Crazy/Beautiful | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Stockwell |
Written by | Phil Hay Matt Manfredi |
Produced by | Rachel Pfeffer Harry J. Ufland Mary Jane Ufland |
Starring | Kirsten Dunst Jay Hernandez Bruce Davison |
Cinematography | Shane Hurlbut |
Edited by | Melissa Kent |
Music by | Paul Haslinger |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $13 million [2] |
Box office | $19.9 million [2] |
Crazy/Beautiful (stylized as crazy/beautiful) is a 2001 American teen romantic drama film starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. It is largely set at Palisades Charter High School and the surrounding area, including Downtown Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and East Los Angeles.
Carlos Nuñez is a 17-year-old Mexican-American teen from East LA who rides a bus two hours every day to attend school in the Pacific Palisades for a better education. A straight-A student, he has ambitions of attending the U.S. Naval Academy and becoming a pilot.
On a day out with friends at the Santa Monica Pier, he meets Nicole Oakley, a classmate who is doing trash pickup at the beach as part of a DUI sentence. She is the daughter of a US congressman and lives in the upscale Palisades, but she is rebellious, hard-partying, and has a strained relationship with her father. Her troubles stem from her mother's suicide when she was young, as well as the feeling of being unwanted by her father and his new wife. Despite their differences, Nicole and Carlos begin a romantic relationship.
The romance runs into obstacles that arise from their different backgrounds, as when Carlos invites Nicole to a family party and she feels out-of-place as the only white person there. She pulls a stunt that lands Carlos in detention; and when she tells him to lighten up, he angrily points out that she doesn't appreciate the privileges she has. Despite the obstacles, their relationship blossoms. Carlos tries to steer Nicole away from her drug and alcohol abuse, and Nicole arranges a flying lesson for Carlos, who dreams of being a pilot but has never been in a plane.
Nicole's father offers to help Carlos with his Congressional sponsorship to the Naval Academy, but cautions against dating his daughter because he doesn't want to see Carlos dragged down by Nicole. Carlos's friends and family also look down on the relationship, fearing Nicole is a bad influence on him.
Feeling pressure from other peoples' expectations, Carlos breaks up with Nicole, sending her spiraling back into wild, drunken partying. One night, Carlos calls her and finds out she is getting drunk at a high school party. He goes to the party and saves her from a boy trying to take advantage of her. He drives her home, but they are stopped by the police.
As a result of this incident, Nicole's father and stepmother decide that she needs to go to a boarding school far from home. Carlos rescues Nicole and they run away together. While they are away, Nicole realizes she is obstructing Carlos's dreams, and decides it is time to face her problems so she can be better for Carlos and have a future with him. They return to her home, where she makes up with her father, who thanks Carlos for not listening to his advice to abandon Nicole. As the film ends, Carlos is shown becoming a pilot with the United States Navy.
Crazy/Beautiful was directed by John Stockwell, who was interested in casting actress Kirsten Dunst as a self-destructive teenager after seeing her role in The Virgin Suicides . [3] Dunst accepted the role because she was tired of playing "sweet" girls. [3] She also helped Stockwell convince Disney executives not to tone down the film's language and adult themes. [3] Although a nude scene was in the script, it was never filmed because Dunst was 17 years old when she was cast and her mother flatly refused to let her appear nude. [4] The film was originally titled "At Seventeen". [5]
Due to an FCC warning to film studios for showing "unwholesome content [to] kids", Touchstone Pictures mandated significant edits to John Stockwell's final cut. [6] Though Crazy/Beautiful was planned as an R-rated film, in an effort to secure a commercial PG-13 rating, Disney ordered Stockwell to cut 35 obscenities, including a sex scene and scenes of Nicole drinking and using drugs. [6] [7] [8] [9] Of the cuts, Stockwell said, "We were trying to make a cautionary tale, and we couldn't show the behavior we were trying to caution people away from.” [6]
Crazy/Beautiful opened at #9 at the U.S. box office, taking in $4,715,060 USD during its opening weekend. It eventually grossed a worldwide total of $19,937,988 on a $13 million budget. [2] Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 63% from 99 reviews. The critical consensus reads, "The story is not new, but the film gets credit for trying to move away from the genre's cliches. Kirsten Dunst and newcomer Jay Hernandez give believable performances". [10] Metacritic gave the film a score 61 based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11]
