Crazy/Beautiful

It's not often that we see a REAL teen movie nowadays. I live in Jersey City, so I personally can't relate to these teen flicks involving blonde airheads and guys who look like they just jumped off the pages of "Tiger Beat."

In "Crazy/Beautiful" one of the main characters is a Hispanic--played beautifully by Jay Hernandez who I hope to see in more and more movies--which I CAN relate to. Most of the friends I know are of Hispanic origin, and it's very rare that you see a Hispanic as a lead in a film like this. And Jay's Hispanic character wasn't used merely as a tool in creating melodrama in a preachy "West Side Story" manner.

Kirsten Dunst pretty much gives the best performance of her career. I like how they didn't put much makeup on her face, giving her a much more real look. I think Kirsten is one of the most beautiful young actresses in the biz, so I think she's beautiful no matter how little makeup she wears. So I'm not going to say it was a plus that they made her look "ugly." She didn't look ugly, but at the same time she looked like a real teenage girl and it added to her character.

Bruce Davison has a great supporting role as Kirsten's father. Of course, in all teen movies, they feel it's needed to add a top-class, veteran actor to the cast to give it a touch of class. Well, that's one cliche of teen movies that I don't mind and Bruce was great, proving himself as one of our great, underrated actors.

I like how Jay's character is never really discriminated against by Kirsten's white-collar Dad--who's a Congressman. None of this "You're dating a man of another race???" or "You're dating a man of low-class" crap. The film skips through all that, being that Jay is a well-to-do individual who has his head up high and wants to become a pilot. The Dad has nothing against that, in fact he wants to help him out, setting him up with an interview and everything. But he doesn't want him to see his daughter, because of the way she is. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't reveal what exactly her problem is. So I thought that was a good way of flipping this sub-genre on its head. Usually it's the father who doesn't want the daughter to date the guy, because he doesn't like who she's dating. In this case, he didn't want the two of them to go together, because he's concerned about the boyfriend.

I only have a few problems with this film. First off, you never really get the feeling that Kirsten has a severe problem between the beginning and end. So it feels like her disorder was used strictly as a dramatic tool. Through most of the film, she's amazingly jovial. We see her drinking once in a while, but let's face it--what teen doesn't? And I thought--especially for a PG-13 film--they went overboard with the sex scenes. I'm not saying that they were explicit, but there was a good deal of them. I was thinking, as watching certain portions of the film, what my Dad said: "The love in most romantic movies nowadays seems to be based more on sex than love." Don't get me wrong, we do get a feel of the love--not lust--between Jay and Kirsten, but they could've trimmed the sex just a bit. It just came off in the wrong way.

For those looking for an escape from most of the lame teen flicks that have been fed to us in previous years, I recommend you check this one out. It's a shame that this movie didn't reach a big audience in theaters. I really hope more people will go out and rent this film, because it's very good.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

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.

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.

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.

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