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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Good chance you’ll like ‘Lady Bird’

Dan Webster

It's not likely to last, because it seldom does, but for the moment the movie "Lady Bird" has a 100 percent "fresh" rating on the critics' site Rotten Tomatoes.

One. Hundred. Percent.

Critics are a contentious group. Some have been accused of rating a movie down just to avoid going along with the crowd, though that may be an unfair assessment. In any event, only 33 of the top 100 movies of all time have a 100 percent rating. Even "The Wizard of Oz" has just a 99 percent Tomato-meter rating. 

So, the high score a triumph for actor-turned-writer/director Greta Gerwig, whose film has hit the top mark with ratings from 150 some critics. Here are a few of the more sterling comments:

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: " 'Lady Bird' is a triumph of style, sensibility and spirit. The girl at its center may not be a heavyweight, but her movie is epic."

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "As warm as it is smart — and it is very smart — 'Lady Bird' marks actor/screenwriter Greta Gerwig's superb debut as a solo director and yet another astonishing performance by star Saoirse Ronan."

Tomris Laffly, Time Out: "A sweet, deeply personal portrayal of female adolescence that's more attuned to the bonds between best girlfriends than casual flings with boys, writer-director Greta Gerwig's beautiful 'Lady Bird' flutters with the attractively loose rhythms of youth."

The movie has an 89 percent rating among non-critics, too, so it's not just a critical darling. Regular movie fans like it, too.

You'll get your chance to see beginning today. The movie opens today at AMC River Park Square.

Below: Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan talk about the movie "Lady Bird."