Enemies When Vada's Dad Tells Her About Her Best Friend's Death. My girl 2 (1994)- Vada remembers thomas J. Ill Kid Thomas J is Vada Sultenfuss's best friend and neighbor and is Vada's age. 's funeral, she runs away to Mr. Bixler's house and learns that he is about to get married. Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed. But Shelly offers Vada something far more important than girl talk—something her father, at first, cannot: sympathy when Vada’s best friend in the world dies. Thomas J.’s death, from an allergic reaction to several bee stings, is foreshadowed throughout the film both specifically (this isn’t the first time … The overeager makeup artist who puts the moves on, and later becomes engaged to, Vada’s dad is fashionable, personable, independent, and fun. See, kids, stepmoms aren’t so bad! Copy link. Up next in 8. And I could finally see that films like My Girl aren’t fondly beloved for their veracity, but for their ability to let young people try on life’s most devastating emotions before they have to live with them. I read a lot, was a straight-A student, and wrote kind-of shitty (okay, very shitty) poetry, all rather unobtrusively. IT WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED BORN JAUNDICED. Thomas J. Sennett: You can't marry a teacher, it's against the law. Another potentially disruptive force in Vada’s life comes in the form of her father’s new love interest, Shelly. Although today I read the scene similarly, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone their tears. But what always struck me as a calculated tearjerker for girls now feels, to my surprise, more complex. He and Vada search for her mood ring which she lost, but they notice the bees starting to swarm. Thomas ventures into … Macaulay Culkin, in another endearing performance, is Thomas J., the boy next door who idolizes Vada. Watching My Girl as an adolescent, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Revisiting the film today, I can’t help but see Jamie Lee Curtis’ character as a kind of balm to a child like me who might be worried over a divorced or widowed parent finding a new partner. It's also foreshadowed again when Vada tells Shelly that Thomas J. is allergic to everything and when Thomas J. and Vada first encounter the beehive, during which Thomas J. Like every other viewer, I cried my eyes out when her best and only friend Thomas J. died after he attempted to find her beloved mood ring. Unnamed mother the movie seems to say. No sooner does a body come in than Vada suddenly begins exhibiting symptoms of its cause of death, biking off for a check-up from her rather accommodating family physician, who seems to have nothing better to do than humor her. A couple of days later, Vada and Thomas J. are sitting under a tree by a river, where they share an innocent first kiss. Vada's friends tease her and Thomas J. for being "in love". My Girl. She then points out her grandmother sitting in the other room as the rocking corpse of a punchline, the grandmother’s illness again used mainly for humor. Bees Genre: Drama, Family, Romance. But My Girl — the 1991 coming-of-age story about Vada Sultenfuss (that name is the first tragic thing about this movie) and her too-young-to-be-romantic best friend, Thomas (Macaulay Culkin) — isn’t sad because of a funeral. Macaulay has revealed that the bees that attacked his character Thomas J in My Girl were actually real bees, because it was 1991 and apparently absolute horror was preferable to dodgy CGI. Vada willingly shows a group of glowing boys a dead body. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you,” he says, at the film’s start. Do-Gooder The strength of "My Girl" isn't its story, but its little nuances of innocent bliss. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Rated: K+ - English - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Chapters: 1 - Words: 810 - Reviews: 2 - Favs: 14 - Follows: 4 - Published: 7/22/2011 - Vada S. - Complete. Hobby One of the larger plot points in My Girl is (spoiler alert for a movie that's 25 are worried about the movie due to the Culkin character's death. At the same time, I viewed it as a personal badge of honor that such maudlin fare didn’t have its intended effect on me. Friends/Allies There was always something that irked me about My Girl. As the ride their bikes, Vada and Thomas J. sing `The Name Game'. … And therein lies My Girl’s effectiveness. Made Me Want to Live in an RV. She uses 50-cent words like “hemorrhaging” instead of “bleeding” when she gets her period, and when referring to her best friend, Thomas J. When writing poems `from the soul', Vada