By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Ashley Benson | Gucci Mane | Heather Morris | James Franco | Selena Gomez | Vanessa Hudgens
Country: united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 94
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101441/combined
Thom says: “WOW, probably my favorite TIFF 2012 film all the more surprising seeing director Korine’s insane track record, plus his past relationship with film goddess Chloe Sevigny. I loved his first film GUMMO (1997) but was then quite disappointed with JULIEN DONKEY BOY (1999). Then out of nowhere came my FILM-OF-THE-YEAR MISTER LONELY (200. Then at TIFF 2009 I was thrilled to attend the world premiere of TRASH HUMPERS, which embarrassingly was one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. What the Hell to think? When tickets came up for this I had to think long & hard about going, but surprise, surprise, he hit this one out of the park. It’s a non-stop fever dream of legendary nature. Brit, Candy, Cotty, & Faith have been BFF since grade school but now they’re in college and are dying to get to Florida for Spring Break. Even evangelical Faith wants to break away. But with no money for the excursion the trio of bad girls rob a club and off they go. Once in Florida they stay stoned in party-mode finally getting arrested and thrown in jail. Their bond is paid by gangster rapper Alien (Franco in a real break-out performance to the point he’s almost unrecognizable) who is nothing but trouble with too much money to throw around. What transpires becomes more and more insane finally breaking through with a final fantasy sequence of spectacular wickedness. Interspersed in the story are scenes of wild carryings-on in Florida that are reminiscent of the best of Russ Meyer. Bravo to Gomez & Hudgens for throwing themselves into their attention-getting characters after coming from such pabulum backgrounds. 5 cats”
Chris says: “Four college co-eds (three of ‘em cartoonishly puerile and horny) head to Florida for that annual titular mid-March feast of hormonal debauchery, meet up with an even more outrageously drawn white rapper/drug dealer named Alien (played by James Franco, naturally) and end up doing some very bad things. On surface level, this rancid candy-colored bauble is admittedly seductive, with director Harmony Korine showing a knack for securing just the right cinematographer (who did ENTER THE VOID) and musical scorer (who did DRIVE. Like Danny Boyle in TRAINSPOTTING, he both wants to indict a subculture while also capturing and almost humanizing its glamour and that’s where he trips up. Leaving any good intentions aside, the film is just too muddled to work either as a satire or a cautionary tale.
‘The rationale for the characters’ bad behavior is, as far as I can deduce, a desire to have fun. However, nobody in the Florida scenes seriously looks like they’re enjoying themselves, apart from an impromptu parking lot sing-along that’s simple and honest. Also, TRAINSPOTTING had a great twisty story and a memorable ensemble cast. Here, the downward trajectory feels tired and predictable and only two real character /performances surface: Franco, thankfully in-on-the-joke but weirdly compelling in sort of a gonzo-method way, and Selena Gomez (the lone non-cartoon co-ed), the closest thing to an audience surrogate/moral center. When she escapes the film halfway through, SPRING BREAKERS goes completely off the rails into the kind of madness that’s fun to watch once but seems totally embarrassing the morning after. This is the kind of film that, when it was over, my first thought was, ‘Wow, that’s either the best or worst film I’ve ever seen.’ Given a few days to think about it, here’s where I stand (smack dab in the middle, if you consider the grade literally). 2.5 cats”