Crazy/Beautiful

In Crazy Beautiful Kirsten Dunst (Interview With A Vampire, Bring It On) plays Nicole a rich girl at high school who befriends a first generation Mexican lad called Carlos (Jay Hernandez).

Nicole and Carlos hit it off in spite of Carlos's reservations about the wild (crazy/beautiful) Nicole. He's from a poor family and keen to do well at his studies. She's on a path of self destruction, at least academically, probably physically. Carlos hopes to go to the navy academy and become a pilot.

Now this sounds fairly ho hum but is brought successfully to the screen by very strong acting performances from both Dunst and Hernandez and also by Bruce Davison who plays Nicole's Dad Tom.

These characters are flawed and therefore interesting. The film is mindful of how complicated real people are.

Nicole is a carouser, drunk or stoned most of the time. Jay is level headed but becomes overwhelmed by Nicole. Dad certainly doesn't think he has all of the answers.

Crazy/Beautiful is inspired a little by the inter racial aspect of the relationship but much more by the veracity of the performances.

4 Crazy Flys Out Of Five

I caught five minutes of this then decided to watch more of it and I was pleasantly surprised at what a superb actress Kirsten Dunst is! She is so natural and at ease in front of a camera. The chemistry between her and the boyfriend is the best you will ever see and that's why I watched this movie. I felt like I was eavesdropping in on two young teenagers throughout the whole movie. The story is very simple and just chronicles the life of these two high-schoolers who fall in love by pure chance (the romance is instigated by Dunst and she does a great job). I think everyone will be able to relate to the characters and story in this movie. These are real-life characters and they are not overly stereotyped which was surprising, as well. The leading actor did a fantastic job, too. There is zero shock value thrown into this movie to try and put you on the edge of your seat which is something you don't find in Hollywood movies and which was really nice. Mostly every scene involves Kirsten and her boyfriend and they pull it off. There aren't many actors that can say that they can do that. This movie is entertaining throughout and will keep your attention. Already I like Kirsten more than I ever liked Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Daryl Hannah, Winona Ryder, Chistine Ricci, Catherine Zeta Jones, Kate Winslet, Sharon Stone, or any of these younger female celebrities. The direction in this movie is very good. If you want a real nice relaxing evening and you don't want to watch something with a lot of hype, drama, violence, stereotypes, people pitting each other against one another, etc. then I recommend this movie. I will definitely look for more of Kirsten in the future.

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.

This is a defining role for Kirsten Dunst. She demonstrates the talent to carry a film, from beginning to end. She was great as Lux in the Virgin Suicides, and demonstrated a penchant for comedy in Dick. As Nicole - she dominates in a dramatic role, arcing from crazy - to 'Crazy'; from beautiful and then to 'Beautiful' with Jay Hernandez as boyfriend and catalyst. We'll be seeing a lot more of Jay in the years upcoming too. No doubt about it. And Taryn Manning (best friend, Maddy) has a lot more to share with her growing legion of fans. She's a major contributor to this film's success.

It touches the heart. It holds the interest with old material rendered fresh by a cast that jelled together. A superb romantic comedy for all ages. 7 / 10.

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.