Stupid film is Stupid.

I actually don’t mean the title of this post in the way that you think I do. I’m not about to start talking about another Will Ferrell comedy. I’m going to talk about the 2008 film Keith.

Sometimes in life a story resonates with you so much that you can’t get it out of your head. Keith has done that for me. Admittedly when I hired it from the video store I wasn’t expecting great things, Jesse McCartney was the key selling point for me on this movie (DON’T JUDGE ME!). But I was surprised. Very surprised.

Brief synopsis: Keith is a teenage boy, about whom we know very little. Natalie on the other hand we know a lot about. She’s the captain of nearly every club at school, star tennis player, and on the track to getting a $10 000 scholarship to Duke. Then Keith and Natalie become lab partners.

While the rest of the film is slightly predictable there were certain elements that kept me glued. Keith is not at all forthcoming with details about his life, you could say that he’s troubled but that’s not the half of it. And the further Natalie goes to try and find out about Keith, the more distant she becomes from her family, friends and the life she has worked so hard to build. A life she starts to view as pointless.

Jesse McCartney plays the kooky, enigmatic, beguiling Keith superbly, charming the pants of his audience as he seduces his lab partner. Elisabeth Harnois (who, at 29, played an extremely believable teenager) really sinks her teeth into the role of Natalie, a part that could have become affected and stagy in the wrong hands.

Ultimately this isn’t a film that will leave you too soon. Parts of the story will stay with you long after you’ve put the DVD away. Keith rates a 2 on the You, Me and Dupree scale.

 

Red Riding Hood.

Last night Zac Efron (not really Zac Efron but rather my BGF, best guy friend) and I went to see Red Riding Hood at the local cinema. I critique all films against the You, Me and Dupree scale, “As all good scales are!”. You, Me and Dupree being the worst film I think I’ve ever seen and that includes Grease 2 and xXx. Here’s the scale for your reference.

1. Hot Fuzz. Awesome, I saw it twice and then bought the DVD the minute it was released.

2. Alice in Wonderland. Great, I’ll probably hire the DVD for a second viewing then perhaps buy it on sale.

3. Pride and Prejudice Very Good, I enjoyed the movie but should have waited for the DVD.

4. Chocolat. Good, the movie was good but I’m disappointed I wasted $16 on a movie ticket to see it when I could have hired it on DVD for $5.

5. Daredevil. Reasonable.

6. Alexander the Great. I can’t believe I saw this in the cinema. It was bad enough that I had a “ciggie”* break in the middle just so I could stop the monotony. I do own this on DVD now but it’s a part of a three pack.

7. Twilight. Bad, quite bad but not bad enough that I won’t see the sequel, but only on DVD

8. Grease 2. Where the sequel is such a let down that you can’t remember what made the first one so good.

9. xXx. “Bitches come!” need I say more?

10. You, Me and Dupree. The movie I was too lazy to turn off on a hangover Sunday so wasted 2 hours of my life on the worst movie that ever made it to DVD. Including anything Mills and Boons.

So where did Red Riding Hood fall? Somewhere between Grease 2 and xXx. The mystery of the film kept Zac and I guessing until the end which is why I think we sat through the whole thing. The boyfriends were cute and Gary Oldman appears in his element. Amanda Seyfried tries to flesh out her character but Valerie (Red) is ultimately false with some poor backstory. And the film of course will be likened to the Twilight phenomenon due to the director’s heritage.

Probably wait for the DVD on this one folks.

Judy-May out!