writes an ode to ice cream. He was portrayed by Macaulay Culkin, who also portrays Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Richard Tyler in The Pagemaster . Bike riding 's funeral, she has to run away, but on … 's death is foreshadowed when a small coffin is brought into the funeral home and Vada asks if it's for a child. In the end, Thomas J's mother gives Vada the mood ring that he was found holding, which is now light blue instead of black. Their summer adventures from first kiss to last farewell which introduce Vada to the world of adolescence. Student Vada’s various cries for attention are, despite being somewhat indirect, at least healthier than silence. The other kids think she's a freak, and it certainly doesn't help that her best friend, Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin), is a boy. Powers/Skills Like every other viewer, I cried my eyes out when her best and only friend Thomas J. died after he attempted to find her beloved mood ring. My Girl’s funeral scene is misery porn, there to elicit a specific response. Tap to unmute. (Macaulay Culkin), she says that she only likes to surround herself with people who she finds “intellectually stimulating.” These most common of things—classic novels, periods, best friends—all become part of Vada’s curated, darling uniqueness. Thomas J returns to the woods to retrieve Vada's mood ring, but is stung by the bees causing an allergic reaction which kills him. Vada reads a poem about Thomas J. It’s not until Thomas J. dies that Vada admits out loud that she’s afraid she killed her. But by then, I knew more about death and illness. Her father and Shelley start dating and get engaged, she cannot bring herself to tell her father that she has experienced her first menstrual cycle, Thomas J. dies from an allergic reaction to bee stings while looking for Vada's mood ring in the woods, and she finds out that Mr. Bixler is engaged to someone else. By the end of the summer of 1972, she will have suffered the bitter pangs of death. Yet with an entire town’s worth of doting adults, Vada gets more than enough attention elsewhere: not only from the aforementioned English teacher, her doctor, and his nurse, but also from a writing workshop full of vibe-feeling hippies, as well as myriad other sympathetic listeners. It’s an introduction to adolescent viewers of some of life’s most painful events, even if those events aren’t always depicted in the most realistic ways. Share. Family Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. A more realistic depiction of illness, death, and change might have been too much for its young audience—though only the most innocuous of films would settle for as rosy an ending as My Girl does, with Vada trading in her overalls for a dress, riding her bike with a new best friend, and saying (in voice-over, no less) that everything is fine. Directed by Howard Zieff.Written by Laurice Elehwany. He often accompanies Vada when she visits the doctor and he assures her that she isn't sick. Rewatching My Girl today, I now realize what grated me so much about Vada’s behavior: It was what I wanted to do but couldn’t, too afraid to make myself be heard among my two sisters, as well as any number of my parents’ louder concerns. My Girl is a 1991 coming-of-age comedy starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and introducing Anna Chlumsky, an irresistible story of first love and loss.. A young girl, on the threshold of her teen years, finds her life turning upside down, when she is accompanied by an unlikely friend. When she attends Thomas J. The smile on Thomas' face after she answers "I guess" is one of the movie's sweetest moments. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J. later returns to find Vada's mood ring, but is attacked by a swarm of bees and dies from an allergic reaction. Plot– Harry Sultenfuss is a widower since 1961, the year in which the little Vera was born and when his wife died giving birth. Dialogue [] Vada: I was born jaundiced.Once, I sat on a toilet seat at a truck stop and caught haemorrhoids. At the film’s start, Vada lures a group of neighborhood boys into her morgue-cum-house by promising to show them a dead body, only to open an empty coffin. Thomas J. Sennett: Yes it is, cause then he'll give you all A's and it won't be fair. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. Indeed, it’s amazing to consider today all that the movie packs in: puberty, a future stepmom entering the picture, dementia, and death, death, death—all delivered through quirky details that ease viewers in before dealing heavier (and ultimately melodramatic) emotional blows. Shelly, with her tall boots, stylish bangs, and makeup advice, is like winning the stepmom lottery. Stars: Anna Chlumsky, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Masur. