Crazy/Beautiful
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jay Hernandez, Bruce Davison
Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi Directed by John Stockwell


Ah, to be a teenager again. The angst, the pressures of education, and of course love. To be a teenager and in love has got to be the most painful and joyful experience a person can have, well, besides giving birth I guess. Crazy/Beautiful is a solid teenage drama full of cliches, but lucky for us, also full of some great performances by youngsters Kirsten Dunst (Bring It On) and Jay Hernandez, in his feature film debut. For a guy who was discovered by a talent agent in an elevator, Jay Hernandez is quite the powerhouse of an actor, displaying a strong soul and wild charisma -- something rarely seen in young actors.

Jay plays Carlos Nunez, a poor latino that leaves his house at five in the morning in order to catch the bus to school, where he applies himself 110% and plays for the school football team as well. Jay has his sights set on doing well in school and then joining the prestigious Annapolis naval academy, unlike all the spoiled and well-off kids that spend their days goofing around. Carlos wants to make something of himself and make his family proud, but whenever anybody thinks they have it all planned out -- along comes the girl. Kirsten Dunst is Nicole Oakley, the daughter of a congressman and professional party-girl. She is young, flirty, and seems to have a knack for getting into trouble. You could say that Carlos and Nicole are exact opposites. Ding! We all know what that means, don’t we? Nicole and Carlos find themselves attracted to one another. The poor latino and the rich white-girl, aww, how cute. See what I mean by cliche? But wait a second, there is more to this movie than just that.

First things first, I want to note that the cinematographer, Shane Hurlbut, did an excellent job in creating the atmosphere of two people falling in love. The mood lighting in the scenes where Carlos and Nicole form a friendship and slowly fall for each other are perfect and totally capture the raw energy of teenage love. John Stockwell (the writer of Breast Men, if you can believe that) also does a good job in capturing the awkwardness of growing up and falling in love -- and that is where the magic of Crazy/Beautiful is found.

Teen dramas and comedies are a dime a dozen, but well-executed ones are a rare find. Typical of adults, they always seem to get them wrong. They either make teenagers appear like horndogs looking to get laid at every corner or like sugary Barbies with only prom concerns on their minds. To see teenage characters that actually feel and display real emotions based on plausible situations is quite refreshing. Yeah, Carlos is focused on his future, but he also wants to feel like a kid for once. And yeah, Nicole lives in a nice house and has pretty looks, but she also deals with the pains of having a deceased mother and a step-mother that doesn’t accept her as her own. Which is why they find each other. Nicole deals with her pain by living life on the edge and Carlos is already on the edge, so he hangs on way too tight. This story of boy meets girl goes beyond the conventions and instead shows us why it was so important that boy and girl needed to meet.

Any moviegoer can pretty much guess how the story is going to end, and can probably see a few of the situations before they arise, but what they won’t expect is a movie with more than it appears to offer on the surface.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: A fresh and insightful look at teenage love.

The Bad: Some cliched scenes, but isn’t life a little cliched.

The Law: Don’t make the mistake of misjudging this movie like a teenager -- check out Crazy/Beautiful.