crazy/beautiful
3/4
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Kirsten Dunst, Bruce Davison, Taryn Manning, Lucinda Jenney
Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material involving Teens, Drug/Alcohol Content, Sexuality, and Language
"crazy/beautiful" has to be the tensest teen romance I've ever seen. Check that, the tensest romance I've seen period. While there have been plenty of movie romances with high stakes ("Titanic" and "Casablanca" come to mind), few are as real as "crazy/beautiful."
Carlos Nunez (Hernandez) is a straight-arrow student from a poor part of town looking to better himself. He gets up before six a.m. to take the bus to school the ritzy Pacific High School, works on the weekends and studies hard. He wants to get into Annapolis and become a pilot, despite the fact that he's never been on a plane before. One day at the beach with friends, he spies Nicole Oakley (Dunst) doing community service. There's a spark of attraction, and when he spies her cutting class with her friends, they fall hard for each other. Soon, they become inseparable. But Nicole is unstable, at times dangerously so, and that could throw everything Carlos has worked so hard for down the drain.
The performances by the two leads are terrific. Kirsten Dunst, who rarely gets roles that make use of her considerable talents, is excellent as the wild child. Nicole has some obvious bipolar tendencies, and that makes her such a liability. We never know what she's going to do next. Her instability can, and often does, mean trouble for those around her. But it's impossible not to care about her; Dunst allows the audience to see her zest and energy that make her so captivating. The actress has never been better. Bruce Davison, who is as reliable a character actor as they come, is so busy with being a politician that he can only see his daughter as the "problem child." Or that his new wife Courtney (Jenney) is a superficial bitch. No wonder Nicole is screwed up. Taryn Manning, Lucinda Jenney and Soledad St. Hilaire have supporting roles. Oh, and Zardip plays one of Nicole's friends.
The real star of the movie is Jay Hernandez. Making his theatrical debut, the young actor shows plenty of charisma and talent to match his considerable good looks. Carlos is impossible not to like. He's hard-working, polite, and intelligent. He also has a great deal of integrity, showing no fear in telling Nicole if and when she's gone too far. Carlos is the boy next door who appreciates the opportunities he has been given and wants to make the most of them. But as Nicole's father points out, Nicole is a distraction that could cause him to lose everything. Dunst may be the biggest name in the cast, but it's Hernandez who steals the show, as he did in the "Bad Moms" movies. Even better, he's the central character.
What I liked about this movie is its willingness to deal with the shades of gray in this situation. Director John Stockwell doesn't dumb this story down to a simple "Romeo & Juliet" cheesefest. Those who oppose the relationship between Carlos and Nicole have very good reasons for doing so. There's no sense that "love conquers all" to be found here, nor is there ever a moment where we don't remember that Nicole is putting Carlos's future in jeopardy. Nicole makes a lot of bad decisions, but she also does some good deeds too. Likewise, Carlos is a good kid, but he makes some mistakes too. The dialogue could have been stronger for more depth, but as it is, it's good.
For about 80 minutes, "crazy/beautiful" is unfailing in its honesty and respectful treatment of its characters. They never act contrary to their established natures. Then comes the end. Putting it bluntly, it's fucking awful. It's so bad that it nearly tanks the entire film. Not only does it require that a previously intelligent character undergo a frontal lobotomy, it smoothes over his mistake with nary a word. A decision that should have led to catastrophe is solved with a hug. To get the audience so invested in these characters with such truthfulness only to reward them with such glaring stupidity is a betrayal. At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, I was pissed off.
The disaster of an ending aside, there's too much good stuff here to miss out on. I really wish Hollywood would start investing in scripts like this, with real characters and insight. Not just stupid, sparkling vampires and teen angst. Movies like "crazy/beautiful" are things to be cherished. Ideally with better endings.
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Kirsten Dunst, Bruce Davison, Taryn Manning, Lucinda Jenney
Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material involving Teens, Drug/Alcohol Content, Sexuality, and Language
"crazy/beautiful" has to be the tensest teen romance I've ever seen. Check that, the tensest romance I've seen period. While there have been plenty of movie romances with high stakes ("Titanic" and "Casablanca" come to mind), few are as real as "crazy/beautiful."
Carlos Nunez (Hernandez) is a straight-arrow student from a poor part of town looking to better himself. He gets up before six a.m. to take the bus to school the ritzy Pacific High School, works on the weekends and studies hard. He wants to get into Annapolis and become a pilot, despite the fact that he's never been on a plane before. One day at the beach with friends, he spies Nicole Oakley (Dunst) doing community service. There's a spark of attraction, and when he spies her cutting class with her friends, they fall hard for each other. Soon, they become inseparable. But Nicole is unstable, at times dangerously so, and that could throw everything Carlos has worked so hard for down the drain.
The performances by the two leads are terrific. Kirsten Dunst, who rarely gets roles that make use of her considerable talents, is excellent as the wild child. Nicole has some obvious bipolar tendencies, and that makes her such a liability. We never know what she's going to do next. Her instability can, and often does, mean trouble for those around her. But it's impossible not to care about her; Dunst allows the audience to see her zest and energy that make her so captivating. The actress has never been better. Bruce Davison, who is as reliable a character actor as they come, is so busy with being a politician that he can only see his daughter as the "problem child." Or that his new wife Courtney (Jenney) is a superficial bitch. No wonder Nicole is screwed up. Taryn Manning, Lucinda Jenney and Soledad St. Hilaire have supporting roles. Oh, and Zardip plays one of Nicole's friends.
The real star of the movie is Jay Hernandez. Making his theatrical debut, the young actor shows plenty of charisma and talent to match his considerable good looks. Carlos is impossible not to like. He's hard-working, polite, and intelligent. He also has a great deal of integrity, showing no fear in telling Nicole if and when she's gone too far. Carlos is the boy next door who appreciates the opportunities he has been given and wants to make the most of them. But as Nicole's father points out, Nicole is a distraction that could cause him to lose everything. Dunst may be the biggest name in the cast, but it's Hernandez who steals the show, as he did in the "Bad Moms" movies. Even better, he's the central character.
What I liked about this movie is its willingness to deal with the shades of gray in this situation. Director John Stockwell doesn't dumb this story down to a simple "Romeo & Juliet" cheesefest. Those who oppose the relationship between Carlos and Nicole have very good reasons for doing so. There's no sense that "love conquers all" to be found here, nor is there ever a moment where we don't remember that Nicole is putting Carlos's future in jeopardy. Nicole makes a lot of bad decisions, but she also does some good deeds too. Likewise, Carlos is a good kid, but he makes some mistakes too. The dialogue could have been stronger for more depth, but as it is, it's good.
For about 80 minutes, "crazy/beautiful" is unfailing in its honesty and respectful treatment of its characters. They never act contrary to their established natures. Then comes the end. Putting it bluntly, it's fucking awful. It's so bad that it nearly tanks the entire film. Not only does it require that a previously intelligent character undergo a frontal lobotomy, it smoothes over his mistake with nary a word. A decision that should have led to catastrophe is solved with a hug. To get the audience so invested in these characters with such truthfulness only to reward them with such glaring stupidity is a betrayal. At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, I was pissed off.
The disaster of an ending aside, there's too much good stuff here to miss out on. I really wish Hollywood would start investing in scripts like this, with real characters and insight. Not just stupid, sparkling vampires and teen angst. Movies like "crazy/beautiful" are things to be cherished. Ideally with better endings.
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