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Crazy/Beautiful
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // November 13, 2001
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
(film review done in Summer, 2001)
"crazy/beautiful" has just started its opening weekend and already, the film's box office numbers are below expectations. It's unfortunate, because although the ads simply make it look like just another rowdy teen joyride, the film actually has a lot going on under the surface. Directed by John Stockwell, who previously suprised with the enormously engaging HBO drama "Cheaters", "crazy/beautiful" stars Kirsten Dunst as Nicole, the daughter of an affluent congressman who has had a history of recklessness - drunken driving, drug use, sex and arrests. Carlos (Jay Hernandez) is the son of a very hard working Mexican-American mother who has worked enormously hard to get her son ahead in life. Carlos is equally invested in his future, hopping on a bus at the break of dawn and riding for hours to get to a good school - the one that Nicole also attends.
The two meet and opposites do eventually attract - he's angry with her for getting him in trouble and stuck in detention, but she's charming and attractive; soon, the two are taking their romance further - to the anger of Carlos's friends and to the dismay of Nicole's father (Bruce Davidson of "X-Men")), who thinks that Carlos is a student with a bright future and that he should stay away from Nicole, who takes those around her down with her on her destructive path. But there's more from her past that eventually is revealed as the audience learns why Nicole has been depressed.
"crazy/beautiful" isn't always terrifically original or does it get its points across in a way that isn't always a little bit heavy-handed, but there's several elements that really do make it work well and become effective. Dunst offers a superb performance of a girl who can have a wild, joyous side of her - sometimes taking things a little too far - and a different half that's intense, angry and unhappy. She's realistic, engaging and sympathetic throughout the movie - it's easily one of her best performances. Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut also offers a cold, crisp looking picture that really gives the film a down-to-Earth and engaging look, with interesting angles and use of colors.
Supporting performances are also solid, for the most part. Lucinda Jenny is the one most left hanging by the script, playing Nicole's stepmother as a shrill one-note character. Davidson also gets stuck with some awkward lines, as well. Hernandez is strong in his first performance and he and Dunst do have good chemistry with one another. Stockwell does well at portraying the elements of drug use and sexuality without being able to actually show any details, restricted by the PG-13 rating that the movie probably was required to come in with; I believe there were even additional scenes taken out in the past couple of weeks before the film's release. Those who follow this site know what I'm thinking - hopefully we'll see all of this material on the DVD (update: nope.).
"crazy/beautiful" doesn't manage to skip away from all of the teen movie cliches - the romantic scenes set to the next pop hit are included, but there's more substance and stronger performances here than most films marketed to the teen audience. It's unfortunate that the movie is being released in the middle of the Summer, where it seems like it's going to be passed over for other Summer releases.
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "crazy/beautiful" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition. The film uses various filters and styles throughout, but the result is an often beautiful looking image that is well-represented on this DVD, with the exception of a few minor concerns. Sharpness and detail are generally excellent, although the picture can take on a slightly soft look at times - but it did look that way in the theater, as well.
Flaws are few and far between throughout the picture: slight edge enhancement appeared during a few scenes throughout the movie, but these instances were brief and slight. I noticed no pixelation and the film remained free of print flaws - no specks, no marks, no scratches.
Colors look the same as they did in theaters - subdued at points, heavy in others, but they never appear smeared or otherwise flawed. Black level remained solid throughout and overall, this is an impressive and often gorgeous transfer that remains accurate to the movie's look.
SOUND: Buena Vista presents "crazy/beautiful" in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. It's great to see that the studio continues to support DTS as an option. The film's audio itself really isn't that active a presentation - there is some surround use here and there for the music and the occasional sound effects, but this really remains a front-heavy experience. Still, audio quality is particularly crisp and pleasant, with dialogue, sound effects and music coming through clearly. Both the DTS and Dolby Digital presentations are quite good, but the DTS track presents the soundtrack with a slight, but noticable level of additional richness.
MENUS: BV's nicely animated menus are set up like Nicole's journal.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary track from actress Kirsten Dunst and director John Stockwell. I have to say that this is one of the most entertaining tracks that I've listened to in several months. Although Stockwell is somewhat dry with general comments about the production and obstacles that he faced as director, Dunst is sweet, funny, intelligent and often hilarious as she gives her opinions about working in the film and her role. This is a terrific track - a great mix of humor and information about the film's history, especially some of the issues regarding the fact that the film had to be changed to PG-13.
Blurring Fiction and Reality: Making Of "crazy/beautiful": This is a very enjoyable and well-produced documentary on the making of the film. Thankfully, this doc doesn't focus on the promotional aspects that these documentaries usually do and instead, the documentary offers some informative interviews with the cast and crew regarding issues like casting and more - there's even some audition and behind-the-scenes cast footage. Definitely worth a view - runs 15 minutes.
Trailer: Enjoyably, this a trailer with optional audio commentary from director John Stockwell, who talks about his view of trailers in general and his opinion of this particular trailer. Personally, I think the film's lack of success at the box office was caused by some of the TV trailers, which were quite weak - I believe that Dunst even objected to some of them. This trailer, which is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 when commentary is not on, is pretty good, though.
Deleted Scenes: What I would have hoped is that the film's R-rated footage that had to be cut to get the PG-13 would end up in this section of the DVD, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. These are just general extended sequences in slightly rough 1.85:1 widescreen, with optional commentary by director John Stockwell.
Final Thoughts: Not a film without some problems, I still think "crazy/beautiful" was an overlooked gem from the Summer of 2001. Buena Vista's special edition DVD provides excellent audio/video quality along with a great commentary track and a few other enjoyable supplements. Recommended.
