Film Review #4: Spring Breakers

Harmony Korine, James Franco, Vanessa Hugeons, Ashely Benson, Selena Gomez and Rachel Korine at TIFF 2012

Spring Breakers is not a film that everyone will enjoy. It's probably not even a movie that most people will enjoy. The film was directed by Harmony Korine. This is the guy that brought us Gummo and Trash Humpers. He also directed the very controversial film Kids. Spring Breakers is by far his most commercially friendly movie. This is almost entirely due to the fact that it stars three young starlets; Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgeons and Ashley Benson. Harmony Korine's wife Rachel Korine rounds out the female cast.

The story follows the four main girls who desperately want to go on spring break. In order to finance this trip, three of them decide to rob a diner. They then hit the road and head to Florida where they enjoy a week of indulgent partying. However, the partying comes to a crashing halt when the girls are busted for doing drugs at one of the parties and are all arrested. Enter James Franco who plays a local rapper and drug dealer named Alien. He bails the girls out of jail and they join his gang in Florida. That's when the REAL fun begins. I don't want to give away a lot of the plot past this point because you really need to see it to believe it. Let's just say there is a scene that brings a whole new meaning to Britney Spears' Everytime.

The films dialogue is heavily improvised. I don't know that this film will completely allow these teen starlets to break out of their stereotyped roles but I think that it shows courage on their part to be apart of this risky film.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Does it portray youth at their absolutely worst? Yes. But does it take itself seriously? No, of course not and that's what I most enjoyed about it. It does not pretend to be anything than what it is and we get that from the very beginning with a montage of real spring break footage. The film provides a fantastic sound track and cotton candy visuals. It is film self indulgence at its best.

Spring Breakers opens in all theatres on March 5, 2013.