Movie Reviews
Jonas and Kelly are two teens who are living the life. If by ‘living the life’ you mean using copious amounts of drugs, attending drum circles and scavenging food out of trash cans that is. Despite their unhealthy lifestyle, they both look like the most glammed out homeless junkies you’ve ever seen. Kelly (Gabriella Wilde) looks like she’s doing a photoshoot for a gothic metal band whereas Jonas (Thomas Dekker) could be a dead ringer for Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. I was actually expecting for him to burst out in “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” while roaming the streets of LA. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that director Martin Weisz has a background that consists mostly of commercials and music videos. I guess that also explains why everything is stylized beyond belief.
Anyway, the two of them soon find themselves squatting in a Pacific Palisades mansion after Jonas overheard the owners saying they’ll be on a month long holiday. Unfortunately for them, the owners return sooner than planned and that’s when Jonas and Kelly have to face the music (not “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”).
This movie is a fine example of style over substance with Weisz apparently telling Dekker it’s okay for him to approach his role with so much zeal that it could be called overacting. The same can be said for the bad guy Jonas ends up getting involved with. The script isn’t exactly helping either with some seriously mindboggling twists. Seriously, they couldn’t think of anything better than to have Kelly ending up in an empty movie theatre with the son of the couple they wanted to rob? And then have the two of them falling in love?
Pretty much the only good thing about this movie is Wilde, who is easy on the eyes and approaches her role with a kind of fragility that suits her character. Other than that the movie is just one ‘oh no, they didn’t!’ after another… but of course the characters always do. For some reason, the plot description on the back of the DVD suggests that the family comes home and finds the squatters… but that’s not even what happens. I’m curious if that would’ve ended up being a better movie.
