Crazy beautiful (2001)

Director: John Stockwell
Writers: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jay Hernandez and Bruce Davison

Carlos: You are crazy

Nicole: You are beautiful




Nicole Oakley (Kirsten Dunst) is a rich troubled girl, daughter of the Congressman and senior at Pacific Palisades High, and most of the time drunk and wasted. 

In the same school the resolutely focused Latino, Carlos (Jay Hernandez) is taking lessons and he dreams of going to the Annapolis Naval Academy. He wants to become a pilot so much that he is riding a bus two hours away from the barrio just to attend the Pacific high school for a better education. 


These two totally different people and as they fall in love, a genuine, honest bond forms between them. 

But Nicole’s family problems cause a self-destructive behavior and she puts in danger Carlos’s school and job future. The problems with her father are so serious that influence Carlos and Nicole’s relationship and his unsteady future puts his family in worries. 


Finally, their love is so strong that can keep them together despite their families’ objections.

Genre: drama, romance

My comments
To tell you the truth, I totally hate all those teenage romantic dramas that have nothing special to offer and the plot is just all the same. When I read the summary of this movie I was expecting the same tested thing. But for the sake of the beautiful Kirsten Dunst I decided to spend 1:30 hour of my Thursday evening watching this. And, surprisingly it was worth it.  Although it seems like a cliché storyline: high school, the rich troubled daughter falls in love with the poor intelligent boy who struggles to succeed, bad things happen so they split and in the end –boom- back together!, it doesn’t seem over-used and fake. The characters are realistic and everyday people but yet they have to deal with maniac and overreacted behaviors. Kirsten Dunst is so enjoyable to watch, she is master in playing the crazy troubled 18 year old girl and she gives much deepness to her character. On the other hand, Jay Hernandez, well... I didn’t know him before this movie. He proved to be a great actor who could lead efficiently the role of the young conflicted boy who respects his family and believes in love. The performances overall are very good, all the dramatic moments come from their words and not actions, and even sometimes they don’t need to speak to move your feelings. "Crazy beautiful" is powered by its intimately realistic and complicated personalities. If you are looking for THE movie (=a box-office success full of surprises), it’s not it, but yet it’s very sweet and warming and it has many realistic deep moments full of anger and tears. So, it’s a nice movie to watch, with good story, many touching moments and a happy ending.