Movie Scene
'Crazy/Beautiful' is formulaic teen romance

By Bill Muller
The Arizona Republic

CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL (Rated PG-13 for sex, profanity) Two Stars (Fair) A poor Latino boy falls for a rich and troubled white girl in this formulaic look at teen romance better suited as an "ABC After School Special." Starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. Directed by John Stockwell, Touchstone Pictures, 95 mins.

Kirsten Dunst ("Bring it On") is Nicole, an out-of-control rich white girl who doesn't get along with her wicked stepmother. Jay Hernandez is Carlos, a straight-arrow minority from the 'hood who dreams of being a Navy pilot.

We've just got to get these two crazy kids together.

Such is the well-worn path of "Crazy/Beautiful," an energetically acted if ploddingly formulaic teen romance that seems to revel in its predictability. Even worse, they made exactly the same movie earlier this year and called it "Save the Last Dance."

If you read the rules according to these movies, every pretty rich girl comes equipped with a self-absorbed father and deep-seated psychological problems. Every minority kid has a doting mom and a gang of streetwise pals. And don't forget the racist white guy on the football team.

Just for good measure, Nicole has a ditzy friend, Maddy (Taryn Manning), and the two spend much of their time cutting school and giggling for hours at absolutely nothing. Nicole also takes the grunge thing a bit too literally. It's called head & shoulders. Look into it.

With Carlos, "Crazy/Beautiful" earns points for featuring a positive Hispanic role model (i.e., a kid who is not in a gang or hooked on drugs), but the script gives him little to do but react to Nicole's irrational behavior. As cute as she is, a real-life Carlos probably wouldn't waste his time.

Of course, then there's no movie, and "Crazy/Beautiful" is determined to draw out the inevitable for as long as possible.

Nicole and Carlos meet (and it's so cute), they fall for each other, Carlos is warned she's big trouble, and they split up. Meanwhile, she pops up with the predictable skeletons in the family closet, in this case having to do with her missing mother.

Carlos ultimately must pick between whacked-out Nicole and a solid future as a Navy aviator. Gee, I wonder which he will pick?

Next week, a crusty old grandpa befriends a young boy and helps him build a racer for the soapbox derby.

Rated PG-13 for sex, profanity.

Bill Muller reviews films for The Arizona Republic.