Teenage Dirtbag
I'm feeling a bit down today, so when I decided to watch a movie, in retrospect, I realize I should have chosen something light-hearted. Instead, I chose to watch what turned out to be THE MOST DEPRESSING MOVIE EVER: Teenage Dirtbag, starring Scott Michael Foster (aka. Cappie from Greek) and some chick that looks a lot like Emily from Make It Or Break It, but isn't.
I actually really liked the movie's central concept. Surely, for all of us, there was that guy you knew in high school who, looking back, you realize was messed up and in need of your help, but at the time you just viewed him as annoyance, because you were caught up in your own petty bullshit.
And I liked that the movie didn't pull its punches and have Amber 'save' Thayer through the blinding power of her love (which is what usually happens in these type of movies). It was pretty clear from the scene in the movie theatre bathroom that Thayer's encroaching madness wasn't something that could be 'kissed better'. (That scene, plus the "why did you do it?"/"because I hate you" locker scene, were really beautiful. I loved the mix of emotions -- one minute she's hugging him and then trying to push him away; first he's screaming at her and then leaning his forehead against hers.)
However, the movie was just weighed down by weird and irrelevant side-plots. You could have taken out all of the flash-forward scenes, except the one where Amber finds out he's dead, and it would have altered the movie not at all. During high school, there was also that weirdly-involved cheerleading storyline, which received a lot of build up but no dramatic resolution. (Did she just get taken out of the routine for good?) Plus, if you're going to end the movie on a wistful shot of Sister Jeannie, could we maybe find out what she's been doing since getting raped by her brother? Poor, poor storytelling.
The lead actress was so terribly dour and lifeless that it genuinely took me an hour of the movie to realize that her character was supposed to be popular and well-liked. Um. Okay. I thought she was just a miseryboots nerd and thus, I couldn't see why she wouldn't date someone unpopular like Thayer. Also, who the hell was that guy Amber hooked up with? Had we ever even SEEN him before?? Confusing, confusing.
In conclusion: Scott Michael Foster should have a better career. He's way too good to act opposite suck-the-life-out-of-the-scene leading ladies in uneven indie movies like this.
I actually really liked the movie's central concept. Surely, for all of us, there was that guy you knew in high school who, looking back, you realize was messed up and in need of your help, but at the time you just viewed him as annoyance, because you were caught up in your own petty bullshit.
And I liked that the movie didn't pull its punches and have Amber 'save' Thayer through the blinding power of her love (which is what usually happens in these type of movies). It was pretty clear from the scene in the movie theatre bathroom that Thayer's encroaching madness wasn't something that could be 'kissed better'. (That scene, plus the "why did you do it?"/"because I hate you" locker scene, were really beautiful. I loved the mix of emotions -- one minute she's hugging him and then trying to push him away; first he's screaming at her and then leaning his forehead against hers.)
However, the movie was just weighed down by weird and irrelevant side-plots. You could have taken out all of the flash-forward scenes, except the one where Amber finds out he's dead, and it would have altered the movie not at all. During high school, there was also that weirdly-involved cheerleading storyline, which received a lot of build up but no dramatic resolution. (Did she just get taken out of the routine for good?) Plus, if you're going to end the movie on a wistful shot of Sister Jeannie, could we maybe find out what she's been doing since getting raped by her brother? Poor, poor storytelling.
The lead actress was so terribly dour and lifeless that it genuinely took me an hour of the movie to realize that her character was supposed to be popular and well-liked. Um. Okay. I thought she was just a miseryboots nerd and thus, I couldn't see why she wouldn't date someone unpopular like Thayer. Also, who the hell was that guy Amber hooked up with? Had we ever even SEEN him before?? Confusing, confusing.
In conclusion: Scott Michael Foster should have a better career. He's way too good to act opposite suck-the-life-out-of-the-scene leading ladies in uneven indie movies like this.