Crazy/Beautiful

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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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.

For a long while now Ive been bombarded with teen movies that are crap. Written by people who forgot what it was like, less mature than teenagers themselves. Ive been waiting for a movie that was took itself seriously without being pretentious. That was mature and REAL. This is such a find. This movie is consistently good. Dialogue, Music, Acting, especially the cinematography and directing which just made the movie. It doesnt struggle to be hip or witty, theres no B.S.

The story isn`t complicated but it works. It`s just about the love between two people, how it affects the both of them and the journey which Kirsten Dunst`s character goes through. If your tired of the mindless repetitive teen crap, see this movie and appreciate it.

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.

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.