Rating: Release Date: June 29, 2001

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USA, 2001 – Buena Vista Pictures

Directed by John Stockwell

Featuring:

Kirsten Dunst as Nicole Oakley
Jay Hernandez as Carlos Nuñez
Bruce Davison as Tom Oakley
Lucinda Jenney as Courtney Oakley
Taryn Manning as Maddy

Additional information available at the Internet Movie Database.

There is a whole lot to like in this teen romance.  Considering the genre -- not to mention that whole odd title -- "crazy/beautiful" has two youthful stars who put a whole lot on the line for love while attempting to dodge so many steriotypes.  While only partly successful in that endevour Jay Hernandez and Kirsten Dunst portray characters we are finally interested in.

The story of this pair of racially split teens is packed with issues leading to perhaps a more lengthy film than I would have liked. Dunst has family problems including her Senator father and his new bitch of a wife.  Hernandez has family problems, though his seem to be more etched out of his Mexican heratage than anything else.  And then we have the issues surrounding their romantic coming together.  How will friends of both react when Crazy meets Beautiful?

Dunst has come a long way from "Interview With a Vampire."  While many would like to take pot shots at her stinker roles, I'm here to boost her place in one role that made me admire her:  Another teen melodrama called "The Virgin Suicides." Now in this most recent production there isn't a visionary like the daughter of Francis Ford Coppula, but Dunst still has just as much, if not more, pep and kenetic energy just ready to burst when tapped by Hernandez.

As for his acting talent, there is only praise there too.  After all, it has GOT to be difficult being the only secure and stable part of the cast. And it would be an absolute sin if I failed to mention his stunningly attractive looks, right?

(An additional note I'd like to add right here upon reflection is super praise for the character Taryn Manning plays in Maddy.  While it is rather unfortunate that her relationship with Dunst' character fades into the background when the love story evolves, Manning has twenty times the control, timing, and punch as her costars. I am really looking forward to more of what she is capable of in her upcoming pictures.)

So where does "crazy/beautiful" go wrong?  Meandering along in the middle and using entirely too much relationship blossoming filler, time starts being the biggest killer.  While both of our characters become beloved by the audience, there is so much energy in the first part it gets as wasted as Dunst's character often is throughout the rest.

Still, in the sea of bad and meaningless teen movies, "crazy/beautiful" actually says something to the audience.  And even though that may be the same message most teen movies say, this movie tries a different, more crazy and beautiful approach that I couldn't help but admire.

This review originally appeared on Queer & The Fat Guy's Movie Reviews.