'Honor Roll Boys' (MiamisFF Review): A Bit of Harmless Fun
Initially feeling like a passionate group having a bit of harmless fun with filmmaking, it leads to something sinister enough to leave a mark.

Molly is a ten-year-old girl who believes that if she learns to play the fiddle like her dad and wins the All-Ireland Music championship, her father will wake from his coma. Still in a coma, her dad is moved to a rehab centre, where Molly befriends Malachy, a grumpy old man who plays the fiddle beautifully and is told he has magic in his hands. They connect as she coaxes him to teach her to play and together they go in search of the magic that only music can bring.
Initially feeling like a passionate group having a bit of harmless fun with filmmaking, it leads to something sinister enough to leave a mark.
The characters aren’t likable, the story is predictable and the humor is either disgusting, obnoxious, or uncomfortable. The Wrong Missy is a mess of a film and it’s not really worth your time.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
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