An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong

An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong
Directed by	Martha Coolidge
Screenplay by	Christine Coyle Johnson Julie Prendiville Roux
Based on	Chrissa by Mary Casanova
Starring	Sammi Hanratty Austin Thomas Kaitlyn Dever Adair Tishler Ariela Barer Shelby Harmon
Release date(s)	January 5, 2009 (2009-01-05)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong is the fifth film in the American Girl series, starring actress and singer Sammi Hanratty. It is based on the Chrissa books in the American Girl range written by [Mary Casanova].

The screenplay was written by Christine Coyle Johnson and Julie Prendiville Roux. The movie was directed by Martha Coolidge. It won a 2009 Gold Award from National Parenting Publications (NAPPA)

Plot

Chrissa Maxwell (Sammi Hanratty) and her family move to the fictional town of Edgewater, Minnesota from Iowa in order to be closer to Chrissa's "Nana" after there grandfather died. She starts school on the day before Valentine's Day but her efforts to make new friends are stalled by the Queen Bees (also known as the Mean Bees), a clique of three girls who rule the grade by intimidation. Their leader, Tara James, taunts Chrissa and convinces fellow Bee Sonali Matthews to steal Chrissa's valentines. Sonali tells Chrissa that Tara made her take the valentines and tells her she got grounded for a week.

Chrissa trys to befriend Gwen Thompson, a quiet, lonely, unpopular girl who is also bullied by the Bees. Although Gwen is shy at first, the girls gradually become friends. At a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter, Chrissa finds out that Gwen is homeless. Chrissa swears that she won't tell anyone that she's homeless. Meanwhile, Sonali is starting to be friendlier with Chrissa but is still more loyal to Tara. Sonali goes over to Chrissa's house (without telling Tara)while they are studying Sonali's cell phone rings, and she tells Chrissa she has relatives over, but it was really Tara wanting her to come over. Tara realizes that Sonali and Chrissa are becoming friends, she tells her that if she doesn't stop being friends with Chrissa she would be kicked out the club, but Sonali sais she doesn't care if she's in the club or not.

The Bees evesdroppe on Gwen and Chrissa and follow them into the restroom while Chrissa is trying to cut Gwen's bangs. Tara convinces Gwen to let her cut them by Jadyn saying Tara's mom works in a salon, then "accidently" chops Gwen's bangs off, noting: "Now you really look like a homeless person." Gwen leaves the restroom sobbing then is abbsent from school for some days and the other four girls are sent to the principal's office.The principal tells the girls that Gwen is afraid to come back to school. Tara starts to say that Chrissa chopped off Gwen's bangs but Sonali tells the truth, which gets Tara suspended for three days while she and Jadyn are suspended for just a day. The following day Sonali apologizes to Gwen about all the mean things she and the other Bees had done to her.

After the incident, the bullying gets more intense. In the girls' locker room there are flyers with Chrissa's face on a llama's body saying "Chrissa the loser llama girl". Then Chrissa finds a message on the swim team message board and realizes that it was Tara who put up "Ask Chrissa about her contagious skin disease. Should we be swimming in the same water as her?". Soon, her older brother Tyler ends up hitting his head, but doesn't get a concussion (in the book, he did), because Tara told him that he couldn't do a dive called "the super corkscrew" and only she could do it. Chrissa takes the blame and quits the swim team,saying "If Tyler can't swim I won't swim.",while Tara stays on the team, but then returns for the big meet.

During the meet, Chrissa realizes that she and Tara have to work together if they want to win the relay. Although Tara is reluctant, Chrissa assures her that even though they may be not the best of friends,or any kind of friends but they can still work together to win. Their team work earns them their victory, and they reconcile and hug.

The final scene in the movie is "the big fourth grade project" about bullying. Each character makes a short speech about their idea of ending bullying. The film ends on a summer scene where Chrissa, Sonali, and Gwen going to Lake Chandler to swim with Chrissa's old friend, Amanda, from Iowa.

Major Characters

• Chrissa Maxwell - (Sammi Hanratty) - A ten year old who is bullied by Tara James. She doesn't want to tell anyone. She decides to keep a secret.She also joins the school's swim team,but soon quits after a accident at the pool.She is best friends with Gwen Thompson.
• Tyler Maxwell - (Austin Thomas) - Tyler is Chrissa's older brother.He joins the school's swim team, but he has to quit after he has a accident.He plays a small part in Tara James's plans.
• Gwen Thompson - (Kaitlyn Dever) - A homeless girl who lives in a shelter called Sunrise. She is very lonely and shy until she meets Chrissa.
• Tara James - (Adair Tishler) - A bully at Chrissa's school.She and her friends Sonali and Jadyn also known as the "Queen Bees" do mean and sometimes crule things to everyone that gets in her way. Chrissa,Tyler,and Gwen are her enemies.
• Sonali Matthews - (Ariela Barer) - Sonali is friends with Tara and Jadyn at the beginning of the film, but soon realizes that they were mean. She then becomes Chrissa and Gwen's friend.
• Jadyn Johnson - (Shelby Harmon) - A friend of Tara who plays a small part in her plans. She stays loyal to Tara unlike Sonali.

Minor Characters

• Mrs. Meg Maxwell - (Annabeth Gish) - Chrissa's mother, who just got a job as a doctor in Edgewater. She tries to protect Chrissa from bullying.
• Mr. Paul Maxwell - (Timothy Bottoms) - Chrissa's father.
• Nanna Louise Maxwell - (Michael Learned) - Chrissa's nanna, mother of Mrs. Maxwell, a widow whom the Maxwell family moved into. She is also always there for Chrissa and protects her from the bullying.
• Mrs. Ziminsky - (Joanne Baron) - Chrissa's new school principal, who always tries to keep Chrissa and the other bullies out of trouble.
• Mr. Beck - (Don Franklin) - Chrissa's new school teacher and also a swim coach. He also tries to keep Chrissa and the other bullies out of trouble.
• Mrs. Rundell - (Jennifer Tilly) - Chrissa's new school art teacher.
• Mrs. Janine Thompson - (Jennifer Parsons) - Gwen's mother,a widow, who lives with her in the homeless shelter.

External links

• Official website
• An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong at the Internet Movie Database