(out of ****)
_All_I_Wanna_Do_ (PG-13) ***
_Here_on_Earth_ (PG-13) **
It's become obvious that the teen movie glut has not only reached critical mass, but also creative bankruptcy. The latest entry in the youth horror sweepstakes, _Final_Destination_, not only had Death claiming most of its characters, but also any real inspiration. In the comedy department, all accounts have the new _Whatever_It_Takes_ sinking even lower than the depths slogged through in its immediate teen laugher predecessor, _Drive_Me_Crazy_. So when someone aims to do something different with a youth-targeted film film, as the makers of _All_I_Wanna_Do_ and _Here_on_Earth_ have, it comes as somewhat of a relief. But relief from the norm is one thing, and being refreshing is entirely another--and only one of these two fits that bill.
That compliment goes to the one that would appear to be less likely to receive it: _All_I_Wanna_Do_, a comedy set in an all-girls boarding school in New England. While the film does cover the usual high school comedy conventions--raging hormones (heightened, of course, by the virtual absence of the opposite sex), gross-out humor--the estrogenic setting and the time period (1963) gives the film a distinct point of view. Writer-director Sarah Kernochan does take her time to get to her main point; a good portion of the film is devoted to simply hanging out with the main group of girls, who form the secret society D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Ravioli). Its members are the scheming Verena (Kirsten Dunst); wannabe slut Tinka (Monica Keena); smart girl Momo (Merrit Wever); bulimic Tweety (Heather Matarazzo); and outspoken Odie (Gaby Hoffmann), the new girl at Miss Godard's Prep School for Girls.
Once the audience gets to know the group, the main story comes to the fore: dire financial realities look to force Miss Godard's into going co-ed, and the D.A.R., refusing to bow down to what they winkingly call "the hairy bird," do what they can to keep the tradition of their school alive. While many teen films feature headstrong heroines, most of those have the females' independent, intelligent attitudes melt away in the arms of a handsome hunk. Here, though, not only do the girls maintain their voices, they grow louder and stronger as the film progresses. Rarely does one see a youth film quite as female-empowering as _All_I_Wanna_Do_, and that fact would explain both former distributor Miramax's barely noticeable test run of the film (then titled _Strike!_) in 1998 and the ensuing years in distribution limbo; the prevailing Hollywood mindset holds that girl power = limited commercial prospects. But any film as energetically performed (all the actresses, even the usually annoying Hoffmann, are first-rate), entertaining, and rousing as _All_I_Wanna_Do_ clearly has the potential to cross the demographic barriers--that is, if given the chance.
On the other hand, I can't imagine any audience other than weepy girls falling for the teen tearjerker _Here_on_Earth_. However, there are two things going for this story of a small town girl torn between a wealthy, big city suitor and a longtime friend: (1) the film is a romantic drama, which is a nice change of pace for the teen market; and (2) a talented and appealing cast. Leelee Sobieski displays real grace and poise as Sam, the girl caught in the middle; Josh Hartnett (who still doesn't use a comb) displays some surprising depth as childhood sweetheart Jasper; and the ever-promising Chris Klein radiates real movie star presence as rich prep school boy Kelley.
It's a shame that their talents are put at the service of such a mawkish and poorly constructed piece of melodrama. The love triangle never catches fire because Jasper never seems a formidable romantic adversary for Kelley; once that part of the story has long been exhausted, writer Michael Seitzman and director Mark Piznarski trot in a lame bit of potential weepiness that is made all the more annoying by its arbitrary nature. The three leads' impressive work confirms their potential for major stardom, but _Here_on_Earth_ is far from the vehicle that will put them over that plateau.
Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23
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