Mauvaises rencontres

Admittedly, this film did not deserve a place in the Oscars, but for an average thriller it is watchable.

Pic centres on a young girl just entering adolescence and interested in what every teenage girl is interested in - boys! It is her naivety and inexperience which lands her in trouble. Barrymore is generally good as the confused and lonely angst-ridden teenager, and is sometimes quite realistic in her scenes with Matt Frewer. As a teenager when I saw this a few years ago, I certainly could relate to her and her ineptitude with boys, but now it's just another coming-of-age film with a weak murder plot. Jones was convincing as the ice-cold lust figure for Barrymore, but we never saw enough of him and his character was too rigid. Girls will like him - especially in a wet T-Shirt (Barrymore isn't the only one!)

Nevertheless, some good acting and not a bad film overall, particularly from the women like Susan Tyrrell and Karen Austin, who seem to hold it together better than the men!

This is the kind of film, that from the very beginning, you can tell right away, not to expect much. However, it does surprise one. It has it's moments of being really terrible (one scene in particular, with the land lady of the trailer park), and other times, where it involves you in the story really well.

I almost turned it off not quite half-way through, because it was so bad, but after the first murder arises, the film picks up, and you start to suspect who the murderer might be. Although, I'm a movie buff, I hardly think it was such a surprise by the end of the film who the murderer ends up being. It's not the most well-written script, but like I said, it does get you involved in the story, and that's the whole point really.

Drew Barrymore, in one of her younger roles, plays a fourteen year old, who's on a road trip for the summer with her father. Her parents are divorced, and is looking forward to going home the next day, from which the film starts, to celebrate her fourteenth birthday with her mother. Unfortunately, they are stranded in the depths of the Nevada desert, without any gas for their car, and end up sheltering at a trailer park, run by a wicked woman, with two very strange children. One, is a dark and mysterious boy whom Barrymore's character grows interested in, however is warned by more than just her father to stay away from him.

The film may be too slow for some, but I thought it was alright. I was able to watch it all the way through, which is more than I can say for a lot of films. This, being the type that it is, really isn't all that bad, and if you're a big Drew Barrymore fan, you should check it out. I think you'll also find a different role for Anthony Rapp in this as well, who is really good.

If you're interested check it out, however don't spend a large amount of money buying or renting it. It's not worth it, for the quality of film it is.

L.A. writer Charlie Cox (Matt Frewer) and his restless daughter Joleen (Drew Barrymore) are driving home after a cross country trip of the national parks. She's turning 14 and can't wait to return home. They stop at the small desert town of Banco, Nevada. Gas station owner Ducket (Richard Masur) has no gas and Joleen encounters local Jimmy Reed. Sheriff Bill Childers (Dick Miller) is investigating a murder at the store and tells them to go to the nearby Palomino Guest Ranch and Trailer Park. It is owned by the hard Agnes Reed with her bad boy son Jimmy and bratty Sissy. There are Louise (Karen Austin) and Amy (Jennifer Tilly) at the park. Also there is nice boy Pinky Sears.

After her childhood success, a young Drew Barrymore is trying to continue with some jailbait roles culminating in 'Poison Ivy'. This could be a tense slasher thriller but the movie plays up the jailbait element at every turn. It's a bit awkward. It would be so much more appealing for her to be a little reserved and play up more of the innocence. She's a very compelling actress and it would make Jimmy Reed more threatening. The music cues for Jimmy get a bit annoying. The Reeds are so over the top that it borders on camp. The narration is mostly unnecessary, the title is too weak and the twist is too obvious. There are some good elements in this like Drew but it also fails in too many places.

Made when Drew Barrymore was still in the sexy teen stage of her career (though some might say she still is), Miss B and her father stop off in a small town, and Drew's charms catch the eye of a warped teen who proceeds to bump off all the obstacles in the path to make her his own...

Creepy stuff, which though not classic by any means does manage to keep you entertained, and the death of one character in an exploding car, though suffering from a major plot flaw (it's been established earlier that said car has a defective door handle, which traps her inside the car... apparently the concept of getting out through the OTHER door didn't occur to her), is truly frightening. Not the highpoint of Drew's career, but better than the likes of "Poison Ivy" and "The Amy Fisher Story."

Okay, most of the movies during Drew Barrymore's "bad girl" phase were pretty bad but this is a good movie. And for all you theater fans, you will recognize Anthony Rapp (as always) the nerd, Pinky. Rent this one and ignore Drew's voice overs and her bad lines like "Did you ever do it?"