(film review done in Summer, 2001)
"crazy/beautiful" has just started its opening weekend and already, the film's box office numbers are below expectations. It's unfortunate, because although the ads simply make it look like just another rowdy teen joyride, the film actually has a lot going on under the surface. Directed by John Stockwell, who previously suprised with the enormously engaging HBO drama "Cheaters", "crazy/beautiful" stars Kirsten Dunst as Nicole, the daughter of an affluent congressman who has had a history of recklessness - drunken driving, drug use, sex and arrests. Carlos (Jay Hernandez) is the son of a very hard working Mexican-American mother who has worked enormously hard to get her son ahead in life. Carlos is equally invested in his future, hopping on a bus at the break of dawn and riding for hours to get to a good school - the one that Nicole also attends.
The two meet and opposites do eventually attract - he's angry with her for getting him in trouble and stuck in detention, but she's charming and attractive; soon, the two are taking their romance further - to the anger of Carlos's friends and to the dismay of Nicole's father (Bruce Davidson of "X-Men")), who thinks that Carlos is a student with a bright future and that he should stay away from Nicole, who takes those around her down with her on her destructive path. But there's more from her past that eventually is revealed as the audience learns why Nicole has been depressed.
"crazy/beautiful" isn't always terrifically original or does it get its points across in a way that isn't always a little bit heavy-handed, but there's several elements that really do make it work well and become effective. Dunst offers a superb performance of a girl who can have a wild, joyous side of her - sometimes taking things a little too far - and a different half that's intense, angry and unhappy. She's realistic, engaging and sympathetic throughout the movie - it's easily one of her best performances. Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut also offers a cold, crisp looking picture that really gives the film a down-to-Earth and engaging look, with interesting angles and use of colors.
Supporting performances are also solid, for the most part. Lucinda Jenny is the one most left hanging by the script, playing Nicole's stepmother as a shrill one-note character. Davidson also gets stuck with some awkward lines, as well. Hernandez is strong in his first performance and he and Dunst do have good chemistry with one another. Stockwell does well at portraying the elements of drug use and sexuality without being able to actually show any details, restricted by the PG-13 rating that the movie probably was required to come in with; I believe there were even additional scenes taken out in the past couple of weeks before the film's release. Those who follow this site know what I'm thinking - hopefully we'll see all of this material on the DVD (update: nope.).
"crazy/beautiful" doesn't manage to skip away from all of the teen movie cliches - the romantic scenes set to the next pop hit are included, but there's more substance and stronger performances here than most films marketed to the teen audience. It's unfortunate that the movie is being released in the middle of the Summer, where it seems like it's going to be passed over for other Summer releases.
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "crazy/beautiful" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition. The film uses various filters and styles throughout, but the result is an often beautiful looking image that is well-represented on this DVD, with the exception of a few minor concerns. Sharpness and detail are generally excellent, although the picture can take on a slightly soft look at times - but it did look that way in the theater, as well.
Flaws are few and far between throughout the picture: slight edge enhancement appeared during a few scenes throughout the movie, but these instances were brief and slight. I noticed no pixelation and the film remained free of print flaws - no specks, no marks, no scratches.
Colors look the same as they did in theaters - subdued at points, heavy in others, but they never appear smeared or otherwise flawed. Black level remained solid throughout and overall, this is an impressive and often gorgeous transfer that remains accurate to the movie's look.
SOUND: Buena Vista presents "crazy/beautiful" in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. It's great to see that the studio continues to support DTS as an option. The film's audio itself really isn't that active a presentation - there is some surround use here and there for the music and the occasional sound effects, but this really remains a front-heavy experience. Still, audio quality is particularly crisp and pleasant, with dialogue, sound effects and music coming through clearly. Both the DTS and Dolby Digital presentations are quite good, but the DTS track presents the soundtrack with a slight, but noticable level of additional richness.
MENUS: BV's nicely animated menus are set up like Nicole's journal.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary track from actress Kirsten Dunst and director John Stockwell. I have to say that this is one of the most entertaining tracks that I've listened to in several months. Although Stockwell is somewhat dry with general comments about the production and obstacles that he faced as director, Dunst is sweet, funny, intelligent and often hilarious as she gives her opinions about working in the film and her role. This is a terrific track - a great mix of humor and information about the film's history, especially some of the issues regarding the fact that the film had to be changed to PG-13.
Blurring Fiction and Reality: Making Of "crazy/beautiful": This is a very enjoyable and well-produced documentary on the making of the film. Thankfully, this doc doesn't focus on the promotional aspects that these documentaries usually do and instead, the documentary offers some informative interviews with the cast and crew regarding issues like casting and more - there's even some audition and behind-the-scenes cast footage. Definitely worth a view - runs 15 minutes.
Trailer: Enjoyably, this a trailer with optional audio commentary from director John Stockwell, who talks about his view of trailers in general and his opinion of this particular trailer. Personally, I think the film's lack of success at the box office was caused by some of the TV trailers, which were quite weak - I believe that Dunst even objected to some of them. This trailer, which is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 when commentary is not on, is pretty good, though.
Deleted Scenes: What I would have hoped is that the film's R-rated footage that had to be cut to get the PG-13 would end up in this section of the DVD, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. These are just general extended sequences in slightly rough 1.85:1 widescreen, with optional commentary by director John Stockwell.
Final Thoughts: Not a film without some problems, I still think "crazy/beautiful" was an overlooked gem from the Summer of 2001. Buena Vista's special edition DVD provides excellent audio/video quality along with a great commentary track and a few other enjoyable supplements. Recommended.
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