Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 4, Thumbs Way Up.
Rated R For Strong Sexual Content, Language, Nudity, Drug Use And Violence Throughout.
1hr 34min/94min.
157 uses of the F-word.
Alien: "Spring Break.....Spring Break.......Spring Break Forever......."
This is the most misunderstood film of the year. Usually when I watch a movie, I post that I am watching on social media. When I posted that I was watching this, there was unanimously negative feedback, calling it a mess, sloppy, and that not even James Franco could save the film. They were even more shocked that, after I was done watching it, not only did I say that I loved it, but that I thought it was the best film of the year. Yes that's right. Call me crazy, but I love this film with a passion. There is something special about this film. In it's own sloppy and hyper-kenetic way, it's damn beautiful. This film called attention to itself in a negative way. When it was anounced that three Disney alums would be appearing the film; Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Selena Gomez with all of the attention directed towards Miss Gomez. "Gasp! she can't be in a movie like that! she was on Wizards Of Waverly Place. My kids look up to her." Then don't let them watch this. The film has an R Rating for a good reason. It's not directed towards fans of her childrens work. I liked to see her branch out and do something more adult and mature in her life instead of being typcast in a Disney role. And boy is the R Rating strong. There is a lot of nudity in the film, but that in no way, shape or form distracts from the film. As a matter of fact, it fits extremely well with the tone of the film. There is some drug use in the film, of the cocaine variety. There is some hard drinking and violence in the film, and a great amount of language. Again all of this fits the film like a glove. Just because a film has rauncy content dosen't make it bad, in fact, in the case of this film, it is nessascary to explore the lifestyle of Spring Break.
Four Girls: Faith(Selena Gomez), Brittany(Ashley Benson), Candy(Vanessa Hudgens) and Cotty(Rachel Korine) dream of getting away from their school lifestyle and go on Spring Break, however, they don't have the money. One night, after ingesting cocaine, Cotty, Candy and Brittany rob a local resteraunt and receive the money needed. The girls then have the time of their lives, until they are busted for committing the robbery. They are put in a holding cell where a man named Alien(James Franco) bails them out. Soon Faith leaves due to the uncomfortable nature of Alien and his surroundings, leaving the other girls alone in Alien's presence.
The film has a very hyper-kinetic feel to it. The way that the cinematography and editing are done is very shaky, making you feel like an outsider looking in on the lives of these 4 girls who just want have a good time at Spring Break. The colors used in the film are bleak at some points and candy-colored the next. This is not your typical teen film by any standard. No American Pie-type humor will be found here. Now I read a quote on the back of the DVD case for the film that called the film "Wickedly Funny"(Forgive me, I forget which critic wrote that). This film feels more like a dark and bleak drama, than a "wickedly funny" comedy. Saying that makes it feel as if it is a normal teen film. The film does have some funny moments, like when the girls are recreating their robbery expierience for Faith and doing it with a huge smile on thier face.
James Franco has had a string of hits this year. Oz The Great And Powerful was magnificent and This Is The End was fantastically hilarious and my favorite comedy of the year, but he brings a whole new level of acting to himself with his role as Alien. He does look to be modeled after rapper Riff-Raff(For which he is now suing for his likeness) but he brings a grimy look to a character that wants to help the girls and not harm them. For this film, he deserves at least an Oscar Nomination. The girls also do a fantastic job. Selena Gomez is the safest of the girls. She doesn't do any foul drugs or any sexual activities, but she does leave an impact in the faint screen time she has. Vanessa Hudgens makes a mark as candy, the filithiest of the four and willing to do anything. The other two girls, Benson and Korine do well and fit right along with Gomez and Hudgens. Yes the movie revolves around Spring Break, yes there is nudity but not between the 4 girls. But should that detract from the incredibly engaging movie sitting in front of you? No.
"Come on y'all, quit actin' 'spicious" Alien says to the girls shortly after bailing them out. This could mean one of two things to the audience, 1. He generally doesn't want to harm them and have some fun or 2. He could potentially harm them with his "gangsta" lifestyle. Here's a fun drinking game, take a drink everytime Alien says "Look at my shyeet". It's said quite often, but brings some more humor into a dark situation. What really intrigues me are the little details. They show the robbery in the film twice. The first time, it's shot silently from outside. When you see it a second time, it's explained in further detail and shown from the inside. It just goes to show that things can seem longer from the inside than on the outside. I like how the girls don't have a single look of regret on thier face after doing it, showing the wild side to these (seemingly) innocent girls.
Warning! Major Spoilers Ahead! Skip this paragraph if you have not yet seen this film! The ending speaks 1,000 words. At this point in the film, Faith has left due to her uncomfortableness with Alien, and Cotty has left due to a stint where she is shot in the arm. Alien, Brittany and Candy go to get revenge on the man who shot Cotty. As soon as they step off the boat, Alien is sadly shot and killed. The girls then shoot their way through the house leaving no survivors. Now think about this. As they drive down the road at the end, they have a saddend look upon their face. All they wanted to do was have fun on Spring Break, but within a flash, it turned on them. They turned to crime and murder, this Spring Break forever left on their minds.
The writing is done so well that the film takes twists and turns that even I couldn't predict. Harmony Korine's directing is absoultley Masterful. He brings these five actors together to make a film that he knew would cause some buzz, and buzz it did. This film should be shown in film classes as an example of a cinematic autuer. The soundtrak is quite good. Normally I hate the type of monotonous rap played in the film but it works really well. The last song used in the film is Lights by Ellie Goulding. The song is hauntingly beautiful and brought a tear in my eye when the film was over. This has to be the best film I have seen all year. Don't act 'spicious. See this film immediately.
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