I might critique the rest of the movie later. I was mostly interested in seeing what went down with my boy Craig and former top 4 favorite character Ellie. I knew this would be the only plot that had potential to be realistic (just a little?).

I knew Ellie was going to attempt suicide. I'm sure debate will arise if it actually was one (Joa dubbed it as finding someone with the bottle of pills in their hand but haven't taken any directly harmful actions) but I think the intent was there and if Craig and Marco hadn't conveniently been there (how did they know to be right there?), she would have killed herself. I was actually looking forward to this scene because I love angst. It didn't deliver. Between the music in the background dumbing everything down to her absolute anti-climatic actions...it was like the rest of the movie. Fluff.

Craig and Ellie talking on the couch was tender and by far their least awkward moment of the night. Stacey's acting was decent (here and with her father). As for Craig, I think it's because Jake shown through. I know he's always talking in interviews about how he wants teens to get hope and know that they are not alone. His comforting speech reminded me of that. Craig's character was almost redeemed. He really seemed like he grew up and had wise insight. But then he had to cheat. Again the fickle boy, the womanizer who doesn't inform girls that he has a girlfriend because he enjoys the attention they show as they flirt and think they have a chance. And we're back to ground zero because this show fails to use him as anything other than the heart breaker and the bad boy. I understood his actions in the past but at this point but...I see what you are doing there writers and it's ruining his character. Shippers won't see his heatthrob/heartbreaker element. I don't blame you for it if it's going under the radar and working for you. And it's alright because that means on some level the writing is working.

Speaking of shipping, the Craig and Ellie kiss was open ended. This is good. It gives hope to their fans and also to other ships because Craig and Ellie may very drift and never think of each other again, much like what they did before. The writers think in seasons. Don't get too comfortable shippers. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying. Been there, done that.

As maybe one of the last remaining Craig fans, I'm saddened by what his character has become. I really can't blame people for the insults they hurl at him because he's such a shell of himself now. No off hand comments about "one year sober" is going to explain past story lines forgotten (Oh and yeah...it's really that easy to stay sober. Craig, you are exceptional with your perfect life that's suddenly not so perfect anymore because you feel the urge to cheat.) But let's set that aside and roll with the movie. It's so sad. He was built to be almost redeemable and then they use him as the love triangle element again. He's used to bring on romantic drama and that is all. Season 3 started this and it works to an extent. But as someone who used to love what he was in season 2, it's really sad to watch. Maybe the writing is fooling people but not me. He's now at a point where he's in a love triangle with Evette and Ellie. Which is no doubt conveniently there to make viewers sympathetic and root for Crellie because they know Ellie. They don't know Evette so they don't care to sympathize with the situation. But the fact is that Craig cheated. Some might fall for it. I don't care to. Love triangle with Craig number...3?

My final ending take is that Ellie was an unstable mess and was looking for a distraction for her pain. She thought it would bring her relief to find love, then got caught up in the pain that lost love gave her because it was a distraction. When you have something so much larger weighing down on you, it's easy to try to find that. I don't expect everyone to understand but if you have been there, it makes sense. Sometimes hurting from something else (rejection) is easier than dealing with something much closer and consistent (family). I think there's a good possibility that if we ever see her again, she'll be over this and her crush. She and Craig do nothing for each other. Other than save each other from a climatic cliche moment of crisis. I think this show is missing an important message. You can only save yourself at the end of the day. People are great for support but at the end of the day it's just you. Support is necessary. Intervention is painful but beneficial. But Craig got himself sober on his own and should give himself some credit (and uh, maybe Joey?). Ellie's life was saved from a suicide attempt and she can be grateful but what she does beyond that point, well that was her. Be strong and independent. Giving yourself some credit is by far more empowering than running around thinking you have to be saved all the time (which is the basic core message behind Crellie IMO). I just feel like I should say this because the movie's events were extremely cliche. Better than I expected, but still very cliche.

I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone with this but I don't think I'm taking cheap blows by any means. It's just my view on what happened. I'll give Crellie props for being the most realistic thing in this movie of a mess of kids running around/towards LA with big unrealistic dreams, fancy careers, and fame that hits you that easily. But then again, this isn't saying much.

To me it seems like this movie was made for the new, young fans of Degrassi but it featured all the old characters... which audience are they trying to target?? I don't get it.