Very realistic — but this has its downsides. Letting the actors improvise is certainly refreshing but it also makes the film’s exposition either clunky or plain slight. Director Peter Sollett did not give is script to the actors, giving them a general idea and letting them run with it. Though this method largely gives the film an authenticity, when the script mechanics enter, they thud. Sweat, acne-scars, and wifebeaters are certainly persuasive but never goes past the surface to make a poignant statement about modern teenagers.
Doesn’t help matters that the titular character is never really “raised” beyond the initial image of a narcissistic scoundrel. His initial wooing of Judy is a result of trying to repair his reputation after being found sleeping with an overweight girl (who is cruelly never addressed again after the first five minutes) — but the relationship and its effect on Victor is never really developed beyond Judy being his rebound girl. Far more interesting is the attractive love interest Judy who is so horribly harrassed by the local skirt-chasers that she has never let her guard down long enough to have an actual boyfriend — a clever role reversal, the unattainable girl being so unattainable that she develops intimacy problems.
Rating: 7/10
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