YMMV / Odd Girl Out

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Stacy can be seen as either someone who makes bad choices and goes along with the bullying, or as a very high-functioning sociopath who turned on her best friend and subtly allowed Nikki and the others to do most of the dirty work for her. Vanessa seems to believe the former at first, but comes around to the latter by the end.
  • Given how Nikki is clearly a functioning sociopath, Stacy's participation in the bullying could be brought on by fear of what Nikki would do to her if she didn't take part.
  • How much of a "Nice Guy" was Tony? While he did have mutual feelings for Vanessa, he also was quick to believe Stacey's lies about her betraying his confidence and sat back and said/did nothing throughout all of the hate campaign that her ex-friends and others waged against her (in spite of him being at the root of their rift). He didn't even figure back into the plot until he was seen applauding Vanessa when she told Stacey off at the end. Not to mention that his introduction into the film was engaging in a fight with Ezra.
• Anvilicious: As a film Based on an Advice Book about bullying, you bet the Aesop is delivered very extremely. Showing that Tropes Are Tools, many viewers later came out to state that the film helped them cope in some way.
• Awesome Moments:
  • Vanessa walking into school after recovering from her suicide attempt. What sells it is that she sees Tiffany and calls out hello to her in a cheerful tone - and you see Tiffany looking intimidated.
  • Vanessa caps it off by walking straight up to Nikki, saying hello and staring her straight in the eyes. Nikki eventually has to look away and backs off.
  • And of course "you have nothing that I want."
  • Before that, Emily giving Stacey a verbal smackdown in class when the latter tries to feign innocence over the suicide attempt.
  "Stacey drove Vanessa to it!"
• Designated Villain: Denise Larson, Stacey's mother. Granted, she was somewhat of a snob and was a part of the overwhelming Adults Are Useless dynamic of the film, but keep in mind, she wasn't an active force in defusing the situation because she believed the lies her daughter gave her about Vanessa. At different points, both of her parents mention what a good girl Vanessa is and she even accurately asked if the heart of the argument between the two of them was the boy, Tony, that she liked (which it was, as well as the girls' jealousy of Vanessa and Nikki's manipulation), only for Stacey to lie to her again and continue to demonize her.
• Ho Yay: Vanessa and Emily have this. It certainly helps that their two actresses have plenty of chemistry together.
• Love to Hate: Elizabeth Rice is disturbingly effective as Nikki. Especially when she shoots a Death Glare at Vanessa's mother one day. Even now when she's moved onto different roles, she'll still be complimented on her performance here.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Stacey crosses it by pretending to reconcile with Vanessa, then inviting her to a nonexistent birthday party, which sends Vanessa into a complete breakdown and drives her to attempt suicide. She had nothing to gain from doing this besides wanting to torment Vanessa for its own sake. When Vanessa ends up in the hospital, Stacey not only doesn't bother to visit her, but she continues to manipulate her and betray her trust even afterwards.
  • Nikki and Tiffany cross it when they laugh at Vanessa's suicide attempt, which even Stacey seems briefly taken aback by.
• Narm:
  • After discovering her friends have stood her up for a party, Vanessa has a Despair Event Horizon. The scene would be effective if not for a random shot of her mother pouring honey from a teddy bear jar into a cup.
  • Vanessa's Traumatic Haircut is lessened by the obvious wig Alexa Vega is wearing for the rest of the film.
  • Some of the insults lobbied at Vanessa are so over-the-top and lame that you can't help but laugh or at least snicker and roll your eyes. Examples include some the IM messages sent to her as seen through Freeze-Frame Bonus ("How much is that doggie in the window? Woof-woof!", "That byoitch is a byoitch!", "She looks like she got hit with an ugly forest", etc.) and, of course, Nikki and Tiffany's Piss-Take Rap at the cafe.
  • Many viewers have liked to make fun of the dark lighting in the school scenes. Instead of a stylistic choice, it gives the impression the school isn't paying its electricity bill.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Elizabeth Rice is genuinely unsettling in some scenes, particularly when she intimidates Vanessa during soccer. It's what marks her Face–Heel Turn, and can hit home for those who suffered in similar ways.
  • There's also the creepy way Vanessa's attempted Important Haircut is filmed and lit. And the misdirection - she's remembering comments about her weight and feeling her belly, with a pair of scissors on the sink. Many viewers mistakenly believed she was about to start cutting herself.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Leah Pipes would become far more famous in the 2010s for starring in The Originals.
  • Elizabeth Rice, who played Nikki, would become a little better known for a recurring role in Mad Men.
• She Really Can Act: Alexa PenaVega's heartbreaking performance as Vanessa came as quite a surprise to those who had only known her for Spy Kids and lighthearted comedies like Sleepover.
• So Bad, It's Good: Some of the acting and lines are rather flat and make it a rather Unintentional Period Piece with some of the technology used.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults cuts especially deep, because the girls know Vanessa is listening and they deliberately say the nastiest things possible just to hurt her. They make fun of her hair, call her fat, and claim she shoplifts because she's poor. All while insinuating that Stacey was only friends with her out of charity.
  • Vanessa going into school the morning after cutting her hair and seeing all the girls looking at her and laughing. It's not even stated if they were indeed laughing at her, but the bullying has convinced her everyone is out for her, and she runs away from the school.
  • The fake party. Vanessa discovering it was all a cruel joke to hurt her even further. Barbara can only look on and realize how her daughter is being tormented. Then she has to bring her daughter to the hospital for an overdose.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Considering just how awful Nikki was to Vanessa - most viewers finding her worse than Stacey, who at least has the decency to look shocked at the suicide attempt - the movie misses out on a lot by not having Nikki get a more obvious comeuppance. While she doesn't become a complete Karma Houdini - she's threatened with expulsion along with Tiffany and Ezra - the movie built her up to be so irredeemably evil that you expect her to get a more satisfying punishment.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Stacey is meant to be seen as the worst of the lot because she switches between having sympathy for Vanessa and taking part in the bullying. Except she's shown to genuinely get shocked by Vanessa's suicide attempt and she comes across as a victim of Nikki's manipulation. While it doesn't excuse her role in the bullying, Nikki was arguably more deserving of a verbal smackdown at the end than Stacey.
• The Woobie: Good lord, Vanessa. Her friends turn on her because a boy liked her better than Stacey, and she's bullied so relentlessly she chops her hair off and eventually overdoses on pills, and mercifully survives it.