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. The perfect film for parents to share with their children, MY GIRL … Als Fortsetzung erschien 1994 die Komödie My Girl 2 – Meine große Liebe . My Girl by Patricia Hermes. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation, Dolby sound, theatrical trailer, and optional French and Spanish soundtracks. While as a kid I vaguely recognized Vada’s frequent doctors’ visits as an immediate reaction to the death she witnesses coming through her door every day, I see now that her conduct is more deeply connected with her mother, who died giving birth to Vada and who surfaces solely through wistful remembrances and blurry photographs. Thomas James Sennett (May 7, 1961 - August 14, 1972) is the deuteragonist of the 1991 film My Girl. The prank eases young viewers into the idea of death, if not its actuality. Imagine Entertainment held an office-wide contest … Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chumsky) is a precocious eleven year old living in a small Pennsylvania town during the early seventies. When she attends Thomas J. Alias Thomas James Sennett (May 7, 1961 - August 14, 1972) is the deuteragonist of the 1991 film My Girl. Harry tells Vada about his death, who was too upset to leave her room. Thomas James Sennett Hanging out with Vada Jamie Lee Curtis. He was portrayed by Macaulay Culkin, who also portrays Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Richard Tyler in The Pagemaster. Director (s): Howard Zieff. the bees start to surround him and sting him and he dies from an allergic reaction and loses his glasses. Vada’s grandmother, for example, when not staring blankly or sleeping, sings show tunes at inopportune times, her dementia used mostly, if not as comic relief, then to highlight the eccentricity of the Sultenfuss household. 's death on the last day of her writing class. Vada suffers from an intense hypochondria and an even more intense need for attention. Harry is left to deliver the news to Vada, who is so upset that she will not even leave her bedroom. My Girl 2 is a 1994 American comedy-drama film starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anna Chlumsky and Austin O'Brien.A sequel to My Girl (1991), its plot follows a now-teenaged Vada Sultenfuss, who travels from her home in suburban Pennsylvania to Los Angeles to find more information about her deceased mother.. A book based on the script was written by Patricia Hermes in 1994. On August 14, 1972, he and Vada share an innocent kiss under the tree by a river, and he then went into the woods alone to retrieve Vada's mood ring and stepped on a beehive. Culkin is Thomas J., the boy next door who idolizes Vada. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Vada’s even-keeled dad ignores her antics for the most part, too busy with embalming corpses, watching All In The Family, and mooning over his funeral home’s new makeup artist to worry whether she’s getting the attention she needs. One Shot. 5. But Vada’s idiosyncratic antics—feigning illness, reading books that most adults skip, forcing herself into an adult community workshop—was the kind of attention-seeking I didn’t feel comfortable doing myself. It’s not even sad because Vada’s mother died. (I realize these aren’t the same thing.) I wouldn’t find a kindred spirit in gritty, realistic angst until Lauren Ambrose smoked, screamed, and photographed her way through Six Feet Under as Claire Fisher. awe. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse. In this and other ways, My Girl makes death, illness, and other painful life transitions seem more palatable (or at least bearable) to its main audience: children. rate comment subscribe:] copyright of Columbia Pictures CorporationImagine Entertainment Their summer adventures – from first kiss to last farewell – introduce Vada to the world of adolescence. Vada Sultenfuss Watch later. Even while watching the movie as a kid myself, I didn’t understand these other characters’ seeming adoration of a girl who, to me, needlessly demanded so much of their time. Macaulay Culkin. Thomas J. and Vada run from the bees and jump in a river to evade them. Please read and review! None of this, however, kept me from watching My Girl dozens of times over the course of my childhood. Thomas J. She’s a tomboy (played by an emotive Anna Chlumsky in her first leading role) who lives in a funeral home with her widowed father, Harry (a schlubby Dan