Careful What You Wish For

I went into 'Careful What You Wish For' not really knowing what to expect. Often when thrillers cast non-actors (often musicians) in their lead roles they are trying to garner some publicity and cover up a weak script. So I was surprised to find myself genuinely enjoying it. The acting wasn't all that bad and Nick Jonas carried himself well especially. Isabel Lucas also impressed me. She has a mysteriousness about her that worked perfectly in this film. The story was patient and building, while never becoming stale or boring. It had a couple of nice twists to keep things exciting and really ticked all the boxes a thriller should.

The plot has a bit of a "seen it all before" feel about it. There's no question Hollywood is lacking originality and 'Careful What You Wish For' does nothing to expel those claims. The ending (after the twist) also came up seriously lacking, showing perhaps a touch of laziness on the writer's part. Those faults aside though it really isn't a bad little watch. Don't be put off by the casting of Jonas, give it a shot and you'll be pleased you did.

All together it's not all that bad of a flick, predictable yes, but still fun to watch to see where its all headed. I thought the talent could have been given a much better script to work with. As most mentioned previously the premise is old and tired,,,,,,some new twists could have been added to make it more interesting! Most probably watched for the eye candy, but again a flick that can be enjoyable if you don't get too serious about it and just kick back and watch.

Doug Martin is a local boy who gets attracted to Lena, the beautiful young woman who lived next door. Problem is she is married to a much older wealthy man who was shrouded in an aura of danger. Of course, his teenage hormones got the better of Doug when Lena encouraged his interest. But then, where there is an illicit affair, a violent payback will not be far behind.

This story has been told many times before. An young guy is seduced by a sexy married woman. This type of film is usually told from the woman's point of view like the recent Jennifer Lopez film "The Boy Next Door", though the point of view is reversed in this one. It also brought back memories of "A Night in Heaven" and "Private Lessons" shown back in the early 1980s. IMDb lists down at least 40 films with this steamy plot, mostly trashy B-flicks. This just goes to show that films like this that deal with adolescent sexual temptation will always be there to appeal to the baser instincts of viewers.

Isabel Lucas seems too young to play the femme-fatale Lena. She looks great to look at, a true seductress, that is, when she is not talking. When there are lines to deliver though, her limited acting skills show. It seems she has not really improved her craft since her similarly wooden big screen debut in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen".

Dermot Mulroney, an all-around good guy in most of his old films, plays against type as Lena's sinister husband. It was good to see Paul Sorvino as the local policeman. Too bad these two veteran actors were underused in their limited scenes.

This film is clearly a showcase for Nick Jonas to signal his foray into more mature film roles. Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, herself previously associated with teen-oriented films and TV shows like "Aquamarine" and "Gossip Girl", lovingly sets up her camera to capture her star Nick Jonas in his best angles, in various stages of undress for his teenage girl fans (old enough to watch R-rated films) to ogle at. To his credit, Jonas does register well on screen and he did do passably in the acting department.

Fresh from being slimed as emcee of the last Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Nick Jonas may find it hard to escape his teen idol image at first. Mark Wahlberg has proved that that curse could be overcome. As for Jonas though, that still remains to be seen. 4/10.

This is a sexy story with adultery, quite a bit of skin and murder...and it stars Nick Jonas! Yes, THAT Nick Jonas...of the squeaky clean Disney-fied Jonas Brothers! Talk about a major about face with his career! Only a few years ago, he and his brothers were singing to sold out stadiums of pre-teen and teen girls...now Nick is playing in a hard edged rated R film! My how times have changed, but the real question that needs answering is it any good? Well, it's not at all bad but the film isn't without a few problems here and there. The biggest one was casting. No, Jonas was actually pretty good. While he's in his early 20s, he looks younger, so playing a character who is supposed to be 16-17 years- old worked. The problem instead was his co-star, Isabel Lucas. While her acting was quite good, the role should have been played by someone who seemed much older--perhaps a cougar in her 30s. However, Lucas looks to be about Jonas' age and this makes the story a bit more difficult to believe.

It all begins at a lake in North Carolina. Having lived very, very close to where they actually filmed the movie, it appears to be around Lake Norman--a large lake north of Charlotte, North Carolina that is known for it's expensive lakefront homes. The Martin's are a nice and seemingly normal family and their son, Doug (Jonas) is anticipating going off to an excellent college soon. But in the meantime, it's summer and he and his super-annoying friend (too annoying) are mostly concerned with scoring with the local girls. However, Doug is in for a huge surprise. His new rich neighbor has a very young and very desirable wife, Lena (Lucas). Why she would soon seduced Doug is a puzzler--and Doug is just young and stupid enough not to ask this as well. Soon, he and Lena are having an affair. Not too long after this he's pulled into a conspiracy...one that might just get them sent to prison! What is the conspiracy? Well, think The Postman Always Rings Twice and you'll have some idea what's next. Fortunately, the film does have a few nice twists and turns, though none of it seemed all that surprising to me, as a gorgeous and rich woman like this MUST have some other hidden agenda...and my guess is that this is going to run through your mind as well as you watch. However, despite the plot being occasionally a bit easy to predict at times and the ending a bit too perfect, the acting and direction are very good and the film held my interest throughout.

So is it worth seeing? Yes, though it isn't a film I'd rush to see- -though some of his old fans (provided they are now old enough to see a rated R movie) might enjoy seeing this harder edged Nick Jonas. Just be forewarned that you won't see THAT much of Nick in the film...if you catch my drift.

This Jonas brother's future looks pretty good after seeing this movie. Is he handsome leading man material? Perhaps, perhaps not...but he can act and was able to more than hold his own in the lead. His biggest problem for the future is his strength in this particular film--he just looks very, very young and I had some trouble seeing him in more adult roles. Time will tell.

'Careful What You Wish For' was never going to be an Oscar worthy, genre defining, boundary leaping film however for what it is trying to be, which is an easy going, enjoyable and suspenseful piece of drama, it does very well. The storyline and plot my perhaps leave something to be desired but having said that this viewer was taken for the ride with all the twists and turns that were thrown at the audience. For the most part the acting was strong, especially considering the calibre of the actors and the relatively little previous work they have done in the industry. My main criticism would be that there were moments where the focus seemed to be more on moving the plot forward without first establishing the necessary character development to make us fully care what happens to the characters.

Overall an enjoyable flick so long as you go into it expecting the next big thing, and don't try and analyse every detail but just sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously.