Fitting In Review: Rare Biological Condition Meets Typical Teen Drama

Older viewers may feel a bit old seeing this film prefaced with a quote from the 2009 film Jennifer’s Body, which may feel like it was just four years ago. The quote, “Hell is a teenage girl,” is an apt prelude to this well-executed teen movie, which uniquely incorporates a rare biological condition into its mix of virginity loss, relationship drama, and high school politics. Our protagonist, Lindy (Maddie Ziegler), discovers after a routine medical appointment that she lacks a uterus and has only a “vaginal dimple” instead of a vaginal canal, making the prospect of first-time sex with her boyfriend Adam (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) particularly anxiety-inducing.

For most of its duration, Fitting In takes a commendable, character-driven approach to what could easily have been a preachy issues film. Lindy is portrayed as a person, not an avatar for anyone and everyone with her condition. There are contemporary socio-political resonances, of course; one might wonder how Lindy would be classified by those who define a woman as someone with a vagina and uterus. However, writer-director Molly McGlynn, who was born with the same condition, avoids creating a one-dimensional transphobic character for the sake of making a point.

Lindy does experience an attraction to an intersex person named Jax (Ki Griffin) and feels embarrassed when seen making out with Jax at a party. This scenario illustrates how internalized attitudes of shame can poison relationships between those who have common ground, but McGlynn portrays this delicately, showing rather than telling.

Most of the film has the feel of an inexpensive teen movie reminiscent of those from the 90s. It isn’t at the pinnacle of the genre alongside films like Clueless, The Craft, and Ginger Snaps, but it certainly adds a thematically rich entry to the teen movie canon.

Fitting In will be available on UK digital platforms starting 9 September.