their addiction.

From the start, you get the sickening feeling that she doesn’t listen to her kids and that they are more of an inconvenience to her. MacDowell executes this character beautifully, and the growth and progression she experiences throughout the film help the narrative flourish.

Unfortunately, we don’t get the full mother-daughter resolution I think the audience deserves. We never get that climax scene between them, which could have been an emotional part of the journey. I think we were robbed of that as viewers.

The harsh reality of youth drug addiction and grooming is front and center with Good Girl Jane not afraid to show some ugly truths.

Jamie (Patrick Gibson) puts on a harrowing performance as the much older drug dealer who influences this group of impressionable teens. Worming his way into gaining Jane’s attention and exploiting her need to be loved, he manipulates her into an addict who solely depends on him. By the end of the film, he simply makes your skin crawl when all the terrible things he’s done start unraveling.

I had to keep reminding myself of how young Jane was, which made this film so much darker.

Inspired by the chilling 2003 film Thirteen, you can feel those tones throughout Good Girl Jane — reflecting the same grueling, uncomfortable realities.

On the other hand, this film made me feel oddly nostalgic for those teenage years, thanks to how real these characters and situations felt. I related to Jane, especially from the beginning when she went through the terrors of online bullying to her evolution as the center of this friend group. I understood Jane. All she wants is to be seen and loved, which makes her easily exploited.

Good Girl Jane is a beautiful coming-of-age film that should be gaining more traction. Its only downside is its two-hour runtime. Some scenes were very slow, and you begin to feel it. But with its handheld camera work in those intimate, claustrophobic moments, you feel like you are a part of Jane’s life.

Avoiding cliches in showing the slow decline of Jane’s life, this film perfectly captures the early 2000s youth culture and the fraught world of teenage girlhood.