Banana Split (2018) User Reviews

Light-hearted watch

[Ladiloque · 7/10 · 17 April 2020]

In a - hopefully temporary - phase of ethusiasm for teen rom-comedies (about teens! not for teens...) I stumbled into this movie and I have to say it was really good: lighthearted, fresh and funny.

Yeah, nothing really original: a lot of the genre tropes are there... but still mostly done with competence, attention to detail and heart. Which is rare for the genre.

It's not a masterpiece but I don't see how anyone could be disappointed.

A sizzling flirty comedy.

[Boristhemoggy · 7/10 · 7 April 2020]

This is not a chick flick. This is a seriously witty, flirty, sexy observation of teenage years. The chemistry between Marks and Liberato actually sizzles off screen and makes your toes tingle. I could 100% imagine these two as a couple. It's down to nothing other than fabulous acting. I put it on to watch Liberato who I've not seen for some time, and ended up a big fan of the film and the 2 leads. Beautifully done film

Worth checking out

[PaxtonMalloy · 7/10 · 1 April 2020]

It took a while to get a release for this movie and after watching it I was surprised because I did't expect that much. It is a fun movie. It asks a simple but interesting question. Can the girlfriend and the ex-girlfriend of the same guy be friends? Of course it about more than that. It is a coming of age story. It is about friendship, the value of honesty the fear of growing up and all that good stuff.

Is it predictable, yes it is. But this is not "Inception" so there is nothing wrong with having a plot where things play out like they usually do in order get the message across.

It has two falws. II never believe the relationship of Hannah Marks and Dylan Sprouse. They have no chemistry together so they either hated each other on set or loved each other which often makes for bad chemistry. Sprouse actually is actually the weak link of the four "friends".

For me those two are the only flaws and they don't matter that much because it is mostly about Hannah Marks and Liana Liberato. And their chemistry is great. I believe their friendship and they make this movie fun to watch.

Brings smiles on my face

[Gordon-11 · 20 April 2020]

This story is a lot of fun. It shows four friends going through highs and lows. The two girls are really likable, and their friendship is very convincing. I find this film infectiously fun, and brings smiles on my face.

Unique and funny

[shashrvacai · 7/10 · 22 April 2021]

Interesting, unique, refreshing and funny. Would recommend.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 6/10 · 2 April 2020]

Banana split was a nice movie. It's mainly theme centres around the unexpected friendship of the two main characters, a theme that was actually well executed. The performances were good too, with a nice pace to the plot.

Call me maybe

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 10 May 2020]

Nick (Dylan Sprouse) and April (Hannah Marks) who are friends with nothing in common. They become lovers with nothing in common and then they break up. Why? Because they have nothing in common. Nick moves on to Clara (Liana Liberato). At a party Clara confronts April and they become best friends in an awkward relationship. Mutual friend Ben (Luke Spencer Roberts) is our voice of reason and subject of abuse. April's 13-year-old sister Agnes (Addison Riecke) is our voice of sarcasm and potty mouth abuse.

The film has a certain freshness and originality to it. Hannah Marks proved capable of the lead.

Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity.

Awful.

[dannypa-57331 · 1/10 · 19 March 2021]

Extremely dislikable characters. Weak story line. Just a constant air of ridiculousness and desperation. A common story told really badly.

Three Months of April

[Minnesota_Reid · 8/10 · 21 April 2019]

This is a good movie about two teenage girls developing what could become one of the important friendships of their lives. But there is a major wrinkle which could blow up this budding relationship. Clara is dating Nick, April's ex and April still has strong feelings for him. The best and most convincing stretch of the movie is the segment in which April's feelings of jealous rage slowly and unwillingly morph into the realization that Clara is really cool and nice and has more in common with April than anyone else she has ever met. So the girls become best friends and try to keep this secret from Nick. This seems unlikely to work at all in the age of social media, but at the director's Q&A, he said that the film, written by Hannah Marks, who plays April, was in fact semi-autobiographical.