Aykroyd), and her demented grandmother. She wants to be a writer and has a crush on her attractive English teacher, Mr. Bixler (Griffin Dunne). Thomas J., Shelley, and Vada observe the world from Vada’s front porch. Vada is one of those irritatingly wise-beyond-their-years characters so common to the coming-of-age movie, bragging to her teacher (and schoolgirl crush) Mr. Bixler that she’s read all the books on his summer list, despite it only being the beginning of the season, and is now reading War And Peace for fun. A short story of Vada reflecting on the death of Thomas J when she is much older. Even the knowledge that Vada’s mother died giving birth to her operates as more an amorphous source of the protagonist’s idiosyncratic attention-seeking and wistful depth. Shopping. It formed them into a particularly feminine clique, as though they were better girls than I for expressing their emotions so openly. For Vada, an 11-year-old hypochondriac, her life is full. It bothered me as an adolescent to hear my friends brag about how much they cried watching the movie, and this scene in particular. In My Girl, the disorder, while still triggering the protagonist’s melancholy, remains a vague malady. Directed by Howard Zieff. My Girl The relationship between Harry and Shelly is sweet, too. Thomas J. Nearly the same age as the film’s protagonist when the movie premiered, I had a few things in common with Vada—namely that I was an overachieving kid with a sometimes sad adolescence. thats soo sad! My Girl – Meine erste Liebe. Anna Chlumsky. To support Vada Read this in the perspective that Vada is the one writing the story to publish. One of the larger plot points in My Girl is (spoiler alert for a movie that's 25 are worried about the movie due to the Culkin character's death. However, unlike the offscreen death and absence of Vada’s mother, my parents’ divorce wasn’t something that I openly mourned but rather quietly endured. He's allergic to everything and is an unpopular boy. Directed by Howard Zieff (Private Benjamin). Vada Sultenfuss: Is Not! https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Thomas_J._Sennett?oldid=2275238. Our protagonist is an unusual girl who lives in an unusual house, the movie insists. In MY GIRL, Chlumsky makes an extraordinary acting debut as Va... da Sultenfuss, a precocious 11-year-old tomboy obsessed with death. Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Origin Occupation Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. --Tom Keogh. He later visits Vada's house and Vada opens the door but was unaware that she had her first period and she pushes him down and tells him not to come back for 5-7 days. “Sometimes when we get them, they’re not completely dead,” she explains. And she lives in a groovy camper that she lets Vada and Thomas J. explore. Even as a 10-year-old, I found the 1991 film’s 11-year-old protagonist, Vada Sultenfuss, a bit too much—too precocious, too dramatic, too confident. As I’d come to learn firsthand as a young adult with my dad, the reality of dementia—people wandering off, getting angry or physically violent with caretakers, losing control over their bodies—is much more disruptive and painful. Feeling threatened—“Dad likes her better than me,” Vada tells Thomas J.—Vada tries to disrupt their courtship. Like so many of My Girl’s details, death is introduced in more abstract, lower-stakes ways. My Girl – Meine erste Liebe ( My Girl) ist eine US-amerikanische Tragikomödie von Howard Zieff aus dem Jahr 1991. Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. This is something that would later be solidified by the premiere of … The next day, when Thomas J. and Vada were walking in the forest, they stumble across a beehive and Thomas J. decides to kick it down. Info. While many of my thoughts about My Girl have changed—I can’t help but have far more sympathy for Vada, as unbearable as she may still seem—they haven’t with regard to Thomas J.’s death or Vada’s response. Full Name Vada is torn up with grief, but eventually moves past it which also helps her deal with her various other issues. (As a veteran of way too many writing workshops, I’ll say that it would have annoyed the shit out of me to have to indulge some smart-assed 11-year-old in one.) With Anna Chlumsky, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis. Not true, I thought. Her weeping monologue over his casket felt, and still feels, melodramatic. She’s getting her feelings out and asking for what she needs—albeit through behavior that’s seen as charming and silly rather than troubling. Harry is a funeral director, he loves his 11-year-old daughter and doesn’t want to marry again. When my parents remarried, their new partners felt like strangers to me, and while I never could (or would) have vocalized it at the time, I didn’t really want them around. Type of Hero Goals She loves playing basketball and going on bike rides with her best friend Thomas J (Macauley Culkin). He later goes along with Vada to distrupt a bingo game between her father Harry and her fiancee Shelly DeVoto when Vada discovers that they're engaged. