Greetings again from the darkness. Despite being early in her career, actress Zoey Deutch has often been the highlight of her film projects. Although that sounds like a good thing, in her case it speaks not just to her talent, but also the quality of those choices. Her father is director Howard Deutch and her mother is Lea Thompson, so her industry bloodlines run deep. Her eyes and smile are truly luminescent on the big screen, where she comes across as a natural. It's now time for her take control of her career. Muck like this latest make us question whether she is a next level talent.
Director Max Winkler (son of Henry "The Fonz" Winkler) co-wrote the script with Matt Spicer (a terrific INGRID GOES WEST) and Alex McAuley, and they are fortunate to have such talent as Ms. Deutch, Kathryn Hahn and Adam Scott. A profane, voyeuristic exercise in disturbed behavior becomes something nearly watchable when these three and newcomer Joey Morgan are on screen.
Ms. Deutch plays Erica, a motor-mouthed (in more ways than one) force of nature teenager whose 'BJ's for Dad's bail' involves seducing older men and then extorting money from them after Erica's posse catches them on camera. Oh, and she keeps a sketch book of her victims ... no, not their faces. The fundraising approach to springing her dad from jail is difficult to accept, but Deutch sells it as best she can. Her mother (Kathryn Hahn) is desperately trying to build a relationship with Bob (Tim Heidecker), whose son Luke (Joey Morgan) is being released after a lengthy rehab stint for pills.
Luke is a hefty young man who finds solace in food and little else. He and Erica could keep multiple therapists busy for years. His problems are exacerbated by an improper school incident involving Will Gordon, a teacher played by Adam Scott. Coincidentally, this same teacher has been labeled "Old Hot Guy" by Erica and her friends at the bowling alley. Once she learns about Luke's history with the pedophile, Erica plots an evil revenge. You can probably imagine where it goes from there.
Those same eyes and smile mentioned in my first paragraph even light up when Erica describes herself as "the d*** whisperer". It's this kind of moment that finds us hoping Ms. Deutch and her agent quickly learn to distinguish between edgy indie project and trashy script not likely to lead to more work. This is an uncomfortable movie to watch, but not in the way where we walk out feeling enlightened. The title does deserve applause because even the scratchiest and toughest flower has a delicate side.