Had a good aspect, but added on too much of the same old teen drama stuff

[blott2319-1 · 6/10 · 30 October 2020]

I have to start by saying that Banana Split feels unoriginal and like something I've seen many times before. I'm not all that interested in teen dramas in the first place, so they have to do something truly special to stand out for me. This one is a mildly entertaining retread of relationship dramas that get pumped out by movie studios every year, probably in an effort to appeal to the teenage demographic. There was one aspect of the film that I truly enjoyed, though, and that was the friendship between the two girls. There's something so charming and playful about their relationship, and it is so seldom that we get to see movies which simply focus on friends being friends. I was so enamored with this part of the film that it was a big letdown when the boy returned to the story and it all devolved into the same old love triangle nonsense that is played out in countless teen movies. The actresses did a good job in Banana Split, and I liked the way these two diverse personalities found a common ground that united them. I wouldn't be annoyed if I were to re-watch Banana Split, and I'm sure some people might enjoy it a lot, but it's not a movie that I will seek out ever again.

Cringe Fest, no wonder no theater release in 2 years.

[JoshHP · 2/10 · 20 June 2020]

Straight to VOD in 2020, after being at the LA Film Festival in 2018 should tell you enough about this sorry excuse for a "tween movie".

I love teen movies as much as the next guy, but gotta hate silly plots that portray tweens with dumb existential crisis while they live rent free in their parents house. Just wait until you get a Gas/Electric/Car/house payments and then do a movie about that, it'll be way more believable that this nonsense.

Saying this tittle and Booksmart in the same sentence makes Olivia Wilde vomit FYI.

'Banana Split' and 'Booksmart' - 2 great teen dramadies

[jgm-55786 · 8/10 · 5 April 2020]

A nice charmer around a surprising bonding experience that develops between two high school girls in a love triangle with a common boyfriend - Nick - where ultimately their love and kinship for each other wins out.

They both bring hilarity to most of their life events and the challenges of their new relationship - offering dining etiquette advice to movie house patrons, maintaining their clandestine but 'rule based' friendship, and mixing in and out of other usual high school social scenes.

Other characters that include April's meddling, precocious little sister with an advanced vocabulary, her grounded mother, her kooky less inhibited friends and the sympathetic but wary guy pal all add to the humor set to some nice sun-drenched CA backdrops.

The moves and paths of high school to college are pretty familiar, lost jobs, driving tests finally passed, acceptance to distance separated colleges but lovable characters, their relationships and witty dialogue always makes each journey especially unique and entertaining.

The shared relationship eventually comes to a strained reckoning but the reconciliation is overcoming and the resulting love/friendship heart warming resolution even better.

Just another in a series of superbly written, witty and entertaining teen dramedies that should give 'Booksmart' a run for its money this year.

"When Girls Attack"

[Kamurai25 · 6/10 · 27 July 2020]

Good watch, might watch again, and can recommend if you're considering it.

The "feel" of the movie reminds me a lot of "Booksmart", but almost more "versus" than "cooperative", if that makes sense to you.

I'm a big fan of Hannah Marks, and less so of Liana Liberato, and while the focus is typically on April, it really felt like they should have been cast in each others's roles, and it's not like Liberato can't carry a lead role. The roles just didn't feel intuitive, and the movie does one of those things where I feel like it's trying to tell me who's hotter, and (for me) Hannah Marks makes more sense as the "hot new thing", and she's the stronger personality. But that's probably why she has the lead here.

It was also frustrating to watch the characters do "stupid high schoolers with too many options" mistakes over and over, letting such a jerk control any level of validation in their lives, and I suppose that's the point that I'm missing is how to relate to it as a young woman that can't control what her wants are, even if they are bad for her.

I have similar stupid things I did when I was younger as a guy, and I think that's what frustrated me. The point in saying any of that is that that "frustration" is what takes this movie from potentially great to a more average viewing experience.

