Spring Breakers

I love divisive films.  Even if I fall on the side of disliking the film, I still love the debates.  "Spring Breakers" has already divided critics, and I can't wait to talk this movie out with the home video crowd.  How did I feel about "Spring Breakers?"

It's awesome!

 

Where to begin with this movie?  Let's get the plot out of the way.  Four college girls rob a restaurant to get the money to head to Florida for spring break.  There they meet a rapper and small-time criminal who leads them on a crime spree.  And they party a lot too.

 

My favorite thing about "Spring Breakers" is how hyper-stylized it is.  Nothing is presented traditionally.  The cinematography is blown out and gritty at times but glossy neon at others.  Shots are riddled with double exposures.  The sound is all over the place and constant.  There is not a quiet moment in "Spring Breakers."

 

This hyper-stylized filmmaking is not normal for director Harmony Korine.  I believe it is all intended as a subversion.  Not just of the subject but of the film itself.  When the music is pumping, the scene is in dream-like slow motion.  When the music is quiet, the scene is manic.  The dialogue is often repeated in soft, whispered voice-over.  But the stylization is, sadly, not very original.  The double exposure camera work is taken directly from the final films of Tony Scott (especially "Man on Fire" and "Domino").  The black light photography is taken from Hype Williams' "Belly" (which you should go watch right now).  The manic camerawork and sensuous slow mo are lifted from the world of music videos.  The very music video style that Hype Williams helped pioneer.  And whispered voice over is a staple of artsy indie movies.  While the style may be derivative, at least it's derivative of some of my favorite movies.

 

The casting of "Spring Breakers" caused a bit of hoopla prior to it hitting theaters.  This is because of the presence of Disney Channel starlets Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens.  It's a brilliant bit of stunt casting.  Having them playing criminal, hard partying, highly sexual characters carries with it a strong shock value and much needed publicity.  And they're great!  Really.  All four girls (rounded out with Ashley Benson and the director's wife, Rachel Korine) are fantastic.  But they all pale next to the powerhouse performance from James Franco.  His portrayal of low-rent rapper/gansta, Alien (he's not of this earf, y'all), is reason enough to watch this movie.  His gansta glee is infectious and his dialogue is endlessly quotable.

 

Now, "Spring Breakers" is not all perfect.  When I was watching it, I was under the impression that it was supposed to be a criticism of the hedonism of America and its youth in particular.  That's what Korine said it was about in interviews.  But "Spring Breakers" falls into the same catch-22 as war movies.  Almost all war movies are intended to be anti-war.  But in making a movie entertaining, war is invariably glorified.  Hedonism is captured beautifully in this movie.  Florida becomes Sodom and Gomorrah.  It's Caligula's court.  And it seems freakin' awesome.  It's had to make partying with your friends seem awful.

 

Despite all the good "Spring Breakers" has going for it, there are going to be plenty of folks who hate it.  It's highly (and sometimes awkwardly) sexual without actually involving sex.  It glorifies (unintentionally) drug use and crime.  The directorial style is crazy.  Nothing much happens story-wise.  Much like Zach Snyder's "300," if the slow motion scenes were shown at normal speed, the movie would be 40 minutes long.

 

I don't think Harmony Korine can make a truly mainstream movie.  It's not who he is.  I would highly recommend his "Gummo" or "Kids" or "Julien Donkey Boy," and half the people who watch them would hate them.  If you trust me and watch "Spring Breakers" and can't stand it, I would completely understand.  It's a movie wherein your enjoyment of it is really a matter of personal taste.  It's either your kind of movie or not.  There's only one way to find out.  Watch it.  And I hope you like it as much as I do.  Spring break forever!

 

8.5 out of 10