Kids + Bikinis
Why I Saw This: Buzz + Bikinis. I'm not sure which was the greater motivation, but I won't pretend both were not a reason.
Cast: If you are looking for a way to wash off the Disney stink, this is a good one (See: Hathaway, Anne. Havoc). Selena Gomez is the biggest name, I'd say, but she isn't nearly as prominent as you'd think. Basically, she plays the good girl of the group, which fits her best. I think she is good in this. A little flat as a character, but I don't think anyone is all that complex by design. Vanessa Hudgens impressed me. She is crazy into her character. It is obvious she had fun doing it. Normally, she's the most disappointing person in a movie. This is the first time that wasn't the case. Since the characters are not all that deep, I'll outright admit, I could not tell the difference between Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine's characters for the first 3/4s of the movie. That's really not a complaint though. Other than Gomez, I really don't think I was supposed to see the girls as that different from one another. James Franco reminded me a lot of Matthew McConaughy in Magic Mike. By that, I mean that he is in a movie that on the surface is only about T&A and he looks to be the broadest of any character in it. Then, when you watch it, he ends up being both layered and well presented.
Plot: Imagine you are a parent of a college-aged girl who just gets a phone call from said daughter who tells you she went down to Florida for Spring Break. Now, go to sleep. That nightmare you have that night: That's the movie. There was nothing subtle about it. Scenes are repetitive and explicit to the point of being uncomfortable. The beginning, middle, and end are completely unbelievable and absurd, especially when James Franco's character is introduced. One thing I can say pretty safely is that Harmony Korine, the director and writer, does not view Spring Break favorably. Everything keeps escalating until it finally reaches an end that will only please you if you haven't given up on the movie at some point before that. For me, I thought the end framed everything really well, although I get the feeling that mine is a minority opinion.
Elephant in the Room: But really, it's about girls in bikinis, right? That element gets butts in the seats. I don't think anything involved in making it would deny that. Pretty quickly though, you realize - how can I put this - these aren't the good kind of boobs. Personally, I'd say that everything about them in Florida looks like hell on Earth. I was uncomfortable about nearly everything it shows about "Spring Break".
To Sum Things Up:
I was pleased by a lot of things that I didn't expect in this movie. It definitely left a lot for me to process. Before considering seeing this, I strongly recommend people seeing other movies by Korine (I've only seen Kids) or at least reading up on this movie first, because it is a bit of a shell-shock otherwise.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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