Review: 'crazy/beautiful' not wild enough

By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer

(CNN) -- With "crazy/beautiful," Kirsten Dunst obviously wanted to break away from the squeaky-clean teen image formed by the type of pompom-toting characters she's played in films such as "Bring It On" (2000).

Her plan worked. Too bad the film doesn't.

It's easy to see that there may have been, at one time, a decent movie tucked into the script of "crazy/beautiful," written by first-time scribes Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. But the guts have been ripped out of the story -- reportedly in order to gain a PG-13 rating.

Misguided

Dunst plays Nicole Oakley, a troubled teen living a privileged life as the daughter of Tom Oakley, a wealthy congressman, played by the always excellent Bruce Davison. Nicole's mother committed suicide when she was very young and her father remarried, having another child with his new wife, Courtney (Lucinda Jenney). Nicole feels isolated and alone in her own home.

So the misguided teen spends her days hanging out with her equally screwed-up friend Maddy, played expertly by Taryn Manning. The two live in their own little world while attending an upscale high school in the exclusive ocean-side community of Pacific Palisades, California. Actually, "attend" may be too strong a word: They occasionally make an appearance at school.

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While performing public service for a drunken-driving conviction, Nicole meets a Latino teen from East L.A. named Carlos Nunez, played by handsome newcomer Jay Hernandez. Nunez just happens to attend the same school on a special scholarship. In what begins as an act of defiance, Nicole starts dating this boy from the wrong side of the tracks. However, it's a hollow gesture, since her father is a liberal and delighted with the ambitious young man who has dreams of attending the United States Naval Academy.

Yep, it's "Romeo and Juliet" turned upside-down, inside-out, and surrounded by palm trees.

Good acting, bad writing

Of course, these two opposites attract and connect. He's poor, focused and ambitious. She's rich, aimless and sees no future. Will she pull him down, or will his love steady her and bring her out of her destructive spiral? Stay tuned for the next episode of "As the Stomach Turns."

Actually, "crazy/beautiful" does address some important issues, such as teen-age alienation, sexual promiscuity, and what happens when a parent remarries and a new child is brought into the family. But the main issues -- drug addiction and alcoholism -- are ignored.

Nicole is treated like a confused girl who just "drinks a little." It is here that the film pulls its punches and resorts to blaming teen-age angst rather than delving into deeper and more controversial topics. The one time her drinking is addressed is when her father discusses rehab and recommends a place saying, "Marty Sheen says it's the best." Puh-leeze.

Dunst is great in the part, such as it is. Nicole's "I-don't-care hair" and grungy wardrobe are in sharp contrast to that of Dunst's previous characters, and she does successfully shed her goody-goody image in this role. Hernandez is also excellent in his first motion picture, and may be a Latino heartthrob in the making.

The movie may do well financially. There are few out there right now that cater to this particular market. But ultimately it's an after-school special trying to be a feature film.

"crazy/beautiful" is rated PG-13.