Film Review: An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong

Genre: 
Realistic Fiction, Book-to-film

Interest Level:
Ages 8-11

Rating
G

Theme:
Bullying, adjusting to a new home

Films with Similar Themes: 
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, An American Girl:McKenna Shoots for the Stars

Bibliographic Information:
Amin, M. (Producer), Coolidge, M. (Producer) & Coolidge, M. (Director). (2009). An American girl: Chrissa stands strong. [Motion Picture] United States: HBO Home Entertainment.

Film Website
http://www.americangirl.com/movie/chrissa/

Plot:  
Eleven-year-old Chrissa Maxwell (Sammi Hanratty) and her family have just moved to Minnesota to live with her recently widowed grandmother (Michael Learned). The move is very hard for Chrissa and she really misses her best friend back home. Chrissa is shy and unsure about starting at a new school, so her grandmother tells her to say hello to the first person she meets. Unfortunately the first person she meets is the mean popular girl Tara (Adair Tishler). Tara and her two friends bully Chrissa mercilessly. On her first day of school, Valentine's Day, they steal all of Chrissa's Valentine's. They post mean pictures of Chrissa on all the lockers. Tara even starts an online rumor that Chrissa has a skin disease after she joins the swim team. Chrissa doesn't want to tell her family or teachers about the bullying, but with the help of a caring art teacher (Jennifer Tilly) she realizes that it's time to ask for some help.


Review:  
An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong is a film that deals with a number of issues that are very prominent in the life of many tweens. It includes bullying, cyber-bullying, homelessness, friendships, and starting over at a new school. The characters, all based off the characters in the American Girl books about Chrissa, all have unique personalities that will draw tweens into their stories. The films shares some great wisdom tweens will appreciate such as the importance of reporting bullying, the importance of standing up for yourself, and most important, the importance of believing in yourself. It also features some great lessons about teamwork during Chrissa's swim meets. The ending seems a bit unrealistic, but the values taught in the ending make it worthwhile. An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong is a great film that tweens will love and want to share with their friends and family!