A shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-A student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
A shy, introverted, Chinese-American, straight-A student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love. In the process, each teaches the other about the nature of love as they find connection in the most unlikely of places.
Leave your thoughts about The Half of It.
| New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriIn most good rom-coms you fall in love with the characters; in The Half of It you fall in love with their sheer longing. |
| The New York TimesKyle TurnerWith tenderness, humor and beauty, The Half of It comprehends the chasm between wanting and being. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayWritten and directed with tart intelligence by Alice Wu, and featuring some dazzling breakout performances, this breezy, self-aware and utterly adorable coming-of-age tale keeps one eye on literary and cinematic classics, and the other firmly on a future full of exploration, self-expression and buoyant expectation. |
| PolygonKaren HanWith The Half of It, Wu has crafted a love story that tackles love in all senses, not just romantic, prioritizing not just who gets to kiss who, but what each character hopes and dreams for. They’re so well-realized that watching The Half of It feels like the beginning of a new relationship. It’s exciting, enticing, and filled with hope for what comes next — in this case, seeing what else Wu has up her directorial sleeve. |
| SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiThe film toys with a lot of weighty ideas about faith and soulmates, which it never is quite able to form a coherent message about, but its unexpected ode to platonic soulmates and its thoughtful depiction of immigrant life in smalltown America is a sweet, refreshing addition to the coming-of-age genre. |
| TimeStephanie ZacharekIt’s sweet and funny, but also, in places, as raw as a scraped knee. |
| RogerEbert.comChristy LemireThe pieces may seem familiar in The Half of It, but the way Alice Wu assembles them results in a fresh and inspired whole. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreTouching and funny, awkward and wistful, it’s also evidence of a Hollywood crime. |
| Rolling StonePeter TraversDespite its fluid sexuality, The Half of It turns out to be less of a love story than a funny, touching and vital look into the nature of friendship. |
| Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustWu is confident enough to make the bold strokes her characters speak of and craft a movie that’s comfortably different. |