While it's a fine movie, with good characters, acting, and writing, it doesn't feel uplifting or hopeful, the "intensity in battle" is social in nature and not what I'm looking for in a movie, but that doesn't mean that others won't like this much more than me.

I tried was so poorly directed

[pretti_shell · 2/10 · 26 March 2021]

This movie could have been better ..it was like watching a children's horror movie with adult horror ideas but with horrible directing.

Cute little film. Brings a smile on your face

[jkt2006 · 7/10 · 5 July 2020]

I totally enjoyed the 90 minutes I was into this movie. Was totally better than expected. The script is tight it just keeps moving the story and doesn't let you think or get bored for a minute. Hannah Marks makes a good mark! Liana is good as usual.i enjoyed it!

Delightful friendship motif

[punisherversion1 · 7/10 · 31 July 2020]

Banana Split Directed by Benjamin Kasulke. Written by Hannah Marks and Joey Power

I figured a change of pace was needed after the wild and seemingly noxious events of the day. Banana Split is a comedy about a girl who becomes best friends with the girl dating her ex boyfriend. They don't just become rather hey how are ya nice to see you friends. They become best friends who would die for each other. This becomes a problem because they're both in love with the same guy. Dylan Sprouse looking more like a cover of a romance novel than when I remember him running around causing all kinds of shenanigans in the hotel.

Normally this is not the kind of movie I seek out. Hell I don't think I'm even the target demographic for this type of story. That doesn't always mean you won't get something out of stories about people different than yourself. This tale of female friendship definitely managed to wiggle its way into my consciousness.

This tale of friendship is genuine. We all understand jealousy. We all understand the hurt of seeing your ex, who you might still harbor feelings for, in the arms of another. We all understand not being able to help who you click with. It happens. It used to happen more to me. I'm good now. I'm also getting off topic.

This movie moves like a bullet and you are attached to these relationships in a matter of minutes. It makes great use of a montage to show the progression of a relationship. You completely experience the relationship of Hannah Marks and Dylan Sprouse from beginning to a painful end. If you had a relationship in high school, then this will feel achingly familiar.

You will also find yourself wrapped up in the good times of Hannah Marks and Liana Liberato(From the recent Beach House). They know they shouldn't be friends and they are pushing back against it at first but the attraction can not be denied in the long run. It is delightful and fun.

This movie will hit you from the beginning. This flick will play with your emotions even when you don't want it to and you might want to appear stoic and stone cold. It's better if you're not. It's better to laugh along with the antics. This is a very funny film. I loved all the performances in it. Nobody is the bad guy. This movie uses the genuine conflict that comes from competing emotions and hormones. I enjoyed the humanity of that. I give this movie a B.

Enjoyable.

[LukeCustomer2 · 7/10 · 27 July 2020]

I enjoyed this one. This is the story of April and Nick. They show us how they became boyfriend and girlfriend early in school and by the time of the summer before college they have broken up. Mostly because of the college choices. They have a good relationship where you can see they really care about each other. At one of the first parties after graduation, April meets Clara. Clara is Nick's new girlfriend. Though April wants to hate Clara she finds she can't and ends up forming a strong platonic girl relationship with her. Then things get complicated.

I really enjoyed the relationships here. All of the people here were really decent people who just were trying their best and not trying to hurt anyone. The plot was driven by the situation not particular characters.

The actress who played Clara was a dead ringer for Debbie Ryan.

What did I just watch?

[MovieCriticOnline · 1/10 · 4 May 2020]

It starts out with a montage because I guess writing an intro was too much for them. And I'm sick of writers that can't write normal believable dialogue. By the time a normal scene started they went into another music montage. It reminded me of another "teen" movie, "Eight Grade" which was one music montage after another and a total mess. Normally you have one music montage in a film. This had 20.

