Just Another Girl on the IRT

Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. is a 1992 American drama film written, produced & directed by Leslie Harris, starring Ariyan A. Johnson in the lead role.

Plot
The film is about a girl named Chantel Mitchell, a smart, hardworking 17-year-old African-American high school junior whose dream is to leave her poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York to go to college & become a doctor.

Chantel states that she wants to be seen as more than just another girl on the IRT (which means the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, a subway system in New York City), but her life takes a sudden change when she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend.

Cast

 * Ariyan A. Johnson as Chantel Mitchell
 * Kevin Thigpen as Tyrone
 * Ebony Jerido as Natete
 * Chequita Jackson as Paula
 * Jerard Washington as Gerard
 * Tony Wilkes as Owen Mitchell
 * Karen Robinson as Debra Mitchell
 * Johnny Roses as Mr. Weinberg
 * Kisha Richardson as Lavonica
 * Monet Dunham as Denisha
 * Wendell Moore as Mr. Moore
 * William Badgett as Cedric

Production
The movie was shot entirely on location in New York City. With a budget of only $100,000, it reportedly shot in only 17 days.

Release
“Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 17, 1992 and was released in the United States on March 19, 1993.

Box Office
The movie grossed  479,169 at the box office.

Critical Reception
“Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” was given a score of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 5.8\10.

Entertainment Weekly gave the movie a “C” rating, writing in their review that it has “a lot of self-importance and not nearly as much talent has gone into this small, not always gripping film.”

Hal Hinson of the Washington Post praised Aryian A. Johnson’s performance in the film saying she “seizes the camera's attention like no other performer since John Travolta strutted into Saturday Night Fever.”

Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle wrote: “Though in large measure this portion of the film is probably quite realistic in its depiction of certain adolescent female avoidance behaviors, it is nevertheless difficult to watch such a smart girl doing such dumb and self-destructive things.”