First Period
First Period
| 27 July 2013 (USA)
First Period Trailers

New girl Cassie and outcast Maggie are easily the most awkward girls in high school. Together, they decide the way to win the hearts of the cute boys and popular girls is to come in first at the school talent show. But rivals Heather, Other Heather, and their popular boyfriends Brett and Dirk will stop at nothing to keep our heroes the laughing stock of the school. It's going to take makeovers, courage, and maybe even a little rapping to beat them in true 80s style.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Borgarkeri

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

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Gutsycurene

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

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Orla Zuniga

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

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vchimpanzee

It is like, so totally the 80s. If you can't tell from the movies, celebrities and TV characters mentioned, or the girls in one scene wearing "Flashdance" outfits, certainly you can tell that a viral video of an embarrassing event meant for blackmail is not captured and sent using a phone, but collected as a series of still photos using a technology where you watch the photo appear on a white square that ejects after the photo is taken.Cassie's mom has lost her job and returned with her teenage daughter to the town where they used to live. Cassie is the new kid at school, but this does not bother her. As she writes in her diary, narrating for us, she is very confident and feels very good about herself. Not that she has reason to: she looks and talks like an overweight drag queen. From the first word she speaks, you know a male actor is playing the part. But this is only a problem for narrow-minded people. She is a typical teenage girl, with clothes and bedroom décor that suggest early hot pink trailer trash. Cassie believes she will easily make friends with the popular kids and become popular herself.This is not going to happen. Heather and Heather are the popular girls, and Dirk and Brett are their boyfriends. The guys seem nice but must do everything their girlfriends say. Dirk must take off his shirt whenever he has done something wrong, for example. Heather and Heather are unbelievably cruel, even going so far to state in class that all uggos and fatties need to make themselves look good or go away, so we can all be happy.But Cassie isn't bothered. She meets Maggie, who is a lot like her. Well, not quite. Maggie also has a very masculine look and voice, but she is definitely a girl (at least that's what we're supposed to believe, even though we know for certain that's really a guy). However, Maggie seems happy but is very insecure and gullible, and easily persuaded to change her mind.Why is a man teaching female anatomy? Even worse, he is about as sensitive and politically correct as Donald Trump. Maggie is asked to leave since the class is for girls. Maggie insists she is one. "For how long?" the insensitive teacher asks. Heather and Heather state their outrageous opinions while another girl speaks for the other side. The girls watch a film which starts out like those corny films every school child supposedly watched in the 50s, but it turns into a hilarious and bizarre mess that even includes Dracula. A separate Dracula, according to the credits, appears in one of Maggie's fantasies.Despite the way they are being treated, Cassie and Maggie are determined to be popular. There is a talent show later in the week, and Maggie is quite a good rapper, even holding her own in a contest against John, who is African-American. Maggie is a little concerned that when white people do it, it's racist, but this does not seem to be a problem. Cassie doesn't really have a talent but she doesn't let that stop her. Plus she is determined to get everyone to come to her Sweet Sixteen, also later in the week.Heather and Heather show signs of coming around to a kinder attitude, but you can almost be certain that when they are nice, they are plotting something (especially Heather). Dirk and Brett really are nice, and they end up dating the "freaks" after their girlfriends have supposedly broken up with them. I'm not really sure. Both guys are kind of dense. By the way, there are hints both guys might be bi and attracted to each other.Cassie and Maggie endure ups and downs as they continue their quest to no longer be freaks. Both girls end up in embarrassing situations before an ending that is satisfying.This is not your typical formula teen mean-girl movie, although after a while it does seem remarkably normal. Most of the leading actors do a really good job, and the two guys playing the female leads are among the best. At no time do they convince us that they are female, but that doesn't seem necessary. It does require imagination.Cassandra Peterson, best known as Elvira, is so unbelievably nice and quite pretty as Cassie's mom. Mostly nice, anyway.By the end of the movie, we have heard positive messages that give this movie some significance beyond being just silly, and we learn a lot about what made certain characters the way they are.At first I was going to say that college students who need a safe place because they are easily offended should stay far away from this movie. But the Sue Sylvester level of cruelty doesn't last that long, and as I said before, later in the movie it's just the ordinary mean girl stuff. And most of the characters have the right attitude, at least by that time. Early in the movie, the combination of unbelievable confidence in the absence of a reason and unthinkable nastiness gives us hilarious results. The movie can't keep up that level of hilarity and it's just not funny at times later, but doesn't have to be. The seriousness is appropriate and needs to be.Overall, it's wildly insane and certainly worth seeing.

