"Bare Bea" ("Just Bea") took the Norwegian people with storm back in 2004 and seeing the film result, it's not hard to understand why. This fun and energetic teen comedy is one of the best high school films out there and surpasses most of the American films of its genre.
Even if the film isn't flawless, "Bare Bea" was one of the best and most memorable Norwegian films of 2004. The plot itself may seem corny, but it's skilfully handled. In spite of the film's tone which is overall peppy, it still manages to balance the situations and themes in a subtle way without it becoming too cheesy.
Despite sex is a big part of this movie, it is not a so-called "porn flick". The girls have many conversations with the word sex in it and there are a few sexual scenes, but none of it is too explicit. However, the sexual issues are an underlying theme, because as you will discover during the film its real aim is about Bea's quest for her rights to make her own decisions and follow her path. On the other hand, the subplot about Bea wanting to be an author seems a bit separated from the major story. The film's ambitions are still admirable, cause it shows that sex is a personal issue and not something to be glossed over and that one's first sexually debut isn't perfect. And it shows that you can get into conflict even with your best friends. Thumbs up for that!
The biggest strength of the film lies in the interaction between the girls. Their friendship on the screen feels natural, without overacting. Kaia Foss has charisma as Bea and delivers a good performance of a versatile character. Another noteworthy performance is by young Ingrid S. Buaas as Bea's importunate little sister, who has natural charm, which is something also Kim Falck-Jørgeren as Anders has. The rest of the cast does a decent job with supporting the story and without distracting it.
"Bare Bea" is energetic, dynamic and has a lot of humor, especially on the short flash-back cuts and the clumsy, sexual interactions (examples of this are two harmless scenes; one where Bea and Mia practice the Indian sexual method Kama Sutra and later on where Bea practices it on her Teddy Bear). In the hands of the photographer Marius Johansen Hansen, the colors are created bright and clear. The energetic soundtrack from the Norwegian synth rock band Surferosa (with a female vocal lead) also provides the films dynamic quality.
While Bea and her screen-on friendship is skilfully handled, her interactions with the two guys are not quite as successful. She doesn't have a good chemistry with either of them and while the dialog between her and her friends are brilliant, the lines the screenwriters came up with for her with the two guys are awful, despite that Bea shares some tender moments with Anders. But still, the last thirty minutes of the film becomes in the spirit of sitcom movies too traditional and predictable. And the ending feels too abrupt.
In spite of lacking of a detailed scripting through the third act, "Bare Bea" is still an enjoyable film that deserves to be seen. The teens will embrace this movie with wide arms and the underlying theme of identity search may appeal as much to a grown up audience as well.
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