neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Crazy/Beautiful
	John Stockwell Kirsten Dunst, Jay Hernandez, Bruce Davison 2001 special edition — widescreen; closed caption; audio commentary by director John Stockwell and star Kirsten Dunst; Making-of featurette; deleted scenes; theatrical trailer		Here's a rarity: a serious-minded film about modern teenagers that touches on their love lives, their angst, their aspirations and their dreams without coming off like an episode of "Dawson's Creek" or a Fox Family Channel movie. Bad little suburban rich girl Nicole (Kirsten Dunst of "Bring It On") falls for Carlos (Jay Hernandez), a diligent Hispanic honor student/football star who lives in the East L.A. barrio. Carlos has to ride the bus for two hours every day to attend the same upscale school Nicole attends, but he believes it will be worth the trouble if he gets into Annapolis on a scholarship. Nicole is trouble personified. She's so alienated from her father and stepmother that she doesn't care whether she "parties" herself into oblivion. Until she meets Carlos. With lazier writing and less credible actors, this could have degenerated into one of those cliché-ridden "Romeo & Juliet"/wrong-side-of-the-tracks affairs. Instead, it's substantial, and you care about the welfare of the protagonists.