The leads' acting was chiefly praised, with many critics saying it gave Dunst the opportunity to show her range as an actress. [12] [13] In a three-star review, Roger Ebert wrote Crazy/Beautiful "is an unusually observant film about adolescence," and that Dunst and Hernandez bring "real conviction to the roles, [so] we care about them as people, not case studies." [14]
Stephanie Zacharek of Salon wrote, "[Dunst's] performance cuts deep...What’s so painful, and so moving, about her performance is that she's bracingly alive every minute. Her self-inflicted numbness is a defense against suffering, but not a solution to it. And when she looks into Carlos' eyes, she gives the sense of, momentarily at least, seeing her way clear." [6] The Greensboro News & Record said Hernandez "manages to register such traits as honesty and integrity without being stuffy about it. That's not as easy as it might look." [9]
The film was also positively cited by critics for its handling of racial and cultural dynamics. [15] "This is a classic love story, but one that's not afraid to take a few jabs at the cluelessness of goodhearted liberals who, despite their admirable intentions, can never quite grasp how the other half lives," Zacharek wrote. [6]
The New York Times critic A. O. Scott praised the lead actors and the film's lively soundtrack, but criticized the writing of other characters as flat and superficial. He concluded that Crazy/Beautiful is "an enormous improvement over the brainless, patronizing teenage romances" of the time, but also said it could have been much better if the filmmakers "had trusted themselves and the actors a bit more". [16]
Crazy/Beautiful | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | June 26, 2001 |
Genre | Alternative rock, indie rock, Latin |
Length | 1:00:28 |
Label | Hollywood Records |
Singles from Crazy/Beautiful | |
|
The soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on June 26, 2001. Seven Mary Three's "Wait" served as the album's English lead single, and was featured on their fifth studio album, The Economy of Sound , while La Ley's "Siempre (Everytime)" was its Spanish lead single. [17] The music video for "Wait" was also directed by John Stockwell and featured Dunst and Hernandez. [18] David Gray's song "This Year's Love" is featured in the film but is not included on the soundtrack. [19] Amazon.com editorialist Rickey Wright gave a mixed review of the soundtrack, citing groups like The Dandy Warhols, Mellow Man Ace, and Delinquent Habits as "evocative" while also stating that it "hardly makes a good argument for the continuing validity of guitar rock." [20]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ten la Fe" (Mellow Man Ace) | 4:01 |
2. | "Who Am I?" (Lily Frost) | 3:06 |
3. | "To Be Free" (Emiliana Torrini) | 3:25 |
4. | "Wait" (Seven Mary Three) | 3:07 |
5. | "Every Time" (La Ley) | 3:59 |
6. | "La Reina del Lugar" (Serralde) | 4:23 |
7. | "Shattered" (Remy Zero) | 3:47 |
8. | "Boulevard Star" (Delinquent Habits) | 3:29 |
9. | "This Is Not My Life" (Fastball) | 3:03 |
10. | "Sumpin" (The Pimps) | 3:51 |
11. | "Alright" (Osker) | 1:43 |
12. | "Sleep" (The Dandy Warhols) | 6:03 |
13. | "She Gave Me Love" (The Getaway People) | 3:59 |
14. | "I Want to Believe You" (Lori Carson & Paul Haslinger) | 4:34 |
15. | "Perfect" (Maren Ord) | 3:49 |
16. | "Siempre (Everytime)" (La Ley) | 4:07 |
Total length: | 1:00:28 |
Crazy/Beautiful was released on DVD on November 13, 2001, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Touchstone Home Video banner). [21]
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film New York Stories (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awards including nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Golden Lion, and a Cannes Film Festival Award,. She was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award.
Alexa Ellesse PenaVega is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the first four Spy Kids films and Julie Corky in the 2004 film Sleepover. In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the ABC Family series Ruby & the Rockits.
The Crow: Salvation is a 2000 American superhero film directed by Bharat Nalluri. Starring Eric Mabius as Alex Corvis and the third installment of The Crow film series, based on the comic book character of the same name by James O'Barr. After its distributor cancelled the intended wide theatrical release due to The Crow: City of Angels' negative critical reception, The Crow: Salvation was released direct-to-video after a limited theatrical run. Film critic reviews were overwhelmingly negative. It was followed by 2005 film sequel The Crow: Wicked Prayer.
Javier Manuel "Jay" Hernandez is an American actor. After making his television debut in NBC's Hang Time, he made his film debut opposite Kirsten Dunst in the romantic drama Crazy/Beautiful (2001). He has since starred in numerous films, including Friday Night Lights (2004), Hostel (2005), Bad Moms (2016), and as Chato Santana / El Diablo in Suicide Squad (2016). From 2018 until 2024, he played Thomas Magnum in the reboot of Magnum P.I.
