Whatever - Was soll's

I saw this film quite by accident one night on one of the sky movies channels. I wasn't sure about it at the start, but it was one of those films that you start watching not intending to finish watching it, but them get into it. This is what happened with me and in the end i thought it was an excellent movie.

Mr. Stanley was like my maths teacher and the art teacher just like my art teacher; enthusiastic, encouraging, and all round fantastic teacher.

I think the strong leading female character, Anna, was well acted and portrayed very realistically. Both female actresses are very talented and deserve all good that has come out of this film.

I thought this film was a thoughtful reflection on an overlooked period of time. The significance of it's taking place in 1981 was the last hurrah of the "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" era. AIDS soon followed, and casual sex died. The sex is a big part of the story, a realistic portrayal of a teenage girl's struggles with her newborn womanhood.

The peer pressure to do drugs, smoke, and have crazy meaningless/meaningful sex, all induced by the young idiots around her, happens to most American kids. Anna's dreams of art school are nearly crushed by the combination of her friends, her lonely, pathetic mother, and the usual teenage self-deprecation. It's not hard at all to relate to this character.

It seems that this movie was too subtle for some viewers. Perhaps some people don't want to know the female side of stories we've seen the male counterparts of (quite redundantly) through the years. I welcomed the fresh point-of-view the film possesses. My only true beef would be that it may have been a little too long, but then again, wasn't this writer/director Susan Skoog's first film?

A good film with fine direction of realistic performances (with the exception of the "nerdy" teacher - ugh) and a nice accompanying soundtrack. Overall, I liked it quite a bit.

The most striking thing about this movie was the depth of the characters. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the Eighties, but I recognized everybody in the movie from my adolescence. (There was actually one exception. The english teacher wasn't like anybody I've ever met.) I've rarely seen a movie populated with characters who were this realistic.

Which brings up the second reason I really liked this movie. The situations the characters found themselves in were very realistic. I like stories about teenagers who thwart gangs of smugglers as much as the next guy, but it was a nice change to watch a movie about real people dealing with real life. It was sort of like a Lifetime chick flick, but with almost all of the melodrama removed so you can enjoy it.

Whatever is a great slice-of-life coming of age story, this time about two young girls in their last year of high school. One girl is awkward looking and shy, but talented with a bright future as an artist. The other is prettier and popular, but not really destined for much. Both live their formative years in a backwater New Jersey suburb and their lives are far less polished and sanitized than those portrayed in most teenage coming of age films these days (TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, SHE'S ALL THAT, etc...) This film is gritty and real and the characters are powerful. It's hailed as a great 'chick flick" because it's focus is these two girls, but it's more than that.

I thought they did a great job portraying a realistic world. Hell, the high school party scene was stolen right out of my life! ;)

In any case, the acting is superb. The two girls, Anna and Brenda are played by Liza Weil (Stir of Echoes, A Cur for Serpents) and Chad Morgan (Co-Ed Call Girl). They find themselves looking for their own identity in the midst of messed-up family lives and peer pressure. Anna's the daughter of a single mother who works as a waitress and has affairs with rich married men to help support her kids. Brenda suffers through years of sexual abuse at the hands of her step-father. Both find escape and comfort in their pursuit for adulthood -- hopping from one new experience to the next in search of themselves. Drugs, sex, lawlessness... all of these things become part of their lives, and things which they must overcome in order to survive.

While many will write this off as a slow and plotless waste of celluloid, I found it to be an excellent portrayal of the disconnection and confusion that plagues our youth. Sad to say, this could have had a "based on a true story" title card at the beginning. I've known girls who expressed their praise towards this film for it captures their growing-up period perfectly. If it feels like it's going nowhere, well that just adds to the film's realism. Unlike KIDS, the lead character finally is conscious of her transgressions and thus finds redemption. I find that reason alone, as well as the entire film, worthy of the recognition that it deserves. Rent it with an open mind...