• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Movie Review

    The Half of It turns Cyrano on its head in delightful high school remake

    Alex Bentley
    Apr 30, 2020 | 12:05 pm
    The Half of It turns Cyrano on its head in delightful high school remake
    play icon

    There are certain stories that are so classic that they can be changed into many different forms. Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac has inspired numerous films in the past 123 years. That includes at least 10 straight-up adaptations, as well as movies like Roxanne and Megamind, which used the framework of the story to tell their own unique tales.

     

    The latest to give its own twist to the Cyrano story is Netflix’s The Half of It. Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is a brainy and shy high school senior who makes money on the side by writing papers for her fellow students. When her classmate Paul (Daniel Diemer) asks for help in composing letters to his crush, Aster (Alexxis Lemire), Ellie is put in the unfortunate position of writing love notes to a girl for whom she also has feelings.

     

    Writer/director Alice Wu goes for the gusto in changing up the Cyrano story. She not only sets the story in modern times and gender-switches the protagonist, but she also has Ellie be gay and the only Chinese student at her small-town high school, adding multiple difficult layers for her to navigate.

     

    The pleasant surprise is that for a film set in high school, it deals in a relatively high degree of intelligence. Wu never downplays Ellie’s intellect, having her reference philosopher Albert Camus, author Kazuo Ishiguro, and classic movies in her writings. But she balances it out with a fair number of high school stereotypes, providing an easy entrance for viewers who may not be familiar with those figures.

     

    The film is primarily about the love triangle of Ellie, Paul, and Aster, but Wu smartly explores how, especially in hormonal teenagers, feelings can be extremely fluid. Aster is in a relationship with a narcissistic jock, who believes everyone loves him, including Ellie. Meanwhile, Ellie reluctantly helps Paul, but the more they work together, the more each starts to like the other in ways that are confusing for both of them. And Aster has to reconcile the bumbling demeanor of Paul in person with the eloquent letters and message she gets from “him.”

     

    Wu mixes in elements of Ellie’s Chinese heritage, giving her extended moments with her widowed father, watching movies and cooking in their cramped kitchen. She also shows but never overplays the casual racism that Ellie encounters, such as when certain students shout “Chugga-chugga-Chu-Chu!” at her.

     

    Lewis plays her role almost perfectly, making her buttoned-down and bookish but with a quiet confidence when the time calls for it. Diemer makes for a great foil, with his Cro-Magnon look and dumb but earnest delivery. The character of Aster could be just the ideal dream girl with no depth, but Wu gives her plenty of background and Lemire knows exactly how to play every moment she’s given.

     

     The Half of It has a lot going on, but it manages to keep all of it flowing in a coherent and fun manner. With a fantastic concept, it features more than a few surprises along the way, easily elevating it way above your typical high school movie.

     

    Leah Lewis in The Half of It.

    Leah Lewis in The Half of It
      
    Photo by KC Bailey
    Leah Lewis in The Half of It.
    movies
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Register now for tickets for 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Arlington

    Dallas Arts Tower downtown to get a re-do and new all-day cafe

    Oak Cliff Dallas address says bye Swank and hello Indian restaurant

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    Dallas suburb blooms as most livable city in this week's top 5 stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 19, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Flower Mound, Texas
    flowermound.gov/
    undefined

    Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week includes big accolades for the Dallas 'burbs. Plus, three exciting restaurant openings to know. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then visit our event planner to fill your weekend agenda.

    1. Blooming Dallas suburb ranks as America's 7th most livable small city. One Dallas-area city continues to attract the national spotlight: namely Flower Mound, whose latest accolade comes from SmartAsset, the financial technology company, which ranks it as the No. 7 most livable small city in the U.S. for 2025.

    2. 3 affluent Dallas neighbors dominate new list of wealthiest U.S. suburbs. Three well-to-do Dallas-area communities — University Park, Southlake, and Colleyville — are among the wealthiest suburbs in America in 2025, a new report has confirmed.

    3. Vila Brazil to bring affordable Brazilian steakhouse to Cedar Hill. A Brazilian steakhouse known for its low-for-steak prices is coming to Cedar Hill. Called Vila Brazil, it's part of a small local chain and will open in late 2025.

     Side of meat Vila Brazil is beefing up its DFW locations.  Photo courtesy of Vila Brazil  

    4. Oak Cliff Dallas address says bye Swank and hello Indian restaurant. A location in Oak Cliff Dallas that has seen some turnover in recent years is about to see some more. It starts with Swank, the ambitious restaurant from chef Luke Rogers, which is leaving its address at 1115 N. Beckley Ave. after a year. The space will soon become home to Elephant Indian Bar and Grill.

    5. Family-owned cafe to serve empanadas and Argentinian food in McKinney. Award-winning empanadas are coming to McKinney via a new spot called Stefania's Empanadas Argentine Café, opening in August on the border of McKinney and Frisco.

    hot-headlinesopeningsrankingssuburbsbest citieswealthy suburbsmost popular
    news/entertainment
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
    Loading...