Thursday Movie Picks: Juvenile Delinquents
1) Dirty Girl
I really hate the title of this film, but Danielle is text book Juvie. So much so that she ditches school and takes her reluctant friend and a bag of flour they are supposed to be pretending is their child for Home Ec on a road trip.
2) Lords of Dogtown
We all know the Z Boys weren't so innocent. I love this film following their start in becoming the Skate Board giants they are known as today.
3) Manic
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a teen prone to angry outbursts who is admitted into a mental institution and tries to navigate his way through treatment. You can tell this film barely had a budget but the performances are excellent.
Of course, I haven’t seen any of these but the first one sounds interesting. I always laugh about the bag of flour as a kid..kind of silly. Did you ever see the Frazier show where Niles tries the bag of flour? Needless to say the bag of flour receives some injuries
ReplyDeleteI never really watched Frazier. My class had the actual baby doll that cried. I'm glad I never had to take it home. Not my thing lol
DeleteNot mine either, I would have set the thing on fire like Niles did...just not sure I would have done it by accident:)
DeleteOmg yes lol. I love kids now but I wanted nothing to do with them until I was in my 20's
DeleteI've only seen Dirty Girl, which I agree is a terrible title, which I didn't really care for that much.
ReplyDeleteI really like JGL so I'm inclined to give Manic a try. He's never shied away from working in low budget films so that's easy to ignore.
I decided to use the type of juvie drama I enjoy the most-the kind that were made for the drive-in crowd along with one that takes a more serious look at the issue.
Youth Runs Wild (1944)-While Mom and Dad are busy at the production plants making the tools to win WWII the kids are home and being neglected and the first thing you know “Youth Runs Wild!!!!” Horror meister Val Lewton (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie) produced, though disavowed this studio reworked version, this mild teen rebellion film where the biggest sins are tire swiping and other minor infractions until a rather violent conclusion. Still somewhat surprising to see this type of film in the 40’s where young people were almost always presented as sweet, compliant angels.
High School Hellcats (1958)-Joyce (Yvonne Lime) is the new girl in school and on her first day she is confronted by Connie (Jana Lund) the leader of the Hellcat gang. Connie tells her she can join the gang or be ostracized and we’re off on a round of shoplifting, kissing parties and murder! Starts off as a mild little cautionary tale but considering there’s a body count it goes on a wilder ride than expected. The kind of film to be found at the local drive-in in the 50’s.
Look in Any Window (1961)-Teen idol Paul Anka plays “The Masked Prowler” a teen Peeping Tom who scales the fences of town residents wearing a frightening mask while his parents and their neighbors drink and carouse amongst themselves ignoring their children. Sensationalist with mostly over the top performances (though Ruth Roman is good as Anka’s mother) but Anka’s compulsion to voyeurism feels disturbingly prescient of an incipient serial killer or rapist.
The Young Stranger (1957)-Rebellious well to do teenager Hal (James MacArthur), a decent boy at heart, is arrested for punching a theatre manager at a movie theater which he truthfully claims was self-defense. The problems begin when Hal’s father (James Daly), an inattentive parent at best, doesn’t believe him leading to an even further estrangement and Hal acting out. Tom’s mother (Kim Hunter) tries to forge some sort of understanding between them before their hostility leads to worse issues. John Frankenheimer’s (The Manchurian Candidate) first theatrical film is an even handed account of the isolation and antipathy that often leads to juvenile delinquency.
I haven't seen any of your picks. I definitely recommend Manic though. Zooey Deschanel and Don Cheadle are in it as well.
DeleteOh wow I haven't even heard of any of these!
ReplyDeleteThey're awesome!
DeleteDirty Girl I haven't seen but I do like Juno Temple.
ReplyDeleteLords of Dogtown was an OK film though I much prefer Dogtown & Z-Boys which the film was actually based on. Manic is a film that is just extremely underrated.
I never saw that one but I've always meant to. I love Juno Temple too!
DeleteYou got me here. Haven't seen any of these. Lord's of Dogtown is one I've been meaning to, though.
ReplyDeleteI think you would enjoy that one. The cast is great.
DeleteSo happy you included Manic here. Yeah, a no-budget movie for sure, but every actor in that movie shows the hell up. It's so raw.
ReplyDeleteIt is! Fantastic performances all around.
DeleteLords of Dogtown is the only one I've seen, but it was soo long ago I don't remember much.
ReplyDeleteThe other two have been on my to watch list for a while.
I hope you get to them soon!
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