According to critics, Lady Bird is a perfect movie. As of Monday, the coming-of-age film about a ne’er-do-well high schooler, directed by Greta Gerwig, is now the most reviewed film to stay at a keen 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, according to the aggregation site. The film edged out Toy Story 2 for this particular honor—a fact that Gerwig still can’t wrap her head around.
“It’s amazing,” she told Vanity Fair at the Gotham Awards red carpet on Monday night. She found out the news from her younger brother, who was “also slightly skeptical” that her film had bested an animated classic like Toy Story 2, she joked.
“It’s so exciting,” Gerwig continued. “You make a movie and you put so much into it . . . to have it reflected back to you, it’s an amazing thing.”
Lady Bird has been on the ascent since its release earlier this year, a clear front-runner for the upcoming awards season. Star Saoirse Ronan recently picked up a best-actress statuette at Monday night’s Gotham Awards, sure to be the first of many accolades she’ll receive over the next few months. The film, which has earned $10 million at the box office thus far, is also up for several Independent Spirit Awards, though Gerwig was surprisingly snubbed in the best-director category; Lady Bird is the multi-hyphenate’s feature directorial debut.
Still, Gerwig has been making delightful waves on the press circuit, most recently for sharing the Canadian-level polite letter she sent to Justin Timberlake in order to request that he allow her to use the song “Cry Me a River” in a key Lady Bird party scene. Timberlake’s team said yes, though the singer didn’t formally respond to Gerwig’s request. However, she did finally get to meet the star himself at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles earlier this year.
“I sort of attacked him,” Gerwig told V.F. with a laugh. “He was very gracious. He said he was happy that his song was in my movie.”