The Clique (2008)

How sad is this?

Fantastic!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

We all know that children can be very mean as depicted in this 2008 film.When a family comes up from Florida to live in N.Y., they stay temporarily with a wealthy family as both the men are friends from their school days. Unfortunately, our New Yorker has a daughter by the name of Massey. She is as stuck up as they come and she begins to make life miserable for our Floridian girl named Claire.Massey, as selfish and snobbish as they come, belongs to a clique with 3 other girls. Everyone wants to be in their group but they operate a closed agency shop.Claire is able to finally get even with the nastiness they have shown to her by sending them messages on the internet, where the girls will grow to detest Massey and accept Claire. Clair becomes like a Massey until the latter realizes what she has done and alerted her former friends. Then it's back to square 1 for Claire.The movie just brings up the idea of how difficult teenagers can be as they're growing up. Those hormones are sure active!

Spoiled rich girl Massie (an excellent Elizabeth McLaughlin) gets a literal wake up call when her dad announces that their guest house will be occupied by his college buddy and his family. This family includes a daughter named Claire (Ellen Marlow), who is the same age as Massie. Massie, the head of a seventh grade clique called The Pretty Committee, does not like this newcomer at all. A rivalry between the two girls begins. Will they ever be friends? Although many viewers of this teen movie will surely predict the outcome, it provides enough laughs and drama to please most of the young girls the film is aimed at. I personally felt for Claire, even when she stooped to sending false e-mails to Massie's friends. (Haven't we all done something awful like this that we later regretted?) My favorite member of The Pretty Committee is Alicia (Samantha Boscarino), a shopaholic who is as idiotic as she is beautiful.The film was based on a series of novels by Lisi Harrison, which I never heard of prior to watching this movie. As with many book to film adaptations, there will always be (probably rightly) those who prefer the book to the movie. Still, to pass on this movie just because it's not like the book would be a crime. There are many movies I saw before reading the book, and after I did read it I became a fan of both versions.The Clique is definitely worth the 87 minutes it lasts.

I have a couple of friends who love the books. I haven't read them but I think I know what my opinion would be: OK. If the movie is like the books, my guess is wrong. Wrong by far. The movie was terrible. Very predictable. New girl arrives. Leader of popular clique hates her. New girl takes the leader's place for a while, then the leader returns. In the end, the new girl and the leader are friends. Very unoriginal. Also, the whole Chris Abeley thing was really lame. The movie was horrible and I can guarantee that I won't be reading the books. I can't say I'm surprised this movie didn't make it to theaters and went straight to DVD. If there are sequels though, I'm gonna be VERY surprised.

As a fan of The Clique Series, I was very curious to see this movie. Mainly because the entire world of Massie Block, her exclusive clique and Claire Lyons is so relatable. The actors were not very well-known, it was going straight to DVD and there wasn't much of a hype for it. And like many novels turned into movies I expected the worst. However after watching it all, I realized it wasn't half bad. Not amazing (or "ah-mazing") but still tolerable. And the acting was pretty good for teen actors who are starring in their first movie. In my opinion, the actors did a good job of embracing their characters - despite how some did not exactly fit the descriptions entirely. The script even stayed mostly true to the story. There were only a few things I was disappointed with though. First, even though the acting was tolerable, it wasn't always up to par. At times I found what they were doing to come off as forced, as if they didn't really know what they were saying. And sometimes there was just too much yelling I couldn't take it. Second the setting of the school (OCD) disappointed me greatly. I expected a wealthy, stylish prep school, decorated and all. But I guess there's only so much you can do with a school hallway. Despite the negative things though, I really enjoyed the high end fashion. It was a good break from the usual we see on the streets everyday. But, sadly, it's not the clothing that makes a movie. All in all, I would recommend this to my friends, other teenagers who want a good laugh or style ideas. Or even pre-teens looking forward to junior high. It may not be the next "Mean Girls", and sure the acting is so-so but it was certainly better than expected.