Just another girl on the I.R.T.

Leslie Harris' first feature uses handheld camera, direct address and a hip-hop soundtrack to present an in-your-face urban tale about an African American teenage girl from the 'hood, in this case, the Brooklyn projects. 17-year-old Chantel Mitchell is bright, sassy, loud, unruly, contradictory and exasperating with no apologies. A dutiful but complaining daughter, Chantel conflicts with her beleaguered parents about babysitting for her younger brothers. At a gourmet grocery where she works after school, the teenager berates a demanding white customer. A good but difficult pupil, Chantel chides an instructor for teaching the Holocaust which she dismisses as irrevelant to Black students. Longing to live the good life away from the projects, Chantel casually dumps her boyfriend Gerald at a dance and begins dating the poised, Jeep-driving Tyrone. Unfortunately, Chantel's dreams of early graduation and medical school are derailed when she discovers that she is pregnant.

Chantel Mitchell is an African-American, 17-year-old high school junior who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her ultimate dream is to leave her poor neighborhood, go to college, and eventually become a doctor. The "I.R.T." in the film's title refers to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway system.