This movie consists mostly of dialog between some inarticulate high school students. It takes place over a Fourth of July holiday. The time period appears to be in the 1970s, since there are no cell phones or compact discs, but rap music is played at a party. I could see no significance in setting the movie in a time different from when it was made. Did the filmmakers think they understood the previous generation better than their own?
As expected, the main focus is on sex and relationships. The first twenty minutes could have been cut to a few, since all that was required was to introduce us to the four main characters and establish a downbeat mood and a level of conversation where the most serious is, "Hey, how's it going?" or "What's up?" A rambling monologue about a Nebraska trip by a character who was never to be seen again seemed pointless, unless it was inserted to annoy us in the same way the guy was annoying his listeners.
The friends Bill and Gus are initially Beavis and Butthead stand-ins, but at least Gus shows some small movement toward maturity over the course of the film, whereas Bill remains totally vacuous. Anna Kavan, as Jessica, the girl whom Gus can finally see as a person rather than a sex object, creates an appealing character.
I wonder where the adults were. We see Jessica's mother in one brief scene, otherwise the teens seem to have the run of things with no limits on their drinking.
The movie has the look of a high school film project, and maybe it was. Anyway, it proves that anyone can make a movie these days.
I found it helpful to turn on the English subtitles.
