The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Chris Weitz
Running Time: 130 minutes
Imprint Entertainment, 2009
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Genre: Supernatural; Romance
Viewers Annotation
After vampire Edward deserts his true love Bella, she falls into a deep despair that only lifts as she deepens friendship with Native American Jacob... but he has secrets of his own.
Plot Summary
Bella and Edward are typical high school sweethearts, except that he's a vampire. On her 18th birthday, Bella has a nightmare that she ages into an old woman, while Edward stays forever 17. She tells him that she wants him to change her into a vampire, but he refuses, because he believes doing so will take away her soul. After her birthday party, when a paper cut sets off his brother's blood lust, Edward breaks things off with Bella, saying that there is no way their relationship can ever work. Before he leaves, he makes her promise that she will not do anything reckless and in return promises that she will never see him again. Bella spirals into a deep depression, having screaming nightmares at night and losing touch with all her friends.
While riding on a motorcycle, Bella is visited by a vision of Edward, who reminds her that she promised him not to do anything reckless. Because she is so desperate to see her love again, she decides to rebuild two broken motorcycles with her Native American friend Jacob, a 16-year-old who is handy with mechanics. Being with Jacob is the only thing that makes Bella happy, and when she's around him, she feels like her old self.
Life in Forks is never easy, though. Though Bella remains in love with Edward, Jacob is clearly falling for her. Bella's father is busy with reports of a mysterious large animal that has been spotted killing area hikers. And Jacob is worried about a pack of boys on the Rez, who all follow their leader around blindly, who seem to be coming for him next....
Critical Evaluation
There's only one thing I can say about this film: at one point, I laughed.... loudly. The entire theater turned to look at me. And the scene? It wasn't supposed to be funny.
I wanted to like this movie. I really, really did. But I couldn't because, well, it was terrible. Most of this movie rests on Kristen Stewart's shoulders; she's in practically every scene. But while I've enjoyed her in other films, including Speak and Twilight reviewed elsewhere in this blog, she just doesn't have the acting chops to carry this film and spends most of the film looking pained. As Edward, Robert Pattinson does better, but he has very few scenes in the movie. In his big dramatic scene at the movie's climax, his makeup is noticeably bad. The viewer wonders why Bella is struggling to choose between Edward and Jacob, when Edward looks like death warmed over. Taylor Lautner is a bright spot; his scenes with Stewart are the movie's best, and the only time where Stewart seems comfortable, and with his open smile and his six-pack abs, Bella's choice seems easy.
It's certainly not only the actors fault; the pacing of this movie is strange, and the editing should have been much, much tighter. We spend way too much time at the beginning of the movie on inconsequential details, so halfway through the movie, the viewer is willing the pace to pick up. The special effects are laughable; the first transformation of the Native Americans into werewolves was, in fact, what had me laughing out loud. The director relies on Matrix-like camera tricks to show the vampire's stealth and speed, but somehow it just comes out looking cheesy.
The screenwriter failed to make the necessary changes from the book to the screen. The reader learns about Bella's torture, her choice to live dangerously to prolong the visions of Edward through her risky behavior, through her narration. The viewer is not so lucky; people who have not read the book will be very confused as to what's going on in many scenes. While voice-overs can be a clunky technique, I think it would have helped this film tremendously. More experienced actors might have been able to convey these complex emotions wordlessly, but the teenage cast cannot.
That said, teenage fans of the book are flocking to this movie despite the bad reviews. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if many of them left as members of Team Jacob instead of Team Edward.
About the Director
Chris Weitz previously found huge success with young adults as co-director of American Pie, a raunchy sex comedy that also had a lot of heart. (His brother Paul was the other director.) Their next project was About A Boy starring Hugh Grant, based on the Nick Hornby novel. The movie was critically acclaimed, especially for its nuanced characterizations. Weitz' previous directing project was the film version of the modern young adult classic The Golden Compass.
Curriculum Ties
None, although its use in non-educational settings (such as a movie night at a library) would undoubtedly be popular.
Viewing Interest/Level
The film is appropriately rated PG-13 for scenes of action and violence. While teens and adults are the intended audience for the movie, younger teens in junior high will undoubtedly be curious about it, too, and the film would be appropriate for them as well.
Challenge Issues
Since parents tend to understand the MPAA rating system, I do not think it's likely that this film would be challenged in a library collection. It is appropriately rated PG-13 for scenes of violence and action.
Selection Criteria
Because of all the hype surrounding this movie, I decided to see it opening weekend. Indeed the theater was packed with young adults!
