June 28–July 5, 2001

movie shorts

crazy/beautiful

There are enough reasons not to like John Stockwell’s high school romance, primarily its hackneyed Romeo and Juliet plot and dramatic conveniences (wicked stepmother and basically consequenceless drunken escapades for the rich girl, protective older brother and career-endangering decisions for the East L.A. homeboy). The script never addresses the obvious questions, like, why does the military look like a good idea to the family-devoted boy? Or, why does dating a completely straight Latino look like a good idea to the angry and attention-starved white girl? It’s a slight film in every way, but don’t tell that to the performers. Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez (of NBC’s Hang Time and MTV’s Undressed) both give smart, selfless performances — she as the suicidal daughter of a congressman (Bruce Davison, also good in a terrible part) and he as the way-too-perfect football star and wannabe Navy pilot. In the ever-evolving Kirsten Dunst oeuvre, crazy/beautiful isn’t as nearly neat as Bring It On or Dick, or as sublime as The Virgin Suicides, but neither is it as lamentable as Get Over It or The Crow: Salvation.

—Cindy Fuchs