My Girl 2003 May 2026
It’s not a masterpiece. But it is a thoughtful, tender epilogue to one of the saddest stories ever told about a kid. And sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.
For fans who grew up with Vada, My Girl 2 arrived as a comfort. It acknowledged that we can survive loss, that new friendships and new loves don’t erase old ones, and that the mystery of who we come from helps us understand who we are. my girl 2003
The elephant in the room is, of course, the absence of Thomas J. Sennett. The film wisely avoids a recast or a ghostly apparition. Instead, his memory is treated with gentle reverence. Vada still wears his mood ring. She still talks about him. But My Girl 2 understands that healing means moving forward, not standing still. It’s not a masterpiece
Directed by Howard Zieff and written by Janet Kovalcik, My Girl 2 arrives when Vada is now a teenager on the cusp of high school. She’s still neurotic, still precocious, and still living in her own head. Living with her father Harry (Jamie Lee Curtis) and stepmother Shelly, Vada has a school assignment to research someone from her past. She chooses her late mother—a woman she never knew. For fans who grew up with Vada, My
This sends Vada from her quiet Pennsylvania home to the vibrant, sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles to stay with her Uncle Phil (Richard Masur) and his bohemian girlfriend. In LA, she meets Nick Ziegler (Austin O’Brien), a cool, gearhead teen who becomes her reluctant guide to the city.
The new dynamic is a coming-of-age road trip through the analog world of 1970s Los Angeles (the film is set in 1974). Nick isn’t a replacement for Thomas J.; he’s a different creature entirely—cynical, charming, and completely unimpressed by Vada’s dramatics. Their banter crackles with early teen awkwardness and the thrill of a first crush.
Critics in 2003 were not kind. My Girl 2 was largely dismissed as unnecessary. And yes, it lacks the emotional gut-punch of the original. But that’s the point. It’s a quieter, warmer film—a gentle comedy-drama about the distance between childhood and adulthood.
3 Comments
I remember the when Czechoslovakia became communist as my family was beside themselves in the US. We had family there and my grandmother went to visit in 1972. She came home most sad. I am sure this era of communism changed the country. I look at people like Madeline Allbright who was Czech and Secretary of State during the Clinton Administration. An extremely intelligent woman. Many of my Uncles were musicians in the Orchestra. Some were engineers, artists, and some farmers.
Good for you, you put the majority of us Brits to shame. I am in need of a masseuse, I already see a chiropractor but a massage I believe would help me. I live in Brixham so not really that far
If you’re over 50, Terry, you could pop into Age UK in Cowick Street, Exeter where Eva practices 🙂