REVIEW: SPRING BREAKERS
I guess dreams really do come true! Just last week I posted my desires to see "Spring Breakers," honestly thinking it'd be months before I could rent the film by controversial director Harmony Korine on DVD. I got a little too excited when I realized it received a wide release, because really who would want to hide a movie like this? I went into "Spring Breakers" with the full knowledge it was going to be a crazy film. I was wrong. "Spring Breakers" is not a crazy film. It is the craziest film.
Initially we're showed a rapid montage of repeating images of scantily clad women and douches looking like they're having the time of their lives on spring break. This is a recurring motif in "Spring Breakers," the idea that these kids are having "the time of their lives," when it's no more than potentially lethal intakes of booze, coke, and college boys, who will, to put it kindly, degrade you and use you for a one night stand. Nothing's put kindly in "Spring Breakers," though, Korine fully utilizes every last drop of the film's R-rating to show the viewer the brutal reality of what goes on during spring break: meaningless hook-ups and delusional thoughts of wanting life to be like this forever.
Four girls, far from being innocent, rob a local store in order to get enough money to go down to Florida for spring break. The way this is presented is far from traditional film making, and Korine gets points for that. The shaky-cam style (not like "The Hunger Games") added authenticity and grit to the film, and various editing techniques and the frequent dubstep music made it seem like a surreal, acid-induced fever dream of "bikinis and big booties." (Alien's words, not mine.) Speaking of Alien, let's talk about the real reason why this movie works.
James Franco, you know I didn't mean it when I trashed you in the "Oz" review. Looking down Franco's filmography I realized how much I've seen of him over the years: the "Spider-Man" trilogy, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Pineapple Express." Though at least one of those contained a lackluster performance like his in "Oz," this is by far his crowning achievement Franco apparently stayed in character throughout the shoot, which is hard when you're a gun-toting egomaniac named Alien. He's called this not only because he thinks he's "not of this planet," but because he basically abducts these four girls after bailing them out, putting them under his hypnotic trance of a southern drawl and a sob story. It was wise to wait til the first half hour to introduce our antihero, because he steals just about every scene he's in, even with Gucci Mane, playing Big Arch, his best friend turned enemy. Gucci said he ad-libbed most of his lines, rationalizing how the rapper's catchphrase "BRRR!" got into the movie. He wasn't terrible, but don't quit your day job, Mr. Mane.
All in all, this film is worth the price of admission just for Franco, but the dizzying effects and images that'll stick with you for a while help you further enjoy this bizarre joy ride. Seeing Disney starlets perform some.... questionable acts is also a nice benefit.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
Initially we're showed a rapid montage of repeating images of scantily clad women and douches looking like they're having the time of their lives on spring break. This is a recurring motif in "Spring Breakers," the idea that these kids are having "the time of their lives," when it's no more than potentially lethal intakes of booze, coke, and college boys, who will, to put it kindly, degrade you and use you for a one night stand. Nothing's put kindly in "Spring Breakers," though, Korine fully utilizes every last drop of the film's R-rating to show the viewer the brutal reality of what goes on during spring break: meaningless hook-ups and delusional thoughts of wanting life to be like this forever.
Four girls, far from being innocent, rob a local store in order to get enough money to go down to Florida for spring break. The way this is presented is far from traditional film making, and Korine gets points for that. The shaky-cam style (not like "The Hunger Games") added authenticity and grit to the film, and various editing techniques and the frequent dubstep music made it seem like a surreal, acid-induced fever dream of "bikinis and big booties." (Alien's words, not mine.) Speaking of Alien, let's talk about the real reason why this movie works.
James Franco, you know I didn't mean it when I trashed you in the "Oz" review. Looking down Franco's filmography I realized how much I've seen of him over the years: the "Spider-Man" trilogy, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Pineapple Express." Though at least one of those contained a lackluster performance like his in "Oz," this is by far his crowning achievement Franco apparently stayed in character throughout the shoot, which is hard when you're a gun-toting egomaniac named Alien. He's called this not only because he thinks he's "not of this planet," but because he basically abducts these four girls after bailing them out, putting them under his hypnotic trance of a southern drawl and a sob story. It was wise to wait til the first half hour to introduce our antihero, because he steals just about every scene he's in, even with Gucci Mane, playing Big Arch, his best friend turned enemy. Gucci said he ad-libbed most of his lines, rationalizing how the rapper's catchphrase "BRRR!" got into the movie. He wasn't terrible, but don't quit your day job, Mr. Mane.
All in all, this film is worth the price of admission just for Franco, but the dizzying effects and images that'll stick with you for a while help you further enjoy this bizarre joy ride. Seeing Disney starlets perform some.... questionable acts is also a nice benefit.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
Comments
Post a Comment