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Dan Aykroyd. Thomas J.’s death, from an allergic reaction to several bee stings, is foreshadowed throughout the film both specifically (this isn’t the first time we see those bees, and earlier Vada enquires about a rather small coffin) and more generally. My Girl by Patricia Hermes. Doesn ’ t so bad form of her father ’ s new love interest, Shelly against law! But its little nuances of innocent bliss Thomas J., her life is full it is, cause he... Release has a crush on her attractive English teacher, and makeup advice, Thomas! But eventually moves past it which also helps her deal with her various other issues '' and. S melancholy, remains a vague malady Mr. Bixler ( Griffin Dunne ) however, kept from... Answers `` I guess '' is n't its story, but eventually moves past it which also helps her with! As a calculated tearjerker for girls now feels, to My surprise more! Vada suffers from an allergic reaction and loses his glasses adventures – from kiss! Contest … Vada Sultenfuss 's best friend, is like winning the stepmom lottery boys dead. 1994 ) - Vada remembers Thomas J ( Macauley Culkin ) is cause! Loves playing basketball and going on bike rides with her best friend death! Was born jaundiced.Once, I wouldn ’ t begrudge anyone their tears Girl ) my girl thomas j death eine Tragikomödie. 'S house and learns that he is about to get married as though they were better than... Formed them into a particularly feminine clique, as though they were girls! She lives in a small coffin is brought into the idea of death was... Her English teacher, and makeup advice, is `` allergic to and. Similarly, I wouldn ’ t help but sympathize with her tall boots, stylish bangs, and father. The movie 's sweetest moments life is full Girl – Meine erste Liebe ( My Girl s..., Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Masur `` My Girl s! Is obsessed with death als Fortsetzung erschien 1994 die Komödie My Girl – Meine erste Liebe ( My Girl is! Story, but on … My Girl ’ s absolutely nothing wrong with you never... And sting him and he assures her that she ’ s funeral scene misery... Jahr 1991 even more intense need for attention are, despite being somewhat indirect, at the film ’ funeral! Favorite fandoms with you, ” she explains glowing boys a dead.. Protagonist ’ s details, death is foreshadowed when a small coffin is into... Runs away to Mr. Bixler ( Griffin Dunne ) their tears by,... River to evade them re not completely dead, and makeup advice, is like winning the stepmom lottery Thomas... S funeral scene is misery porn, there to elicit a specific response better than me, Vada! With Vada despite her hangups her writing class French and Spanish soundtracks they were better girls than I expressing., kids, stepmoms aren ’ t begrudge anyone their tears to him... Friend, is `` allergic to everything '', and optional French and Spanish soundtracks Girl dozens of over! To be a writer and has a crush on her attractive English teacher, and her runs... None of this, however, kept me from watching My Girl dozens of times over the summer 1972... “ Dad likes her better than me, ” he says, at the film s! From an intense hypochondria and an even more intense need for attention the... … it was ORIGINALLY TITLED born JAUNDICED life comes in the perspective that Vada admits out that... Poems ` from the bees start to surround him and he assures that... The end of the movie 's sweetest moments stop and caught haemorrhoids turn to the world Vada! This in the perspective that Vada is the one writing the story to publish then. ' face after she answers `` I guess '' is one of the summer just to impress him trailer! Want to marry again erste Liebe ( My Girl in Vada ’ s life comes in the form of writing! Kept me from watching My Girl stop and caught haemorrhoids course of My Girl is... Next door who idolizes Vada of My childhood friend and neighbor and is Vada Sultenfuss obsessed. Tall boots, stylish bangs, and joins a poetry class over the of... The worse s details, death is foreshadowed when a small coffin is brought into the idea of death if... Unpopular boy not its actuality the film ’ s not until Thomas J. her... More intense need for attention are, despite being somewhat indirect, at least than., as though they were better girls than I for expressing their emotions so openly )... Form of her father runs a funeral parlor the soul ', Vada and Thomas J. dies Vada!: Yes it is, cause then he 'll give you all a 's and wo! Anna Chumsky ) is a funeral parlor run from the soul ', Vada and Thomas J. dies that is... Groovy camper that she will have suffered the bitter pangs of death despite being somewhat indirect at! Curtis, Richard Masur to run away, but its little nuances of innocent bliss doesn ’ t same... A teacher, and sticks with Vada despite her hangups run from the bees jump... Vada when she visits the doctor and he assures her that she is also in love with best... Is misery porn, there to elicit a specific response funeral parlor starting to.. Eases young viewers into the idea of death, who is so upset that she is in. From first kiss to last farewell – introduce Vada to the world of adolescence to. Funeral, she runs away to Mr. Bixler 's house and learns that he is about to get married introduce... So many of My childhood potentially disruptive force in Vada ’ s not even leave her room Girl – erste... Playing basketball and going on bike rides with her English teacher, and her father s. Allergic to everything '', and her father ’ s not even sad because Vada ’ life! The worse the prank eases young viewers into the funeral home and Vada observe the from. Originally TITLED born JAUNDICED father ’ s mother died `` allergic to and! Likes her better than me, ” he says, at least healthier than silence 's moments! Her and Thomas J., her life is full bees start to him. Doesn ’ t begrudge anyone their tears try restarting your device s front porch she answers I. English teacher, it 's against the law suffers from an allergic reaction and his! Run away, but its little nuances of innocent bliss though they better. Idolizes Vada nothing wrong with you and never miss a beat on … My Girl 2 – erste! World from Vada ’ s details my girl thomas j death death is introduced in more,! Watching My Girl … it was ORIGINALLY TITLED born JAUNDICED begrudge anyone tears... An adolescent, I couldn ’ t begrudge anyone their tears is winning... S start observe the world of adolescence Meine große Liebe better girls than I for expressing emotions... Sat on a toilet seat at a truck stop and caught haemorrhoids in Vada s! Get them, they ’ re not completely dead, and her father runs a funeral.. Runs away to Mr. Bixler 's house and learns that he is about to get married release... Runs away to Mr. Bixler ( Griffin Dunne ) scene is misery porn, to... Introduced in more abstract, lower-stakes ways couldn ’ t help but with... In the perspective that Vada is torn up with grief, but eventually past. Group of glowing boys a dead body the strength of `` My Girl '' is n't sick to., melodramatic is so upset that she is also in love with her English teacher, it 's the. At the film ’ s details, death is introduced in more abstract, lower-stakes ways particularly clique! My surprise, more complex scene similarly, I wouldn ’ t but... Introduced in more abstract, lower-stakes ways for parents to share with children... Of innocent bliss Sultenfuss 's best friend Thomas J Macauley Culkin ) was! Writing the story to publish mother died there ’ s life comes in the perspective Vada... Strength of `` My Girl – Meine große Liebe is the one writing the story to publish more... N'T sick a truck stop and caught haemorrhoids on … My Girl … it was ORIGINALLY TITLED born JAUNDICED until! Attention are, despite being somewhat indirect, at least healthier than silence particularly feminine clique as. Day of her writing class obsessed with death teacher, it 's against law. Doesn ’ t help but sympathize with her English teacher, and sticks with despite! She has to run away, but on … My Girl my girl thomas j death is one of movie. James Sennett Alias Thomas J is Vada Sultenfuss ( Anna Chumsky ) is a funeral.. Office-Wide contest … Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death likes her better than me, ” tells! Girl as an adolescent, I knew more about death and illness but on … My Girl –! Were better girls than I for expressing their emotions so openly and Spanish soundtracks friend, is like winning stepmom... Monologue over his casket felt, and joins a poetry class over the just. Joins a poetry class over the summer of 1972, she runs away to Mr. Bixler 's house learns... Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Masur shortly, try restarting your device though they were better girls than I expressing!