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moonmonday

A friend recommended this one to me, and it sat in my list for a good long while. But I started to watch it on impulse and found myself laughing so much. There were a few jokes that didn't work, but the overwhelming majority of them were brilliant, and overall this was the kind of offbeat comedy that I would rank up with Heathers...which obviously it took one or two inspirations from!The performances are strong across the board, the dialogue is snappy and feels not only natural (which is amazing in such an almost surreal film at times), but also extremely clever. It's rare to find such a gem of a movie that is not only insightful and moving, but also hilarious and ridiculous. It never takes itself too seriously...just seriously enough to make you think, and then it's all fun again. But it does such an excellent job of everything that it's easy to love. You can easily forgive a couple of missed laughs when you end up laughing so much more, and even getting a little warm and fuzzy feeling. Not to mention hot guys all over the place!At the end of the day, this not only deals with serious issues, but does it well and in a hilarious way. It raises questions that should be raised, and it's a lot of fun. I think this is a film that everyone should watch, because honestly it has the right idea in every way. Bravo.

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toodarkpark-08049

So to be honest, I was scared to watch this one (partly because I feel the descriptiveness of the previous reviews might lead me to believe they're fake). But since it was free on streaming Netflix I gave it a chance. I am very glad I did.This movie won't be for everyone, but for those like me that like their comedy a little silly, a little cynical, and extra random, it's perfect. Imagine if John Waters directed the high school portions of Romey and Michelle's High School Reunion on a shoestring budget. This movie is what you get. The innocence and campiness of Hairspray mixed with the irreverence of his earlier work, perfectly combines with the random silly comic sensibilities of the lead actors. I was laughing almost the entire film.True, there are a few jokes that fall flat. (Like a toilet scene that was predictable and just not well done.) But most of the jokes fly a million miles a second, and I'm already planning on watching it again to catch the jokes I missed. Sometimes a single strange side glance from one of the leads was enough to make me bust out laughing. Not to mention the actor playing Cassie could basically have a movie all about Cassie and I would watch it in a second.The thing that really struck me about this movie though was its treatment of all the characters. Most silly low budget films like this lose their way in the third act when they try to learn a lesson or become serious. It often comes off incredibly insincere. That isn't the case with First Period. During the third act we learn more about the characters and all of them become very relatable. I even was shocked to find myself smiling sympathetically during a very tense conversation with Maggie and the main antagonist. It was surprisingly well done. Even though the movie is often cynical, crude, and relishes making fun of its characters, it never loses its heart and understanding that these are real characters who have real emotions and feelings.I was shocked I loved this movie so much and will definitely be showing it to my boyfriend and friends for some late night laughs. Second Period anyone? "You're welcome."

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findmark

I've seen this movie twice on the festival circuit and I can't wait to see it again. It is a laugh riot from beginning to end. Every possible comedic moment is taken advantage of by this very talented cast and crew. Director Charlie Vaughn did a great job making sure all of the actors were portraying characters that lived in the same world. The script comes alive thanks to everyone in this movie with the main duo of Brandon Alexander and Dudley Beene drawing you in and almost immediately forgetting that the actors aren't really 16 year old girls. A lot of independent film falls apart in the post production but First Period is directed, styled and edited beautifully. This movie is well done all the way around and considering it is an independent movie done on a shoe string budget it is that much more of a towering achievement!

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