A film I wouldn't have ever known about had I not been a film buff. Went in not knowing anything at all, which is actually a good thing. I'd like to do that more often just to have a clean slate and no expectations. I've got to say Zoey Deutch has never impressed me in any role. Either through the film sucking or her just not being spectacular she never shined. Finally, I can rate her in a role. Its not much different or completely out of left field for her but its a fine tuned performance. While the film is not perfect, and is let down at some moments its a good film.
The film is about a carefree high school girl who meets her future step brother. Her step brother comes out of rehab and seems to have a dark-ish past. A few events lead to the reveal that her future step brother had previously been molested by an older teacher. Thus begins the mission of Erica (Deutch) to coax the man and also get revenge on him for the past wrongdoings that he has committed. The film also stars Kathryn Hahn and Adam Scott.
As mentioned earlier Deutch is good in this. She is an at times grating character, so basically a typically teenager. Her performance is somewhat mesmerizing and has a bit of tragic happiness to it. The film is shot quit nicely and also seems to tackle a lot of issues that are tackled in teenage films often (orientation, sexuality, innocence, growing up love etc.). While I never found the film to be overly funny, I found it very entertaining until the last ten minutes.
I think there was a good chance to go for a remarkable finish to a very solid film that was really flubbed up by the mess of a reveal and end. It doesn't take too much away from an interesting product, but yes it could have been better. I still had fun with it. Its obscene but at the same time obscenely entertaining. This one isn't going to be making any waves, but if you're like me and like to see quality film I'd suggest checking this out. Its not smart, or profound but its a purely entertaining escape.
6.5/10