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
American Teen (film) dir. Nanette Burstein
American Teen
Directed by Nanette Burstein
ASIN B001OAOJUW
Running Time: 95 minutes
Paramount Vantage, 2008
Rated PG-13
Starring: Hannah Bailey, Megan Krizmanich, Jake Tusing
Genre: Documentary
Viewers Annotation
Five students in an Indiana high school -- two athletes, the queen bee, an artistic rebel, and a nerd -- are followed and filmed throughout their senior year.
Plot Summary
American Teen follows five teens at Warsaw High School in Warsaw, Indiana. Hannah is the rebel, an artist, musician and free spirit who wants to leave the Midwest and move to California to work in film. Megan is the most popular girl in school, chair of practically every student committee and a decent athlete, but many classmates, even her friends, complain that she's a bitch. Colin is the school's star athlete, a basketball player who is depending on winning a scholarship to attend college. He's a nice and funny guy, though the pressure of his future seems to be weighing heavily on him. Mitch is another basketball player, well-liked at school for his charm and his good looks. Jake is a nerd, an avid gamer and band geek. He continually asks girls out on dates, with varying success.
The movie follows them throughout their senior year, showing how their lives do (and don't) intersect. The movie's climax comes with their college acceptance letters and senior prom.
Critical Summary
This is an entertaining and thoughtful documentary. There's some real drama here. After her boyfriend breaks up with her immediately after they have sex for the first time, Hannah spirals into a deep depression and can't bear to go to school. (We learn her mother is manic-depressive, and Hannah fears she's inherited the disorder herself.) She misses so much school that the principal informs her that if she misses another day, she won't be able to graduate. After seeing Hannah perform in a rock band at a school assembly, Mitch develops a crush on her. They start dating and seem to have a great relationship--he has a goofy side, just like she does--but pressure from his friends, who can't understand why a popular kid like him is dating an outcast like her, affects their relationship.
Megan shows her true colors through multiple events throughout the film and is shown to be a generally unlikable person, but late in the film, we learn about a family tragedy that makes us much more sympathetic to her. Colin's father, a high school basketball star himself, puts immense pressure on his son to win a scholarship, and Colin begins to crack under the pressure. When a cute new freshman girl moves to town and joins the band, Jake sees an opportunity to get a girlfriend who doesn't know about his nerdy past.
All of these real, natural events are incredibly moving and compelling. Burstein does a great job in bringing the viewer back to the heightened emotional state one lives in as a high school senior. The movie also has several interesting animated sequences with different visual styles that allow the teen's deepest fears or dreams to be creatively depicted. Unfortunately, at times the movie seems scripted. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert complains that Megan is shown drawing sexual graffiti and a slur on a classmate's window and says that the incident seems staged. I had the same complaint, and also felt that several other scenes seemed staged by the filmmakers to maximize on-camera drama, similar to shows like Laguna Beach or The Hills.
Hannah Bailey's story is by far the most compelling, and she's the stand-out star here. As she struggles to maintain her independence amid a family who tells her "just remember: you're not special," the viewer roots for her to hold onto her dreams.
About the Director
Nanette Burstein is a documentary filmmaker who has worked on both films and television series. Several of her previous works have centered around young adults: On the Ropes is a documentary film that follows several young boxers and their trainer, and Film School was a reality TV series that followed young film students in New York.
Curriculum Ties
American Teen could be shown to spur discussion about a number of current teen issues: peer pressure, family pressure, social cliques, bullying, relationships, toxic friendships, etc.
Viewing Interest/Level
The documentary, which is rated PG-13 for some strong language use, and some scenes of teenage drinking and sexuality. It's most appropriate for high schoolers and up.
Challenge Issues
While it's not ever present, at times the teens in this film do "drop F-bombs" and use other strong language. There is some mention to teenage sexuality, and at one point someone draws a penis on another classmate's window. The teens drink and get drunk in several scenes. Since this is a documentary, these scenes probably mirror the everyday lives of many American teens. Since adults seem to be familiar with the MPAA rating system and the film is appropriately rated PG-13, I do not see that inclusion of this DVD in a library collection would be challenged. However, were it to be used as part of a school curriculum, there is a possibility the film could be challenged. Should that happen, the teacher should point to the film's numerous positive reviews and explain how it related to the lesson.
Selection Criteria
When this film came out last year, I was intrigued by its premise. After seeing it mentioned in multiple articles in our class reading, I decided to rent it.
Directed by Nanette Burstein
ASIN B001OAOJUW
Running Time: 95 minutes
Paramount Vantage, 2008
Rated PG-13
Starring: Hannah Bailey, Megan Krizmanich, Jake Tusing
Genre: Documentary
Viewers Annotation
Five students in an Indiana high school -- two athletes, the queen bee, an artistic rebel, and a nerd -- are followed and filmed throughout their senior year.
