The only thing exciting about 2002 is that it's a palindrome.

How the hell has it taken me this long to review this? Not only does Greta Gerwig understand the messy reality of adolescence, but she translates it to the screen extremely well. The characters are three dimensional and relatable, something absolutely necessary for a slower movie like this. Saoirse Ronan is beyond words here, putting on a performance I'd say deserved Best Actress if I, Tonya didn't come out the same year. Even then, she's extremely memorable here, both the dramatic and more lighthearted moments definitely land in the best ways. She's probably the highlight, but I'm certainly not going to leave out Timothée Chalamet, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges, who are all spectacular too, and they're just the most notable main characters.
Like most coming of age movies, the plot is pretty simplistic. And like a lot of coming of age stories (I don't want to say most, but maybe it is most), it does still carry itself pretty well. The great acting and writing is to thank for that in creating a perfect tale of teenage imperfection.