In some ways, this film reminded me of an earlier movie, "River's Edge (1985)", because it involves a group of teenagers who seem totally detached from any feelings for other people. Except in that movie, some of the kids eventually realized what their problem was. Here, there is no such social development. The lead character at the end is just as out of it as he was at the beginning.
This MTV-produced film centers around a group of Asian-American high school kids living in an upper-middle class suburb of Los Angeles. They're bored with life and talk of "escaping" - which to most of them translates into going off to college and succeeding.
Ben is the main character and he's a young man with little self-esteem. He tries hard but he's sort of a nerd and he exists on the outside with his best friend, Virgil. Ben is nuts about Stephanie, this beautiful cheerleader in his biology class, but their relationship seems limited to working together on classroom projects.
Ben begins preparing cheat sheets for Daric, who then sells them to other students. Ben deviates from his good boy persona because he's bored and wants a little excitement. In short order, Ben and Virgil team up with Daric and another kid, Han, to form a gang of sorts. They steal things, sell drugs, start carrying guns, get into fights. Pretty soon, they all have the respect of their fellow students.
Without giving away any more of the plot, let me just say that Ben eventually wants out, wants back into his old life as a quiet nerd, but events prevent that from happening. He gets pulled in deeper until a real tragedy occurs.
It's hard to sympathize with Ben because he's such a wuss. He joins this gang even though he doesn't like its leader, Daric. He goes along with the crowd and has no influence over anyone else, especially his friend Virgil who turns psycho with his newfound power. He really likes Stephanie, and she seems to like him too, but he never makes a move on her. And in the end, despite wanting out, he gets involved in a horrific crime, actually being the main perpetrator in it.
The end has Ben and Stephanie driving off in her brand new luxury car wondering what the future will bring to both of them. Excuse me, but am I supposed to care about them at this point? These are just vacuous teenagers, spoiled little brats who did some terrible things. They're not heroes, they're not objects of pity.
The movie's actually pretty well done, and the acting alright considering the teen leads. It's interesting that you never see anyone's parents at any time; it's always just the kids alone or interacting with their peers. Maybe that's what the producers wanted, to create a universe where the teenagers exist all by themselves except for enjoying the nice homes their absent parents provided for them.
Anyway, the absence of any moral development in the main characters left me empty at the end. When the climax to the film came, there was no one on the screen that I cared about at that point. The film just ends on a flat note.
This MTV-produced film centers around a group of Asian-American high school kids living in an upper-middle class suburb of Los Angeles. They're bored with life and talk of "escaping" - which to most of them translates into going off to college and succeeding.
Ben is the main character and he's a young man with little self-esteem. He tries hard but he's sort of a nerd and he exists on the outside with his best friend, Virgil. Ben is nuts about Stephanie, this beautiful cheerleader in his biology class, but their relationship seems limited to working together on classroom projects.
Ben begins preparing cheat sheets for Daric, who then sells them to other students. Ben deviates from his good boy persona because he's bored and wants a little excitement. In short order, Ben and Virgil team up with Daric and another kid, Han, to form a gang of sorts. They steal things, sell drugs, start carrying guns, get into fights. Pretty soon, they all have the respect of their fellow students.
Without giving away any more of the plot, let me just say that Ben eventually wants out, wants back into his old life as a quiet nerd, but events prevent that from happening. He gets pulled in deeper until a real tragedy occurs.
It's hard to sympathize with Ben because he's such a wuss. He joins this gang even though he doesn't like its leader, Daric. He goes along with the crowd and has no influence over anyone else, especially his friend Virgil who turns psycho with his newfound power. He really likes Stephanie, and she seems to like him too, but he never makes a move on her. And in the end, despite wanting out, he gets involved in a horrific crime, actually being the main perpetrator in it.
The end has Ben and Stephanie driving off in her brand new luxury car wondering what the future will bring to both of them. Excuse me, but am I supposed to care about them at this point? These are just vacuous teenagers, spoiled little brats who did some terrible things. They're not heroes, they're not objects of pity.
The movie's actually pretty well done, and the acting alright considering the teen leads. It's interesting that you never see anyone's parents at any time; it's always just the kids alone or interacting with their peers. Maybe that's what the producers wanted, to create a universe where the teenagers exist all by themselves except for enjoying the nice homes their absent parents provided for them.
Anyway, the absence of any moral development in the main characters left me empty at the end. When the climax to the film came, there was no one on the screen that I cared about at that point. The film just ends on a flat note.