Plot Summary
American Teen follows five teens at Warsaw High School in Warsaw, Indiana. Hannah is the rebel, an artist, musician and free spirit who wants to leave the Midwest and move to California to work in film. Megan is the most popular girl in school, chair of practically every student committee and a decent athlete, but many classmates, even her friends, complain that she's a bitch. Colin is the school's star athlete, a basketball player who is depending on winning a scholarship to attend college. He's a nice and funny guy, though the pressure of his future seems to be weighing heavily on him. Mitch is another basketball player, well-liked at school for his charm and his good looks. Jake is a nerd, an avid gamer and band geek. He continually asks girls out on dates, with varying success.
The movie follows them throughout their senior year, showing how their lives do (and don't) intersect. The movie's climax comes with their college acceptance letters and senior prom.
Critical Summary
This is an entertaining and thoughtful documentary. There's some real drama here. After her boyfriend breaks up with her immediately after they have sex for the first time, Hannah spirals into a deep depression and can't bear to go to school. (We learn her mother is manic-depressive, and Hannah fears she's inherited the disorder herself.) She misses so much school that the principal informs her that if she misses another day, she won't be able to graduate. After seeing Hannah perform in a rock band at a school assembly, Mitch develops a crush on her. They start dating and seem to have a great relationship--he has a goofy side, just like she does--but pressure from his friends, who can't understand why a popular kid like him is dating an outcast like her, affects their relationship.
Megan shows her true colors through multiple events throughout the film and is shown to be a generally unlikable person, but late in the film, we learn about a family tragedy that makes us much more sympathetic to her. Colin's father, a high school basketball star himself, puts immense pressure on his son to win a scholarship, and Colin begins to crack under the pressure. When a cute new freshman girl moves to town and joins the band, Jake sees an opportunity to get a girlfriend who doesn't know about his nerdy past.
All of these real, natural events are incredibly moving and compelling. Burstein does a great job in bringing the viewer back to the heightened emotional state one lives in as a high school senior. The movie also has several interesting animated sequences with different visual styles that allow the teen's deepest fears or dreams to be creatively depicted. Unfortunately, at times the movie seems scripted. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert complains that Megan is shown drawing sexual graffiti and a slur on a classmate's window and says that the incident seems staged. I had the same complaint, and also felt that several other scenes seemed staged by the filmmakers to maximize on-camera drama, similar to shows like Laguna Beach or The Hills.
Hannah Bailey's story is by far the most compelling, and she's the stand-out star here. As she struggles to maintain her independence amid a family who tells her "just remember: you're not special," the viewer roots for her to hold onto her dreams.
About the Director
Nanette Burstein is a documentary filmmaker who has worked on both films and television series. Several of her previous works have centered around young adults: On the Ropes is a documentary film that follows several young boxers and their trainer, and Film School was a reality TV series that followed young film students in New York.
Curriculum Ties
American Teen could be shown to spur discussion about a number of current teen issues: peer pressure, family pressure, social cliques, bullying, relationships, toxic friendships, etc.
Viewing Interest/Level
The documentary, which is rated PG-13 for some strong language use, and some scenes of teenage drinking and sexuality. It's most appropriate for high schoolers and up.
Challenge Issues
While it's not ever present, at times the teens in this film do "drop F-bombs" and use other strong language. There is some mention to teenage sexuality, and at one point someone draws a penis on another classmate's window. The teens drink and get drunk in several scenes. Since this is a documentary, these scenes probably mirror the everyday lives of many American teens. Since adults seem to be familiar with the MPAA rating system and the film is appropriately rated PG-13, I do not see that inclusion of this DVD in a library collection would be challenged. However, were it to be used as part of a school curriculum, there is a possibility the film could be challenged. Should that happen, the teacher should point to the film's numerous positive reviews and explain how it related to the lesson.
Selection Criteria
When this film came out last year, I was intrigued by its premise. After seeing it mentioned in multiple articles in our class reading, I decided to rent it.
Twilight (film) dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Twilight
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
ASIN B001P5HRMI
Running time: 122 minutes
Summit Entertainment, 2008
Rated PG-13
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Genre: Supernatural; Romance
Viewers Annotation
When a teen girl moves to a small town in Washington to live with her father, she becomes intrigued by a beautiful, mysterious boy whose family holds a dark secret.
Plot Summary
Bella moves to small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father after her mother gets remarried. Though she used to spend part of her summer in Forks, she hasn't been back in many years. In such a small town, her arrival is big news, and both students and people around town are dying to talk to her. Bella, who is quiet, shy, and a little bit awkward, is unnerved by all the attention. Only one boy isn't all over her feet: Edward Cullen, the beautiful and mysterious boy whom all the girls have crushes on... but who has never dated a girl from school. Edward is supposed to be Bella's lab partner, but he spends the whole first lab holding his nose and acting as if he can't bear to be around Bella. Then he disappears from school for a week.
