It's a sexy
story of an L.A. Romeo and Juliet that manages to avoid alot
of the clichés you'd normally expect.
 |
|
You might not
think the 'girl meets boy' story needs re-telling, but here it is
served up in a surprisingly pallatable form with the story of a
(crazy) mixed-up rich girl and her poor (beautiful) Latino lover.
Nicole (Kirsten
Dunst) is the emotionally troubled, hard drinking daughter of a
rich but liberal Congressman who has all but given up on his self-destructive
daughter.
Kirsten Dunst
manages to look suitably spaced out throughout the film |
One day she
meets Carlos (Jay Hernandez), an unbelievably squeeky clean Latino
student who is working hard at school to get out of his East Los
Angeles barrio.
It's not surprising
then that there's going to be trouble when they get together.
In a nice reversal
of roles it's Carlos that faces pressure from family and friends
to steer clear of the rich white girl. Their relationship looks
like it could jepordise his chances of changing his life and escaping
the crushing poverty of his home.
Jay Hernandez
is a clean cut Mr nice guy - Hey you're too good for her! |
So will Nicole
drag Carlos down into her world of reckless drinking and drug abuse?
This is an excellent
film – a welcome change from normal teen fodder that Hollywood routinely
pumps out. The film respects it's young audience by giving it's
characters an emotional depth that is usually lacking in films of
it's type.
Yes the film
is overly optimistic, especially in it's resolution. Nicole's substance
abuse is simply brushed over as if love can conquer all. but if
you forgive the Hollywood simplifications you will find a film that
is well worth a trip to the flicks.
|
