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Charm School
Sony Pictures // R // January 29, 2008
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
As you can probably tell, I have no experience in what it's like to be a rebellious teenage girl. When I delved into Charm School (aka Niñas Mal, or Bad Girls), the Mexican girl power dram-com from director Fernando Sariñana, it was from a outside-the-box point of view with the intent of just soaking in the comedic pokes at growing up. Lo and behold, Charm School's sense of humor, suitably put together characters, and well-oiled pace certainly charmed me more than I was expecting. Its problems lie in its audience, however, as this light-hearted story of cursing, sex-driven girls certainly isn't a family affair.
The Film:
Charm School starts off with a pinnacle example of the chaos that Adela, played by the exotic looking it-girl Martha Higareda, wages upon those around her when given free reign. Sporting fresh tattoos and a garish attitude, she's a reckless girl who is constantly in the spotlight because of her antics - which doesn't help her politican father's clout in the slightest. After a dispute over a misplaced undergarment lands Adela in the nation's newsreel amidst an important election, her father decides its time for her to clean up her act. He enlists the help of Maca (Blanca Guerra), a renowned etiquette coach who heads a course in teaching girls how to act like ladies.
Instead of the anticipated Gestapo-style reprogramming that you'd expect from a satirical comedy about manner adjustment, Charm School takes the high road and instantly makes the girls' instructor an identifiable, stringent-yet-warm character. She reminds me a little of Julie Andrews' character in The Princess Diaries in her poise and eloquent structuring of the girls. Instructor Maca gracefully introduces each of the other four participants in the course, an interesting mix of girls that range from a book-smart economics whiz (Camila Sodi) to a not-so-confused lesbian (Ximena Sariñana), in a round-table fashion that quickly gathers the characters together to interact with each other.
Now, Charm School never truly feels natural, at any point. Bonds form much too easily between the girls (and with the sprinkled guys in the film), all the while splintering apart with equal ease. Granted, when they are in full swing, the girls feel forced and overly stereotypical throughout Charm School, too; however, they tend to let their guard down in spots and let brevity escape through, in particular with both Sariñana and Sodi's supporting characters. The both give off their own elements that make their characters worth watching, including Sariñana lackadaisical attitude towards her parents' effort to "change" her and Sodi's identity struggles. The two other girls are fine as well, but they get swallowed up when the more compelling, flawed characters hit the screen.
Ultimately, this is Martha Higareda's show, and that's actually one of Charm School's strongest assets. She's an attractive girl with a dark energy that speaks more than her character does, which helps Adela have some gravity. There's a dinner party scene in particular that stands out as a great example of her talent and could, in fact, be seen as a great short film in itself; she's spent some time in the school and acclimated to the "Miss Manners" lifestyle, all which seems to be an effort to prepare for this meal in which her father will be swooning an important supporter for his political campaign. Watching Higareda shift Adela's character from strained poise to flustered wild child as she paces from the stark gray and blue dining room to the amber-lit kitchen makes for one of the film's stronger scenes.
Charm School is a sassy, upbeat, and semi-thoughtful comedy about late teens - early twenties growth and relationships, but it has a real problem in shaping the film's tone. It doesn't shy away from discussing sex in moderate detail, as well as showing a bit of nudity in its hijinks - so much that it defaults away from being a family comedy. On the flipside, the demeanor is much too cheeky and fluttering for a serious drama with a "humorous streak". Charm School becomes reminiscent of the religion-pregnancy critique comedy Saved!, only with a higher level of vulgarity and an even higher level of high note charm. This essentially means that its endearing perversion might entertain the crowd, yet it fits in an unclear and muddled niche where it'll alienate some of the audiences that its material would harness.
The DVD:
Charm School comes from Columbia / Sony's catalog of foreign films in a standard keepcase presentation with, I must say, some rather garish and slightly misrepresentative coverart.
The Video:
Sony always does a great job with its transfers of foreign films, and even with a few reservations Charm School is another instance of this quality. Two things stood out to me in its 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image - a hint of blurriness in several outdoor scenes, and some troubles handling darker shadows and black portions. At times, black started to lean a little towards a hazed gray, but to say that it was a major distraction would be a stretch. Many indoor scenes, alternately, showed off some strong levels of detail. It's hit and miss, but overall the low level of digital noise, the great color usage, and the active use of detail makes this image a really nice effort.
The Audio:
Sony's Spanish 5.1 Dolby track, on the other hand, is about as bland as you can get. Vocal clarity sounded fine in spots, but it was definitely cleaner and more audible at certain times than others. For the film's purpose, everything was fine; it provided an apt experience in enjoying this kind of movie. However, there were only moments of multidimensional activity that took advantage of the surround capabilities. Optional subtitles are available in English and French, while language tracks are available in Spanish and French.
The Extras:
Featurettes:
Four seperate "featurettes" are listed, however each one only lasts around 3 minutes in length. To ad gasoline to the fire, each of them are nothing but raw "making of" footage without anyone intervening to talk or anything. These features capture several of the film's funnier scenes, like Adela's struggle to get a bra from her thief and her plummet from a windowsill into a wood roof. Standing at right around 12 minutes in length, these features are fine enough for one watch.
Also included are a Music Video performed by Ximena Sariñana featuring the cast members in a song featured at the end of the film, and a slew of Previews for Sony's great catalog of off-beat and foreign independent stuff.
