Like an irritating string of sing-along music videos for much of its first 45 minutes, this film recovers just enough in its second half to pass muster as a member of that rarest of Hollywood species: a well-intentioned teen film with something interesting to say. The girl-meets-boy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks cliché is cannily inverted here, with poor little rich girl (Kirsten Dunst) threatening to ruin the life of her hardworking and motivated Latino beau (Jay Hernandez). Will she drag him down with her, or will her life be redeemed through his love? Once it poses that question, the story takes off and the subsequent plot shifts keep you guessing. There's a really great film to be made out of this kind of material, but 'Crazy/Beautiful' isn't it. It's still good, but what lets it down is its style. A slightly more gritty, documentary-like approach might have made it feel more real. Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) and Gary Oldman (Nil By Mouth) have both shown it's possible to make gritty films about realistic characters which still have something delicate, subtle and emotional at the core.
Review of Crazy/Beautiful
