Archive for June 21st, 2012

Short Take: Juno Temple’s performance works to make this a movie worth liking, but not necessarily worth respecting

Director: Abe Sylvia

Screenwriter: Abe Sylvia

Cast: Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, Dwight Yoakam, Mary Steenburgen, William H. Macy

Length: 1h 30m

Synopsis: The year is 1987. Danielle (Temple) is a high schooler in Norman, OK with a reputation as a “dirty girl,” and it’s not unfounded. As a real man eater she gets around, but does have intolerances for rapscallion-like behavior. Concerned for her wellbeing the school places her in special education classes as motivation to change her ways, and while she’s there she gets partnered up with another social exile named Clarke (Dozier), whose only commonly known attribute is his homosexual orientation. Together they’re given a project which demands that they parent a bag of flour like a baby, forcing them to spend time together outside of school. As they work on their project they begin bonding over their mutual exclusion. Danielle, after newly discovering the identity of her biological father, takes advantage of this new bond by roping Clarke into a road trip to see him. At the same time, Clarke is running away from a father (Yoakam) who has reached the tolerance limit for his gayness. The two runaways’ journey starts off awkwardly enough, but coming back after what they experience will be the real challenge.

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