Lady Bird

THE GIST: Christine, who goes by Lady Bird, is a high-school senior with dreams and aspirations of going to a big city college, where she'll be surrounded by sophistication, culture, adventures, and opportunity. Unfortunately, given her middling grades and her family's struggling finances, together with an overbearing mother, her chances look pretty bleak.

Lady Bird is a little jewel of a coming-of-age comedy, written and directed by the great Greta Gerwig, who has become one of my favorite new voices in American cinema.

Gerwig was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director Oscars, along with nominations for Best Picture, Best Lead Actress (Saoirse Ronan), and Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf).

THE BOTTOM LINE: I think that, as it happens with all original auteurs, Gerwig's oeuvre is either loved or hated, sort of like Charlie Kaufman's, and I fall firmly into the former cohort. If you enjoy her work like I do, don't miss this movie.

Grade: 8