When he returns, he apologizes for his rudeness. Bella becomes friends with some of the kids from school, and also reconnects with Jacob Black, a Native American who is the son of her father's best friend. While visiting the reservation with some friends from school, Jacob tells her that the Cullens are not allowed on the Rez; an ancient legend says that his tribe is descended from werewolves and that the Cullens are evil creatures they are sworn to defeat. Bella does not dismiss this as mere legend, and using other observations she's made, figures out that Edward and the rest of his family are vampires. She's already fallen in love with him, and he with her, so rather than run away upon learning the news, she and he grow even closer. But there are a series of mysterious deaths getting nearer to Forks. Are vampires the cause of those attacks? And can Bella ever be safe while she's around Edward?
Critical Evaluation
Twilight, both the books and the film, seem to be equal targets of worship and ridicule. While watching this movie with my husband the other night, he was scoffing at the ridiculousness of several plot points. I had to agree with him intellectually, yet I admitted that the 15-year-old girl inside of me was absolutely swooning at the over-the-top romance. The film does a good job at portraying their young love. Robert Pattinson as Edward is appropriately intense and gorgeous. Though many have criticized Kristen Stewart's performance as Bella, I thought she was well-cast. Beautiful, awkward, and intense, she stands out as quite different from the stereotypical teens who surround her at Forks High. One can see why Edward is so attracted to her. The film's best scenes are the ones between Bella and Edward, as they navigate the waters of their changing relationship. I also enjoyed the scenes between Bella and Jacob (the excellently cast Taylor Lautner).
The film adapation, however, does highlight the weakest portions of Meyer's book. The dramatic confrontation between the Cullens and another vampire clan, taking place over a rousing game of vampire baseball, is even more ridiculous in the film than it was on the page. The final climax, where one vampire kidnaps Bella in order to get Edward to chase him, feels way too rushed. The emotions in the movie's final scenes are told through dialogue rather than shown through acting and editing.
The movie is gorgeous; Forks is lush and green, and the famous scene where Bella and Edward lie down together in a meadow is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The final scene, where Edward escorts Bella to her prom, is also quite lovely, as Bella and Edward dance in a gazebo covered in fairy lights. The movie's soundtrack is quite effective at using pop music to help convey a sense of place and emotions throughout the film.
About the Director
Before Twilight, Catherine Hardwicke was probably best known for Thirteen, a controversial 2003 film about two 13-year-old girls who drink, take drugs, steal, and engage in self-mutilation. The co-writer and star of that film was cast as Rosalie Cullen in Twilight. Another of Hardwicke's major releases, Lords of Dogtown, deals with young adults. It tells the story of the California teens who invented skateboarding.
Curriculum Ties
This film is not well-suited for use in any curriculum, though it would certainly be a popular choice for a movie night for a school or library event.
Viewing Interest/Level
The movie would probably be of interest to junior high students and up. The movie is rated PG-13 for some scenes of violence and one scene of sensuality (though there is no nudity).
Challenge Issues
I don't think that this movie would be likely to be challenged. Adults tend to understand the MPAA rating system well, and the movie is appropriately rated PG-13. While sometimes supernatural films or books are challenged by people who find them offensive to their religious beliefs, Twilight was written by a Mormon writer and is praised by many for its themes of abstinence.
Selection Criteria
The movie is an absolute phenomenon among young adults! A recent Twilight-themed party was the most successful young adult programming event my branch library had had in recent years.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
ASIN B001P5HRMI
Running time: 122 minutes
Summit Entertainment, 2008
Rated PG-13
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Genre: Supernatural; Romance
Viewers Annotation
When a teen girl moves to a small town in Washington to live with her father, she becomes intrigued by a beautiful, mysterious boy whose family holds a dark secret.
Plot Summary
Bella moves to small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father after her mother gets remarried. Though she used to spend part of her summer in Forks, she hasn't been back in many years. In such a small town, her arrival is big news, and both students and people around town are dying to talk to her. Bella, who is quiet, shy, and a little bit awkward, is unnerved by all the attention. Only one boy isn't all over her feet: Edward Cullen, the beautiful and mysterious boy whom all the girls have crushes on... but who has never dated a girl from school. Edward is supposed to be Bella's lab partner, but he spends the whole first lab holding his nose and acting as if he can't bear to be around Bella. Then he disappears from school for a week.
