HERE ON EARTH A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Flash to filmmakers: Not all teenagers live their lives guzzling booze, trying to gross out each other with bathroom humor and attempting to outdo each other with sexual antics. Most teenagers show more maturity and good judgment than that with which you normally credit them. You don't have to hold their generation in ridicule in order to make a movie about them. Their emotions do not have to be parodied.
HERE ON EARTH focuses on a romance between two kids who've just graduated from high school. The chemistry between the two is real and touching, and director Mark Piznarski concentrates on the basics. The two young lovers are ecstatic just to be able to share a few kisses. In an era when movies have people hopping into bed on their first date, Piznarski has his actors work on the simple parts of affection, as they gently brush each others cheeks with the backs of their hands. And he has both of them spend significant amounts of time being pensive and thoughtful, an attribute rarely seen in movies, especially those featuring teens.
The story opens without much promise, looking like just another formulaic picture. The young members of a working-class, small northern town are at odds with the rich kids who attend the fancy prep school nearby. Two car loads of kids, one from each side of the tracks, get into trouble after they cause the local diner to go up in flames. The judge sentences the two drivers, Kelley and Jasper, to spend the summer helping to rebuild the diner.
Chris Klein (ELECTION) plays Kelley, the prep school's valedictorian. Kelley, the son of an absent, workaholic father and a now-dead mother, is an unhappy loner who suffers emotional constipation. Most of Klein's performance is quite nice, but his big scene in the greenhouse comes across surprisingly flat. As Chris's nemesis, Jasper, Josh Hartnett (THE VIRGIN SUICIDES) delivers a performance that is remarkably bland until it takes off smartly towards the end.
At the apex of a love triangle of sorts is Leelee Sobieski as Sam, short for Samantha. An up-and-coming actor, Sobieski got her breakthrough part as a young lover in DEEP IMPACT. Since then, she has done roles as diverse as Joan of Arc for television and the leader of the campus nerds in NEVER BEEN KISSED. Stanley Kubrick even showcased her in a small role in his last film, EYES WIDE SHUT. In HERE ON EARTH she literally makes the picture as she does most of the heavy lifting for the film's romance. Sam is a sweet and innocent girl with a tough underside. Sobieski's performance as Sam is so natural that she barely seems to be acting.
Jasper has always been Sam's best friend. They sort of fell into being lovers since they were comfortable with each other and used to hanging out together. In a small town, their relationship is more one of convenience than passion. When Kelley catches Sam's eye, she realizes for the first time what genuine infatuation is.
Kelley's father, played by veteran actor Stuart Wilson, figures his son will follow in his deal-making footsteps. This means that a small-town girl like Sam should have no place in Kelley's life. "This girl is just a distraction," he lectures his son. "That's what it is. You have much bigger things ahead of you." His father is full of such unwanted advice. "Keep your eyes forward on the important things," the father tells his son sternly. Important things to the father all involve making money with matters of the heart having no value whatsoever.
The movie works best when it keeps the focus on the lovers and away from the subplot of the town versus the school. Although there are some nice little pieces of dialog in that part ("My probation didn't say anything about me spitting out watermelon seeds with you people."), we've seen this part too many times before.
The poignant film with its slow and tender rhythms has delicately moving music to match. Some aspects of Michael Seitzman's script, such the diner's "Lover's Wall" and the character's penchant for quoting Robert Frost ("One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."), could be criticized as schmaltz. But, within the context of the romance, they end up being touching instead.
This film, filled with good messages, has a little underage drinking -- 3 beers to be precise. But, surprise, it shows that such activities, even in relative moderation, can have negative consequences.
The story's tragic last act, which is hinted at early-on, adds dramatic tension and wraps up the drama with an emotional punch. Although effective, this story element makes it all too easy for cynical critics to write off the movie as mere soap opera, ignoring the honest romance that occupies the body of the movie.
So how do you shock a teen audience brought up on films like AMERICAN PIE? Our audience, chock full of teens, was aghast at the meadow scene in HERE ON EARTH. What was the action that caused our teens to cry out in shock? As a sign of love, Kelley leaned over and kissed the top of Sam's foot.
HERE ON EARTH runs 1:39. It is rated PG-13 for some sensuality and thematic elements and would be fine for kids around 9 and up. Given the film's romance angle and its pacing, kids under 13, however, will likely not be interested in it.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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