Maddy Wirtz (Hedy Burress) can't wait to graduate and go to art school. She has no connection to anyone in school other than her boyfriend Ethan Bixby (Peter Facinelli). Then rebellious Legs Sadovsky (Angelina Jolie) shows up and turns her world upside down. Legs comes to the aid of beaten down Rita Faldes (Jenny Lewis). In the bathroom, Rita tells the girls that teacher Mr. Buttinger keeps her in detention where he gropes her. School slut Violet Kahn (Sarah Rosenberg) backs it up with a similar claim. The girls with spaced-out Goldie Goldman (Jenny Shimizu) confront the teacher. The girls are suspended. They find a gathering place in an abandoned home.
This movie is adapted from a novel of a girl gang in the 50s. The movie starts out great. It builds up to the confrontation with Buttinger. It's terrific. While the movie diverges from the novel, I wish it diverge more by concentrating on the Buttinger situation. The girls aren't the same as the girls in the novel. It seems to me that these girls in the movie would narrow their focus on Buttinger. It's a question left hanging. The further away the movie goes, the less compelling it becomes. The movie tries to hit the big notes in the novel but it may be better off rewriting more of it.
This movie is adapted from a novel of a girl gang in the 50s. The movie starts out great. It builds up to the confrontation with Buttinger. It's terrific. While the movie diverges from the novel, I wish it diverge more by concentrating on the Buttinger situation. The girls aren't the same as the girls in the novel. It seems to me that these girls in the movie would narrow their focus on Buttinger. It's a question left hanging. The further away the movie goes, the less compelling it becomes. The movie tries to hit the big notes in the novel but it may be better off rewriting more of it.