When he returns, he apologizes for his rudeness. Bella becomes friends with some of the kids from school, and also reconnects with Jacob Black, a Native American who is the son of her father's best friend. While visiting the reservation with some friends from school, Jacob tells her that the Cullens are not allowed on the Rez; an ancient legend says that his tribe is descended from werewolves and that the Cullens are evil creatures they are sworn to defeat. Bella does not dismiss this as mere legend, and using other observations she's made, figures out that Edward and the rest of his family are vampires. She's already fallen in love with him, and he with her, so rather than run away upon learning the news, she and he grow even closer. But there are a series of mysterious deaths getting nearer to Forks. Are vampires the cause of those attacks? And can Bella ever be safe while she's around Edward?
Critical Evaluation
Twilight, both the books and the film, seem to be equal targets of worship and ridicule. While watching this movie with my husband the other night, he was scoffing at the ridiculousness of several plot points. I had to agree with him intellectually, yet I admitted that the 15-year-old girl inside of me was absolutely swooning at the over-the-top romance. The film does a good job at portraying their young love. Robert Pattinson as Edward is appropriately intense and gorgeous. Though many have criticized Kristen Stewart's performance as Bella, I thought she was well-cast. Beautiful, awkward, and intense, she stands out as quite different from the stereotypical teens who surround her at Forks High. One can see why Edward is so attracted to her. The film's best scenes are the ones between Bella and Edward, as they navigate the waters of their changing relationship. I also enjoyed the scenes between Bella and Jacob (the excellently cast Taylor Lautner).
The film adapation, however, does highlight the weakest portions of Meyer's book. The dramatic confrontation between the Cullens and another vampire clan, taking place over a rousing game of vampire baseball, is even more ridiculous in the film than it was on the page. The final climax, where one vampire kidnaps Bella in order to get Edward to chase him, feels way too rushed. The emotions in the movie's final scenes are told through dialogue rather than shown through acting and editing.
The movie is gorgeous; Forks is lush and green, and the famous scene where Bella and Edward lie down together in a meadow is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The final scene, where Edward escorts Bella to her prom, is also quite lovely, as Bella and Edward dance in a gazebo covered in fairy lights. The movie's soundtrack is quite effective at using pop music to help convey a sense of place and emotions throughout the film.
About the Director
Before Twilight, Catherine Hardwicke was probably best known for Thirteen, a controversial 2003 film about two 13-year-old girls who drink, take drugs, steal, and engage in self-mutilation. The co-writer and star of that film was cast as Rosalie Cullen in Twilight. Another of Hardwicke's major releases, Lords of Dogtown, deals with young adults. It tells the story of the California teens who invented skateboarding.
Curriculum Ties
This film is not well-suited for use in any curriculum, though it would certainly be a popular choice for a movie night for a school or library event.
Viewing Interest/Level
The movie would probably be of interest to junior high students and up. The movie is rated PG-13 for some scenes of violence and one scene of sensuality (though there is no nudity).
Challenge Issues
I don't think that this movie would be likely to be challenged. Adults tend to understand the MPAA rating system well, and the movie is appropriately rated PG-13. While sometimes supernatural films or books are challenged by people who find them offensive to their religious beliefs, Twilight was written by a Mormon writer and is praised by many for its themes of abstinence.
Selection Criteria
The movie is an absolute phenomenon among young adults! A recent Twilight-themed party was the most successful young adult programming event my branch library had had in recent years.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
17 Again (film) dir. Burr Steers
17 Again
Directed by Burr Steers
ASIN B001OQCUYI
Running time: 102 minutes
New Line, 2009
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann
Genre: Comedy
Viewer's Annotation: Frustrated by his failures in life, thirtysomething Mike gets magically transformed back into his 17-year-old body to redo his senior year of high school and fix his mistakes.
Plot Summary: In high school, Mike had it all. He was a nice guy, star of the basketball team, and dated Scarlett, the prettiest girl in school. When he finds out she is pregnant, he walks away from a college basketball scholarship to marry her. Fast forward another 17 years, and Mike is miserable. He and Scarlett are getting divorced, he's completely disconnected from his two teenage kids, and he's stuck in a job that's going nowhere. Scarlett still has feelings for him, but says he's wasted the past 17 years complaining about how his life turned out and doesn't want to waste the rest of hers.
A magical school janitor magically changes Mike's body back to its 17-year-old state. (Mike stays in the present day and does not go back in time.) With the help of his best friend Ned, a nerd in high school who's now incredibly rich, Mike figures out that he is supposed to re-enroll in high school; here is his fresh chance to fix his mistakes! Pretending that he is Ned's long lost son, he befriends his wife and children and decides that his job is to fix their lives. As a peer, he sees his children much more clearly than he ever did as their father. His son is a favorite target of bullies and lacks the self-confidence to try out for the basketball team, even though he's quite talented. His daughter is dating a low-life and is ready to throw away her entire future on him. Mike also spends time with his wife (in the guise of helping her landscape her backyard) and realizes that he still loves her and has never fully appreciated her. Mike decides his mission is to change his family's life for the better.
Critical Evaluation
The adult-retransformed-into-teenage-self is a common trope of teen movies. 17 Again doesn't exactly break new artistic ground, but it handles the familiar material well. Matthew Perry has a bit of a thankless role, but is effective at making it clear that, though Mike has made many mistakes with his family along the way, he does deeply love and care about them. Zac Efron, of High School Musical fame, is charming and funny and does a good job carrying the movie. He has a gratuitous dance scene in the beginning of the film that is so much fun you can forgive the filmmakers for including it, and a scene where he humiliates the jock who is bullying his son and taking advantage of his daughter is also funny and satisfying.
The movie has some weird sexual undercurrents. The adult Scarlett is strangely attracted to the teenage Mike; she keeps on commenting on how he looks just like her husband did as a teenager. There are some moments of sexual tension between the two, which are broken with jokes about "cougars" and "MILFs." After he convinces his daughter to leave her loser boyfriend, she decides to turn her romantic affections on him. The movie treats all of these encounters with a light and comical tone, a la Back to the Future.
Still, despite these flaws, the movie generally plays well, A subplot involving Ned trying to win the affections of the school principal is a bit over the top, but it will surely appeal to teenage audiences.
About the Director
Burr Steers has appeared in bit parts in several movies, including Pulp Fiction. He has directed episodes for a number of cable dramas, including Big Love, Weeds, and The L Word, but 17 Again is his first feature film. He is working on another film starring Zac Efron, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, scheduled to be released in 2010.
Curriculum Ties
While frothy and fun, this film does not contain enough substance to be used in any school curriculum.
Viewing Interest/Level
The movie is rated PG-13. There's some mild language that would be inappropriate for younger viewers, but shouldn't cause any teens to bat an eye. There are references to sex--Scarlett gets pregnant in high school, condoms are passed out in a health class lecture--but the most explicit thing shown in the film is a kiss.
Challenge Issues
Since parents tend to understand the MPAA rating system for film, I do not think this would be likely to be challenged. Its PG-13 label is appropriate for its mild language and sexual references. Parents, too, might appreciate the scene where Mike urges his classmates to abstain from sex until they are truly in love, and even better, married.
Selection Criteria
Though I've certainly heard a lot about Zac Efron from the teenage girls in my life, I've never actually seen one of his films! I decided to rent this film to see what a popular teen film looks like these days.
Directed by Burr Steers
ASIN B001OQCUYI
Running time: 102 minutes
New Line, 2009
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann
Genre: Comedy
Viewer's Annotation: Frustrated by his failures in life, thirtysomething Mike gets magically transformed back into his 17-year-old body to redo his senior year of high school and fix his mistakes.
Plot Summary: In high school, Mike had it all. He was a nice guy, star of the basketball team, and dated Scarlett, the prettiest girl in school. When he finds out she is pregnant, he walks away from a college basketball scholarship to marry her. Fast forward another 17 years, and Mike is miserable. He and Scarlett are getting divorced, he's completely disconnected from his two teenage kids, and he's stuck in a job that's going nowhere. Scarlett still has feelings for him, but says he's wasted the past 17 years complaining about how his life turned out and doesn't want to waste the rest of hers.
A magical school janitor magically changes Mike's body back to its 17-year-old state. (Mike stays in the present day and does not go back in time.) With the help of his best friend Ned, a nerd in high school who's now incredibly rich, Mike figures out that he is supposed to re-enroll in high school; here is his fresh chance to fix his mistakes! Pretending that he is Ned's long lost son, he befriends his wife and children and decides that his job is to fix their lives. As a peer, he sees his children much more clearly than he ever did as their father. His son is a favorite target of bullies and lacks the self-confidence to try out for the basketball team, even though he's quite talented. His daughter is dating a low-life and is ready to throw away her entire future on him. Mike also spends time with his wife (in the guise of helping her landscape her backyard) and realizes that he still loves her and has never fully appreciated her. Mike decides his mission is to change his family's life for the better.
Critical Evaluation
The adult-retransformed-into-teenage-self is a common trope of teen movies. 17 Again doesn't exactly break new artistic ground, but it handles the familiar material well. Matthew Perry has a bit of a thankless role, but is effective at making it clear that, though Mike has made many mistakes with his family along the way, he does deeply love and care about them. Zac Efron, of High School Musical fame, is charming and funny and does a good job carrying the movie. He has a gratuitous dance scene in the beginning of the film that is so much fun you can forgive the filmmakers for including it, and a scene where he humiliates the jock who is bullying his son and taking advantage of his daughter is also funny and satisfying.
