LIGHT IT UP A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Excess.
Too often writer/directors such as LIGHT IT UP's Craig Bolotin don't take the time to create a plausible plot and realistic dialog. Instead, they go for exaggeration and hope for audiences who don't care.
LIGHT IT UP opens with an inner city high school that could be a poster school for more government aid. A few of its deficiencies would be credible, but the litany goes on way pass the level of plausibility. Water drips from the ceiling onto the students' papers, smearing the ink. As the kids shiver in heavy coats and knit caps, snow blows into their classroom from the windows that have been broken for months. Not seeming to have the usual dropout problem, this school has classes that are standing room only because of a lack of chairs. And when the teacher moves the class off campus to the local coffee shop in order to find a warmer environment, an ex-student with a shotgun assaults the class.
Some of the students go to complain to the principal about the temporary suspension of the their favorite teacher, Mr. Knowles (Judd Nelson from THE BREAKFAST CLUB, after which, according to the press notes, the movie's casting was modeled.) Officer Jackson (Forest Whitaker) is called in to take them away. He's the school's in-house cop, whom the narrator describes as "a $5 cop with a $50 attitude."
In the hall, there's an accident. After a whirlwind of events, the officer ends up being shot in the leg by one of the kids. It is after this that the story goes seriously awry.
Six students unbelievably barricade the school and hold the officer hostage. They issue a short series of demands over the Internet by spamming news organizations worldwide. (They may not have books, but they have the right computer equipment and savvy.) These demands include books, an annual career day and the right to test their teachers every month.
Rather than having just bad kids risk getting shot at by the army of cops who quickly surround the building, the story has some model students being stupid enough to take part in such a guaranteed loser of a situation.
Basketball star Lester Dewitt (Usher Raymond) becomes the leader of the group. Stephanie Williams (Rosario Dawson), the most implausible of all, is a future doctor, who is on the national dean's list. Why she doesn't just walk out at the beginning, as most of the other students do, is never properly explained. Other students include a self-described "slag," who recently got pregnant by a guy because she wanted him to kiss her. She seems too bored to walk out.
Although there are lots of threats with a gun, the script will soon teach us that it's not the kids' fault. One turns out to be an abused child, and another has a dead father, whom the police recently killed without provocation.
After setting up the unbelievable situation, the story basically runs out of gas and ends. The ending, of course, is a dramatic confrontation with the police, followed by a sentimental epilogue. If the writer had taken the time to create characters rather than caricatures, perhaps we could have cared. As it is, we're just glad that it's over with. The windows do get repaired, but the movie leaves us in doubt about whether the students will get their career day or not.
LIGHT IT UP runs 1:40. It is rated R for language and violent content and would be acceptable for older teens.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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