Crazy/Beautiful

Crazy/Beautiful is a poignant teen film about a rich girl in Kirsten Dunst who's a behavioral problem to her father Bruce Davison and stepmother Lucinda Janney. When East LA Barrio kid Carlos Hernandez first meets her, she's doing community service picking up trash on the beach. They discover they go to the same school.

Hernandez is her total opposite. He's doing a two hour commute to her 90210 type high school he can reap the advantages thereof. He's a hardworking student and top football player and he wants to go to Annapolis. Oh by the way, when Hernandez meets Davison, she's forgotten to tell him that daddy is a Congressman.

Davison is a liberal sort so the racial thing doesn't terribly bother him. But he thinks Hernandez will screw himself up if he gets involved with Dunst. God knows she's doing a wonderful job of that in her family relationships.

This was to be a big breakout role for Hernandez who was fresh from the TNBC morning show Hang Time. If he hasn't had quite the career a lot including myself expected of him, not the fault of this film because he and Dunst are a very attractive couple. Crazy/Beautiful is a sensitive and caring drama, a good film for the younger audience.

The reason would be the two leads, Kirsten Dunst (Interview with the Vampire, Bring It On) and Jay Hernandez (only having done a handful of TV and small movie work). What looks like the set-up of a cliché-filled storyline on the outside -- high-schoolers Dunst as the troubled daughter of a U.S. Senator, and Hernandez as the intelligent inner-city kid meet up and fall in love -- takes on a fresh twist (and "fresh" is a good thing -- especially in film today). With the dialogue seeming mostly improvisational, the romance is impressively convincing. Dunst is already familiar to film audiences -- making great strides at a very young age with Vampire -- but this could arguably be her finest turn. You do feel something for her character, as screwed up as she can be. But even "screwed up" people need love, too, and you do want her to succeed. And good performances apparently rubbed off on Hernandez as well, giving sensational insight into a conflicted character torn between duty to family and education versus his love for Dunst. The story does take a turn for the... well... crazy near the end but recovers nicely -- and without being too preachy or schmaltzy. Don't expect greatness, but don't be shocked if you like it.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this film. It wasn't the usual dumb teen movie. It address some real-world issues from a modern perspective and managed to not make itself look silly doing it. The script was tightly written with just enough edge to give it a sense of reality without it being totally destroyed by it's kiddie rating.

The usual teen movie makes fun of the adult world and laughably tries to make the teens somehow the center of the known universe. This is more real in it's approach, showing two very vulnerable young people on the verge of being thrust into that very real adult world and the issues they have in discovering themselves as near-adults through each other's eyes. There are quite a few relationships these days that mix cultures and this film handles a realistic look at some of the problems. I think it had to or risk the charge of being unrealistic. Still, there is more here, not just teen romance, though that is certainly painfully portrayed by an emotionally exposed Kirsten Dunst and the serious Jay Hernandez. It is also a film ultimately about the good and evil influences that tug at us all and the effects it can have on those around us. It managed to convey those issues fairly well given the censorship restraints it was under. Adding to a solid performance by Dunst and Hernandez is a fine cast, including Bruce Davidson and a deliciously unlikable Lucinda Jenney doing a great modern take on the evil stepmother. Taryn Manning as Dunst's best girlfriend nearly stole a couple of scenes and certainly bears watching in the future; there's light behind those big eyes. I see she also had a minor credit in the music score, which was very entertaining on it's own (and this said from an old guy). I also enjoyed the performance of Rolando Molina as Hernandez's brother, though it was nearly too stereotyped. He managed to make it just believable enough to be genuine. My major criticism would be the lack of subtitles for the considerable Spanish dialog. I for one found this too frustrating to forgive.

All-in-all, it's more than worth the price of admission and I can agree with some other viewers that Dunst might deserve at least a nomination come awards time next year.

I saw one promo for this film some time after I saw "Bring it On," and thought it was another Kirsten Dunst comedy.

I was wrong, but pleasantly dissapointed. The thing about teenage movies is that the really good ones don't placate exclusively to the age bracket of which the film is about. "Crazy/Beautiful" focuses on the teenagers, but shows the flavors of the leads' respective cultures, and how they are able to combine both their intellect and emotions to overcome some very superficial barriers, which create profound rifts among human society.

The overall theme vascillates by placing the ball into each of the leads court at various points in the film. This makes for some interesting interaction which, in the real world, I've personally observed. On this score the film is rather accurate.

The film gets a touch melodramatic at points, and there's no one actor to really single out as all the leads have their moment of high energy at various points in the film.

The film itself, because of the subject material, is somewhat lethargic, but does keep one's interest in its presentation.

A definate thumbs up for a night's rental.

This is a great executed romantic teen movie. Even though nothing in the story of course happens as a real surprise, the movie still knows how to create a believable and touching story about love with more than enough original touches in it.

The main reason why the movie works so well is thanks to the two main actors of the movie; Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. Both are great in their roles and their love story in the movie is believable and realistic. Their cultural difference are nicely shown in the movie but their social class difference is perhaps a bit underdeveloped and underused. They could had done some nice things with this story element, so it's a bit of a missed opportunity for the movie.

The story is nicely told and the stereotypical elements of a romantic teen movie are as much as possible avoided. It succeeds most of the time in this and because of that the movie is better than the average romantic teen comedy.

It's a perfectly watchable movie mainly targeted towards teens, however also different age groups should be able to appreciate this movie and its love story. A recommendable movie but by no means a must see of course.

7/10

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