The movie has some weird sexual undercurrents. The adult Scarlett is strangely attracted to the teenage Mike; she keeps on commenting on how he looks just like her husband did as a teenager. There are some moments of sexual tension between the two, which are broken with jokes about "cougars" and "MILFs." After he convinces his daughter to leave her loser boyfriend, she decides to turn her romantic affections on him. The movie treats all of these encounters with a light and comical tone, a la Back to the Future.
Still, despite these flaws, the movie generally plays well, A subplot involving Ned trying to win the affections of the school principal is a bit over the top, but it will surely appeal to teenage audiences.
About the Director
Burr Steers has appeared in bit parts in several movies, including Pulp Fiction. He has directed episodes for a number of cable dramas, including Big Love, Weeds, and The L Word, but 17 Again is his first feature film. He is working on another film starring Zac Efron, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, scheduled to be released in 2010.
Curriculum Ties
While frothy and fun, this film does not contain enough substance to be used in any school curriculum.
Viewing Interest/Level
The movie is rated PG-13. There's some mild language that would be inappropriate for younger viewers, but shouldn't cause any teens to bat an eye. There are references to sex--Scarlett gets pregnant in high school, condoms are passed out in a health class lecture--but the most explicit thing shown in the film is a kiss.
Challenge Issues
Since parents tend to understand the MPAA rating system for film, I do not think this would be likely to be challenged. Its PG-13 label is appropriate for its mild language and sexual references. Parents, too, might appreciate the scene where Mike urges his classmates to abstain from sex until they are truly in love, and even better, married.
Selection Criteria
Though I've certainly heard a lot about Zac Efron from the teenage girls in my life, I've never actually seen one of his films! I decided to rent this film to see what a popular teen film looks like these days.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Speak (film), dir. by Jessica Sharzer
Speak
Directed by Jessica Sharzer
ASIN B000A7Q2I2
Running time: 93 minutes
Showtime Entertainment, 2004
Genre: Film; Drama
Viewer's Annotation:
After being raped the summer before her freshman year of high school, Melinda decides to stop speaking.
Plot Summary
Melinda (Kristen Stewart) enters her freshman year of high school as an outcast; her junior high friends have all joined other cliques, but she belongs nowhere. Her parents (Elizabeth Perkins, D.B. Sweeney) are preoccupied with their jobs, and for the most part her teachers seem at best uninspiring and at worst openly hostile. Miserable, Melinda decides no one would notice if she stopped speaking, so she spends the school year selectively mute, speaking as little as possible. In flashbacks, we find out that Melinda was raped shortly before school began and told no one. She called the police intending to report the rape, but incurred the wrath of her peers who assumed she was calling them to bust the underage party where it occurred.
As the school year progresses, Melinda sinks downwards and deeper into depression.The only two bright spots in her life are Mr. Freeman, the art teacher who encourages Melinda to express herself through art, and Dave Petrakis, her lab partner, who convinces her that the only way she can truly rebel is to speak up.
Critical Evaluation
Based on the Laurie Halse Anderson book of the same name (and also reviewed in this blog), the film stays largely true to the events of the book. (Certain small details are changed, such as the location of the rape, probably to make them slightly more cinematic.) Large portions of the dialogue are taken directly from the book. Anderson wrote the book in first person, and much of its text consisted of Bella's unspoken thoughts and observations on the high school world around her. The movie tries to recreate this, largely effectively, through voiceovers and point-of-view shots.
The movie is especially good at depicting the everyday miseries of high school life; like the book, Melinda's observations about the school, her teachers, and classmates are sardonic and spot-on. The movie, however, is not quite as good when it comes to depicting Melinda's family life. Her relationship with her parents is more satisfyingly explored in the book, and we understand more why she never told them about the rape. In the movie, however, we don't get a real sense of them as characters, and we don't understand why Melinda feels so fundmentally betrayed by them.
The character of Mr. Freeman, the art teacher, seems slightly less angry than his book equivalent, yet he is as equally nurturing. Some of the movie's best scenes show Melinda in his classroom, trying to express herself through art.
Because I had read the book just days before watching the movie, it's inevitable that most of my thoughts were about how the two directly compared. As with almost every book-to-film adaptation, the film suffers from not being able to include nearly as much detail about its characters interior lives. However, as it stands alone, the film is wonderful, moving, and funny, with great performances.
