GO RATING: 8 / 10 --> Great movie
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The director of one of my favorite films of all-time, SWINGERS (9.5/10), Doug Liman, joins a hip script written by rookie scribe John August, slaps in a bunch of young kids acting nutty, and demands you to GO see his movie!
PLOT: Christmas time in Los Angeles just isn't like Christmas anywhere else. One evening takes us through a drug deal gone bad, a rave scene gone right, accidents galore, a fun "boys night" out in Vegas, shootings, homosexual under-and overtones, and an all-around jolly time via the selected lives of several slick teenage candidates.
CRITIQUE: A mini-PULP FICTION for the quirky kids of today, this movie cranks you through three separate stories taking place on the same night to a raving cast of entertaining characters, chock-full of black humor, non-stop excitement (except the third story, which was my least favorite of the three), a pounding soundtrack, and all the originality that's been lacking from every other crappy teenage flick to come down the pike this year. Forget SHE'S ALL THAT (6.5/10) and NEVER BEEN KISSED (6/10), this movie rolls their humdrum cinematic existences into a joint and smokes it! This film's got punch, plenty of action, many over-the-top scenes, and a convenient, but still satisfying ending, that'll have you crackin' up and cringing all at the same time. The one sour note in the entire meal was the "third story" which was particularly slower than the first two, and did manage to bend my interest for a while, but all the same, the conclusion of this film stapled my approval locked, stocked and two smoking barrels! (I don't even know what that means, but the point is...I enjoyed this movie!)
All of the actors were effective, save for Jay Mohr who is just getting way too many bit parts for his own good. Sarah Polley stood out in them all, while the Vegas boys all deserve a tip of the hat. Director Liman is also to be congratulated for making a film that is still fun, stylish, and quite different from his well-known hit, SWINGERS. Both films do have an underground scene and Vegas in common, but that's where the similarities stop. GO plays with X-tasy, female lap dancing, oral sex jokes, and Amway products, all tied up in a nice Christmas bow. I also like the separate point of view way of telling each story, the drug-induced sequences (DAZED AND CONFUSED, look out!), and the overall flow of the entire picture (save part trois), which culminated into a fantastic, ravelicious conclusion. Now if you've ever come home high as a kite, or wasted out of your gorge...or if you've ever had one of those days that you wish would just go away...well, slap them both together, add some drug-laced seasonings, a little pulp-noir, a cast of hipsters and have yourself a jolly ol' Saint Nicholas of a time, and don't forget to GO to this awesome, little movie!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: This is writer John August's first produced movie screenplay. He is 27 years old, and also served as co-producer on this film. He found his inspiration for this film amid the checkout clerks at the rundown Ralphs Grocery on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, known as "Rock 'n' Roll Ralphs" due to its proximity to various guitar academies. Originally written to be a short film, the script-then titled "X" expanded over the next two years into its current feature length. Scott Wolf landed the first job he ever auditioned for and has continued to work steadily ever since. He attended the same elementary school as Ian Ziering from TV's "Beverly Hills 90210", and has a degree in Finance from George Washington University. You may remember actress Sarah Polley from her earlier role at the age of nine in THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (8.5/10). Her character was named Sally Salt. Later on in life, she dropped out of high school to become a political activist for Socialist groups, and once tried to pick up JoBlo Movie Emporium's own Coop the Scoop (read all about that incident here: http://www.joblo.com/scoop3.htm). Taye Diggs made his feature film debut starring opposite Angela Bassett in the film adaptation of Terry McMillan's HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK. He's born in New Jersey and counts Syracuse University as his alma matter. Desmond Askew (the British guy) made his American feature film debut in this movie. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Katie Holmes (middle name Noelle, which means "Christmas" in French...She was born on December 18, 1978) began acting in high school theater productions. She attended Notre Dame Academy, which was an all-girls parochial school. While attending a national modeling and talent convention in New York City, she met a manager who encouraged her to come to Los Angeles for the television pilot season. Holmes landed the role of Joey on the hit series "Dawson's Creek", the highest rated show on the WB network.
Review Date: April 5, 1999
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: John August
Producers: Paul Rosenberg, Mickey Liddell and Matt Freeman
Actors: Sarah Polley as Ronna
Desmond Askew as Simon
Katie Holmes as Claire
Scott Wolf as Adam
Jay Mohr as Zack
Taye Diggs as Marcus
Genre: Comedy
Year of Release: 1999
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