| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A- |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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i know at least thirteen girls like this
by Carrie (movies profile)
Jun 11, 2006
15
of
15 people found this review helpful
So I became inspired to write this in surprised response to some of the scathing reviews others have posted. From the moment I stepped out of the theatre through the following morning I have found myself unable to stop thinking or talking about it; in particular how aptly the movie has captured the drastic truth of being a teenage girl in America. Several folks have written this movie off as "pornographic" due to its sexual content which seems silly and problematic to me for several reasons. Firstly nothing much actually HAPPENS on screen, beyond "making out" and a LOT of sexual talk and inuendos (which, happens to be remarkably reminiscent of MY teenage years. Teen sexuality has long made adults feel uncomfortable and squeemish, however, that does not make it unrealistic or pornographic. My guess is that those people who write off the homoerotic kiss scenes as "child pornography" are simply horrified at the fact that they themselves were aroused by the scenes and are therefore trying to find a way to discredit them entirely. (as a side, it is not against the law to be turned on, the trouble starts when you follow such impulses) Moreover, kids kiss each other. There it is, the simple truth. Oh yeah, AND they do drugs AND they hurt themsleves. Not always, but not so rarely as we might hope. As a successful adult who works with troubled teen girls, and who was once a teenager much like the ones portrayed in this movie, I feel qualified to make such a statement.
Ok. For those who can get past the hard truths protrayed in this movie, another thing to mention is the incredible cinematography which literally took my breath away at several moments. The moments of agony and self-torment\torture are given a grainy quality which left me clenching my muscles, bracing myself for the next punch or cut. Unquestionably, these scenes are hard to watch, as well they should be. I would have been much more disturbed at a movie that showed teen girls huffing aerosol and cutting themselves in a lighthearted or amusing manner. Also, the scenes in which the girls are under the influence of various drugs take on a surreal and distorted quality (much like doing drugs!) and I found myself having a visceral response and feeling the effects myself.
Perhaps most compelling part of the story happens when we see Tracy, the good-girl as of yet, watch the attention paid to Evie, the "bad influence" and the strength given to the male gaze. As Tracy is attempting to talk to her brother at school, all attention is absorbed by the hip-hugger\halter-top wearing Evie who, as the boys put it, "grew up over the summer". She has now successfully adopted the sexualized image that teen girls are conmsistently rewarded for conforming to in our culture. Tracy knows at once that to gain such admiration from boys and girls alike, she must trade in her toys for thong underwear and her sweatshirt for a crop top. And her understanding is confirmed. Shortly after she has she adopted the J-Lo-esque wardrobe, she is asked out by one of the cool boys. Are these girls rebeling in their overtly sexual behavior, or merely doing just what society tells them to? The scene where the mother finds the skimpy underwear with a cartoon dog that reads "i wanna bone" reminded me and my date of the Abercrombie&Fitch scandal which happened not too long ago, where they received much media attention for marketing thong underwear in little girl sizes. Once again, whose idea was it for these teen girls to be so sexy? |
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