About the director:
Jessica Sharzer, the director, also co-wrote the screenplay. Speak has been the biggest release she's directed, though she is currently at work on a Dusty Springfield biopic starring Kristen Chenoweth.
Curriculum ties:
Rape, depression, social alienation, high school social dynamics, art
Viewing Interest/Level:
The film has been rated PG-13 for "mature thematic material involving a teen rape." It's not graphic, and I think it could be recommended for mature junior high students and up.
Challenge Issues
Though it stays very true to the book, I actually think it would be less likely to be challenged as a film than as a book, perhaps because parents tend to understand and appreciate the MPAA rating system. The PG-13 rating is appropriate; there are two scenes of violence, though neither is graphic.
Selection Criteria
I stumbled across this DVD in my library's OPAC, when I was looking for the book. Interesting note: there's recently been revived interest in this film, which was a small, independent release, because the actress who plays Melinda, Kristen Stewart, plays Bella in the films based on the Twilight saga.) There's currently a long wait for it at my local library, so I think it's been discovered both by teens who loved the book and who loved Twilight.
Directed by Jessica Sharzer
ASIN B000A7Q2I2
Running time: 93 minutes
Showtime Entertainment, 2004
Genre: Film; Drama
Viewer's Annotation:
After being raped the summer before her freshman year of high school, Melinda decides to stop speaking.
Plot Summary
Melinda (Kristen Stewart) enters her freshman year of high school as an outcast; her junior high friends have all joined other cliques, but she belongs nowhere. Her parents (Elizabeth Perkins, D.B. Sweeney) are preoccupied with their jobs, and for the most part her teachers seem at best uninspiring and at worst openly hostile. Miserable, Melinda decides no one would notice if she stopped speaking, so she spends the school year selectively mute, speaking as little as possible. In flashbacks, we find out that Melinda was raped shortly before school began and told no one. She called the police intending to report the rape, but incurred the wrath of her peers who assumed she was calling them to bust the underage party where it occurred.
As the school year progresses, Melinda sinks downwards and deeper into depression.The only two bright spots in her life are Mr. Freeman, the art teacher who encourages Melinda to express herself through art, and Dave Petrakis, her lab partner, who convinces her that the only way she can truly rebel is to speak up.
Critical Evaluation
Based on the Laurie Halse Anderson book of the same name (and also reviewed in this blog), the film stays largely true to the events of the book. (Certain small details are changed, such as the location of the rape, probably to make them slightly more cinematic.) Large portions of the dialogue are taken directly from the book. Anderson wrote the book in first person, and much of its text consisted of Bella's unspoken thoughts and observations on the high school world around her. The movie tries to recreate this, largely effectively, through voiceovers and point-of-view shots.
The movie is especially good at depicting the everyday miseries of high school life; like the book, Melinda's observations about the school, her teachers, and classmates are sardonic and spot-on. The movie, however, is not quite as good when it comes to depicting Melinda's family life. Her relationship with her parents is more satisfyingly explored in the book, and we understand more why she never told them about the rape. In the movie, however, we don't get a real sense of them as characters, and we don't understand why Melinda feels so fundmentally betrayed by them.
The character of Mr. Freeman, the art teacher, seems slightly less angry than his book equivalent, yet he is as equally nurturing. Some of the movie's best scenes show Melinda in his classroom, trying to express herself through art.
Because I had read the book just days before watching the movie, it's inevitable that most of my thoughts were about how the two directly compared. As with almost every book-to-film adaptation, the film suffers from not being able to include nearly as much detail about its characters interior lives. However, as it stands alone, the film is wonderful, moving, and funny, with great performances.
About the director:
Jessica Sharzer, the director, also co-wrote the screenplay. Speak has been the biggest release she's directed, though she is currently at work on a Dusty Springfield biopic starring Kristen Chenoweth.
Curriculum ties:
Rape, depression, social alienation, high school social dynamics, art
Viewing Interest/Level:
The film has been rated PG-13 for "mature thematic material involving a teen rape." It's not graphic, and I think it could be recommended for mature junior high students and up.
Challenge Issues
Though it stays very true to the book, I actually think it would be less likely to be challenged as a film than as a book, perhaps because parents tend to understand and appreciate the MPAA rating system. The PG-13 rating is appropriate; there are two scenes of violence, though neither is graphic.
Selection Criteria
I stumbled across this DVD in my library's OPAC, when I was looking for the book. Interesting note: there's recently been revived interest in this film, which was a small, independent release, because the actress who plays Melinda, Kristen Stewart, plays Bella in the films based on the Twilight saga.) There's currently a long wait for it at my local library, so I think it's been discovered both by teens who loved the book and who loved Twilight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)