The Half of It  ★★★

HOW dumb am I.

It took me until half way through teen comedy The Half of It to realise it was a version of the classic Cyrano de Bergerac story.

You know the one, a man who loves a woman but is too shy to approach her ends up expressing his love in letters he writes to her on behalf of another suitor.

Gerard Depardieu and Steve Martin have probably played the most famous versions.

As you would expect for a new version, in The Half of It the genders are swapped and it’s a woman playing the forlorn lover.

Ellie is the smartest student at her high school and a dedicated daughter to her unemployed father.

Even though she is studious she is not above making extra money on the side by doing assignments for fellow students.

Her English teacher lets it pass because she would rather read Ellie’s five different takes on the works of Plato than anything the other students could throw together.

Ellie is also extremely shy and adores from afar the popular girl Aster who is going out with a football jock.

Another player, Paul, is also struck by Aster but thinks he is too stupid and awkward for her. Ellie is begrudgingly paid to write letters to Aster  from Paul.

Of course she throws her heart and soul into the letters and Aster is drawn to them.

Initially I was a little bored by the contrived nature of the story – until I realised it was Cyrano and that was the point (doh!).

Thankfully events don’t proceed exactly as you would expect from previous versions and it makes for a refreshing, if slight, teenage romp with a few good life messages thrown in.

The young cast is strong. Leah Lewis is captivating as Ellie, Daniel Diemer has the required balance as Paul and Alexxis Lemire a striking Aster.

Some aspects of the story don’t make sense, eg a footballer who doesn’t know how to play table tennis? but for the most part it’s enjoyable fun.

It’s the second fillm written and directed by Alice Wu. Saving Face, released in 2004, was also a same-sex romance.