The acting was so over the top and essentially broke the fourth wall. The red head kid (Luke Spencer Roberts) stole the show.

The story, if you can call it that, made no sense. Two girls, one who is dating the guy who used to date the other girl become "best friends." Why?

This is what happens when your script only has enough interesting material for about 15-20 min and you fill the rest of the film with music. Maybe they should have explored the lesbian potential, because the way it is now, it stinks. And there was so much underlying lesbian tension anyway they should have gone there because it felt like it was just a long tease. The Nick story was just so irrelevant and uninteresting. And the Ben story even worse.

Couple that the fact that 30-year-old are playing 17-18-year-olds.

You can skip this.

Delightful

[rmhassert · 10/10 · 31 July 2020]

This was a good movie. I found it very cute and funny, and honestly also very realistic. Conspiracy theory, but I think other people didn't rate it higher only bc it's a story about and starring females, and ultimately society doesn't want women to be successful. At least the characters in the movie were supportive of Elena he other.

young love

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 28 June 2020]

High school sweethearts April (Hannah Marks) and Nick (Dylan Sprouse) start fighting and split up. It's the summer before she moves on to college. She's horrified when Nick starts dating someone else. She is further shocked to like his new girlfriend Clara (Liana Liberato). The two girls begin a friendship without telling Nick.

This is a love story. It's a love story between the two girls. That's probably why Nick seems more of a side character. Quite frankly, Ben is even more expendable. He's fine as a comedic sidekick to advance the plot but he's not worthwhile to do a love triangle. I would like for Clara to expand her character. She does the numbers move which is a fun bit from years of rom-com. She could do something with her family. I like April's family. This is written by lead actress Hannah Marks and Joey Power. It seems like they wanted to concentrate on the female relationship. It would be great if they committed more fully in that endeavor. I want something deeper and these young actresses could have delivered it.

Terrible

[geekerr · 1/10 · 7 July 2020]

Unbelievable this money ever got funding .Really bad childish juvenile no heart or soul or purpose Avoid

Better than expected!

[caroline_chupaa · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

I really loved the films focus on friendship and how you can ruin it so fast, yet fix it. Relationships are not unfixable. The chemistry between the friendship of the two girls was really quite interesting to watch. There are some people you met in life, who actually truly stays and are meant to last a lifetime no matter how you met. Boys don't always come inbetween, only if you let them.

Decent fun movie for all ages. Would love to see a part two, but I thought that would happend.

They should make a lot more movies like this. We're there's more focus on truly great friendships. And not just superficial "party-friendships."

8/10!

Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half

[erikanowak · 7/10 · 26 June 2020]

Pretty predictable, but certainly enjoyable. Great talent in this movie whose careers have not yet gotten the recognition they deserve. The only truly unbearable part of this movie in my opinion was the atrociously behaved little sister. I believe it was supposed to be "funny" but was painful to watch, especially while the mother sat by and showed zero sign of parenting. But other than that, I recommend giving this a watch!

A bunch of obscenity tryhards

[Ishmael_22 · 1/10 · 13 April 2020]

I watched this film because I'm a fan of the actor Dylan Sprouse and his work on one of the best kids sitcoms in "The Suite Life On Deck" but I was greatly disappointed to find out while watching this garbage film that he is in it only briefly which makes no sense given that the 2 girls are unknowns. This film tried to make the 2 girls funny via using over the top profanity but it fall flat on it's face.

Refreshing light watch

[GirlRebuilt · 7/10 · 14 August 2020]

Certainly not the best film of the year, not life-changing or profound, but still worth the watch. Extremely refreshing to see a teen chick flick where young women choose their friendship with each other over their romantic/sexual relationships with a boy. It's unfortunate that much of the content is too mature to show my preteen daughter. I think it could provide some good perspective for young girls approaching the years when they'll be dating. Regardless, if you're in the mood for a light film with a feel good ending, this is definitely one to zone out to.