A Girl Like Her (2015 film)

A Girl Like Her is an American pseudo-documentary drama film directed by Amy S. Weber. The film stars Lexi Ainsworth as Jessica Burns, a 16-year-old bullied high school girl who attempts suicide, and Hunter King as Avery Keller, a former friend who has been relentlessly bullying Jessica for months. The film was originally titled The Bully Chronicles but the title was later changed.

Plot
High school sophomore Jessica Burns (Lexi Ainsworth) attempts suicide by taking a handful of pills from her mother's medicine cabinet. She is rushed to a hospital after her mother finds her unconscious.

The school Jessica attends has won a chance for a documentary by a famous filmmaker named Amy for being the only public school to place as one of the top ten schools in the country. During filming, Amy and her crew catch students mourning Jessica. The crew starts interviewing kids about Jessica, and they all claim to have noticed subtle tension between her and popular student Avery Keller (Hunter King). According to Jessica's best friend Brian (Jimmy Bennett), the two used to be friends until Jessica prevented Avery from cheating off of her test in class, after which Avery began relentlessly bullying Jessica. Avery casually denies this, claiming they simply drifted apart naturally after transitioning from middle to high school.

In response to the rumors, Avery agrees to record footage of her daily life to demonstrate the pressures of being popular. Though Avery herself is desensitized to it, her footage demonstrates that she comes from a dysfunctional family, and that her peers tend to feel intimidated by her teasing and controlling nature (for example, she and her clique restrict other girls from using a specific restroom while they apply their makeup).

Brian eventually confesses to the camera crew that about six months ago, he and Jessica agreed to document Avery's harassment of her with a hidden camera disguised as a dragonfly brooch. He invites them into his home to show them the footage, which displays Avery regularly physically and verbally antagonizing Jessica. The footage also shows Jessica alluding to having suicidal thoughts and Brian trying to convince her to show the footage to school faculty, to which Jessica frantically refused out of embarrassment and fear of Avery. While visiting Jessica in the hospital, Brian confesses all of this to her mother - though upset, she reassures Brian that he should not blame himself for what happened to Jessica.

The students grow further convinced that the rumors of Avery's bullying are true, causing the members of Avery's clique to turn on her and present a statement to the principal. This prompts a conference between Avery, her parents, and the principal, during which Avery's parents staunchly defend her before she storms out in frustration. She later posts an insensitive video ranting about Jessica's suicide attempt and vehemently insisting on her own innocence. Amy approaches Avery, advising her to remove the video and telling her the crew has footage of her bullying Jessica. She agrees to meet them at her house to watch the footage.

At the hospital that night, Jessica's heart stops beating. Her parents and the cameras are kicked out of the ICU as the doctors attempt to revive her. Jessica regains her pulse, but the doctors say that she will eventually succumb to total organ failure if she doesn't wake from the coma soon. At Avery's house, Avery watches the footage and begins to cry hysterically, admitting that she regrets her actions while Amy consoles her. Avery posts another video, this time tearfully apologizing and stating that no person deserves to be treated the way she treated Jessica. She ends the video with, "My name is Avery Keller, and I'm a bully."

The movie ends with a cut to Jessica as she finally opens her eyes.

Cast

 * Hunter King as Avery Keller
 * Lexi Ainsworth as Jessica Burns
 * Jimmy Bennett as Brian Slater
 * Amy S. Weber as Filmmaker/Amy Gallagher
 * Stephanie Cotton as Margarete Burns
 * Mark Boyd as Gerald Burns
 * Christie Engle-McGuckin as Kassie Keller
 * Jon Martin as David Keller
 * Michael Maurice as Principle Richard Harris
 * Paul Lang as Dr. Patrick Webber, M.D.

Reception
Justin Chang of Variety gave A Girl Like Her a mixed review, lauding the film as a "well-acted, well-meaning cautionary tale", but also criticizing it as "less and less convincing the more blatantly it strives for authenticity". Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter lauded the film's acting, noting that the "two young female leads, exceptionally well cast, deliver strong performances", but felt "the drama lapses into speechifying".

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an overall "fresh" rating of 65% based on 23 reviews.