Get Over It is a 2001 American teen comedy film loosely based on William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream about a high school senior who desperately tries to win back his ex-girlfriend by joining the school play she and her new boyfriend are performing in, against the advice of friends. The film was directed by Tommy O'Haver for Miramax Films and written by R. Lee Fleming Jr. The film was released on March 9, 2001, and stars Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó in his film debut, Shane West, and Colin Hanks. The film grossed $19.9 million against a budget of $22 million and received mixed reviews.
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 historical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Kirsten Dunst, Eddie Izzard, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Tilly, and Ronan Vibert. The screenplay by Steven Peros is based on his 1997 play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince that occurred on William Randolph Hearst's yacht during a weekend cruise celebrating Ince's birthday in November 1924. Among those in attendance were Hearst's longtime companion and film actress Marion Davies, fellow actor Charlie Chaplin, writer Elinor Glyn, columnist Louella Parsons, and actress Margaret Livingston. The film provides a speculative assessment on the unclear manner of Ince's death.
Marie Antoinette is a 2006 historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Sofia Coppola. Based on the 2001 biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser, the film covers the life of Marie Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst, in the years leading to the French Revolution.
Drive Me Crazy is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film based on the novel How I Created My Perfect Prom Date by Todd Strasser. Originally entitled Next to You, the film's title was changed to Drive Me Crazy after one of the songs from its soundtrack, "(You Drive Me) Crazy" by Britney Spears. The film, despite mixed-to-negative reviews, with criticism aimed at its unoriginal plot, grossed $22.6 worldwide, against an $8 million budget, making it a moderate box office success. The soundtrack featured The Donnas, who also appeared in the film.
The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American psychological romantic drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola in her feature directorial debut, and co-produced by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. It stars James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, A.J. Cook, and Josh Hartnett, with Scott Glenn, Michael Paré, Jonathan Tucker, and Danny DeVito in supporting roles.
Lucinda Jenney is an American actress.
The Getaway People was a Norwegian alternative rock band best known for their song "Six Pacs" which was used as the theme song for the television series Young Americans.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a 2008 British comedy film based upon Toby Young's 2001 memoir How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. The film follows a similar storyline, about his five-year struggle to make it in the United States after employment at Sharps Magazine. The names of the magazine and people Young came into contact with during the time were changed for the film adaptation. The film version is a highly fictionalized account, and differs greatly from the work upon which it was built.
"Wait" is a song by Seven Mary Three and the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Economy of Sound, released on June 5, 2001. It also served as the English lead single to the Crazy/Beautiful film soundtrack released three weeks later. "Wait" has since become one of the band's most popular songs, having reached #7 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. It also entered radio as the #1 Most Added record of the format in its first two weeks.
Dick is a 1999 comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming from a script he co-wrote with Sheryl Longin. It is a comic reimagining of the Watergate scandal which ended the presidency of Richard Nixon and features several cast members from Saturday Night Live and The Kids in the Hall. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams star as Betsy and Arlene, two warm-hearted but unworldly 15-year-old friends, who – through various arbitrary circumstances – become the legendary "Deep Throat" figure who played a key role in bringing down the presidency of Nixon. At the time of the film's release, the real identity of Deep Throat was not yet known to the public.
The Bling Ring is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola featuring an ensemble cast led by Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Georgia Rock and Leslie Mann. It is based on the 2010 Vanity Fair article "The Suspects Wore Louboutins" by Nancy Jo Sales, which dealt with a real-life gang known as the Bling Ring. The story follows a group of fame-obsessed teenagers who use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to burgle their homes.
The Beguiled is a 2017 American Southern Gothic thriller film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Thomas P. Cullinan. It stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning. It is the second film adaptation of Cullinan's novel, following Don Siegel's 1971 film of the same name.
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a fictional character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series. Based on the character of the same name, she is portrayed by Kirsten Dunst. In the films, Mary Jane is Peter Parker's next-door neighbor, childhood crush, and primary love interest. Though Mary Jane dates several other men in the first two films, she ultimately falls in love with Peter and Spider-Man and discovers they are one and the same. Despite his strong feelings for her, Peter initially declines a relationship with her in order to keep her safe, but they eventually become a couple in the end.
...this is the rare interracial love flick where the white half is marginalized.