-----
Final Thoughts:
Charm School won me over with some compellingly sassy performances, especially from Martha Higareda, and a couple of strong dramatic scenes wedged within its satiric attitude. The rather fake connectivity amidst some of the characters and the overall ease of the film's turn of events irked me as expected, but overall it's an enjoyable little treat for a Rental. It's extremely light on extras and has close to no replay value, but that chuckle-worthy and flamboyant tween story isn't the worst way to spend an evening.
Thomas Spurlin, Staff Reviewer -- DVDTalk Reviews | Personal Blog/Site
The Film:
Charm School starts off with a pinnacle example of the chaos that Adela, played by the exotic looking it-girl Martha Higareda, wages upon those around her when given free reign. Sporting fresh tattoos and a garish attitude, she's a reckless girl who is constantly in the spotlight because of her antics - which doesn't help her politican father's clout in the slightest. After a dispute over a misplaced undergarment lands Adela in the nation's newsreel amidst an important election, her father decides its time for her to clean up her act. He enlists the help of Maca (Blanca Guerra), a renowned etiquette coach who heads a course in teaching girls how to act like ladies.
Instead of the anticipated Gestapo-style reprogramming that you'd expect from a satirical comedy about manner adjustment, Charm School takes the high road and instantly makes the girls' instructor an identifiable, stringent-yet-warm character. She reminds me a little of Julie Andrews' character in The Princess Diaries in her poise and eloquent structuring of the girls. Instructor Maca gracefully introduces each of the other four participants in the course, an interesting mix of girls that range from a book-smart economics whiz (Camila Sodi) to a not-so-confused lesbian (Ximena Sariñana), in a round-table fashion that quickly gathers the characters together to interact with each other.
Now, Charm School never truly feels natural, at any point. Bonds form much too easily between the girls (and with the sprinkled guys in the film), all the while splintering apart with equal ease. Granted, when they are in full swing, the girls feel forced and overly stereotypical throughout Charm School, too; however, they tend to let their guard down in spots and let brevity escape through, in particular with both Sariñana and Sodi's supporting characters. The both give off their own elements that make their characters worth watching, including Sariñana lackadaisical attitude towards her parents' effort to "change" her and Sodi's identity struggles. The two other girls are fine as well, but they get swallowed up when the more compelling, flawed characters hit the screen.
Ultimately, this is Martha Higareda's show, and that's actually one of Charm School's strongest assets. She's an attractive girl with a dark energy that speaks more than her character does, which helps Adela have some gravity. There's a dinner party scene in particular that stands out as a great example of her talent and could, in fact, be seen as a great short film in itself; she's spent some time in the school and acclimated to the "Miss Manners" lifestyle, all which seems to be an effort to prepare for this meal in which her father will be swooning an important supporter for his political campaign. Watching Higareda shift Adela's character from strained poise to flustered wild child as she paces from the stark gray and blue dining room to the amber-lit kitchen makes for one of the film's stronger scenes.
Charm School is a sassy, upbeat, and semi-thoughtful comedy about late teens - early twenties growth and relationships, but it has a real problem in shaping the film's tone. It doesn't shy away from discussing sex in moderate detail, as well as showing a bit of nudity in its hijinks - so much that it defaults away from being a family comedy. On the flipside, the demeanor is much too cheeky and fluttering for a serious drama with a "humorous streak". Charm School becomes reminiscent of the religion-pregnancy critique comedy Saved!, only with a higher level of vulgarity and an even higher level of high note charm. This essentially means that its endearing perversion might entertain the crowd, yet it fits in an unclear and muddled niche where it'll alienate some of the audiences that its material would harness.
The DVD:
Charm School comes from Columbia / Sony's catalog of foreign films in a standard keepcase presentation with, I must say, some rather garish and slightly misrepresentative coverart.
The Video:
Sony always does a great job with its transfers of foreign films, and even with a few reservations Charm School is another instance of this quality. Two things stood out to me in its 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image - a hint of blurriness in several outdoor scenes, and some troubles handling darker shadows and black portions. At times, black started to lean a little towards a hazed gray, but to say that it was a major distraction would be a stretch. Many indoor scenes, alternately, showed off some strong levels of detail. It's hit and miss, but overall the low level of digital noise, the great color usage, and the active use of detail makes this image a really nice effort.
The Audio:
Sony's Spanish 5.1 Dolby track, on the other hand, is about as bland as you can get. Vocal clarity sounded fine in spots, but it was definitely cleaner and more audible at certain times than others. For the film's purpose, everything was fine; it provided an apt experience in enjoying this kind of movie. However, there were only moments of multidimensional activity that took advantage of the surround capabilities. Optional subtitles are available in English and French, while language tracks are available in Spanish and French.
The Extras:
Featurettes:
Four seperate "featurettes" are listed, however each one only lasts around 3 minutes in length. To ad gasoline to the fire, each of them are nothing but raw "making of" footage without anyone intervening to talk or anything. These features capture several of the film's funnier scenes, like Adela's struggle to get a bra from her thief and her plummet from a windowsill into a wood roof. Standing at right around 12 minutes in length, these features are fine enough for one watch.
Also included are a Music Video performed by Ximena Sariñana featuring the cast members in a song featured at the end of the film, and a slew of Previews for Sony's great catalog of off-beat and foreign independent stuff.
-----
Final Thoughts:
Charm School won me over with some compellingly sassy performances, especially from Martha Higareda, and a couple of strong dramatic scenes wedged within its satiric attitude. The rather fake connectivity amidst some of the characters and the overall ease of the film's turn of events irked me as expected, but overall it's an enjoyable little treat for a Rental. It's extremely light on extras and has close to no replay value, but that chuckle-worthy and flamboyant tween story isn't the worst way to spend an evening.
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