Rating: 
Summary: A great film for teens and adults!
Review: I enjoy teen movies but often I find them to be rather cliche. I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a film this turned out to be. Both of the actors did a wonderful job portraying the characters. This movie is about the interracial romance between a poor Hispanic kid and a white rich girl. Its also a tale of two opposite people being that Carlos is a hard-working student who travels far to the rich kid's school and Nicole is a rich slacker with little ambition in life. She has many emotional problems due to her family and the death of her mother.This is not a film that makes their romance easy. There are problems on both sides being that they come from different worlds and have different ideas on life. Nicole is a complicated character who makes you angry sometimes but you also see the pain she hides. She falls for the grounded Carlos who in the end helps her to become a much better person. This film far surpasses the others out there. The kids talk, dress and act real which makes it quite a bit more believable. You care for these people when you watch this and hope things turn out for the best. A great romance and film. A+
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly Dunst's best performance to date
Review: Kirsten Dunst, while one of my favorite actresses, seems to be stuck in the teenage-rut. She played a cheerleader in "Bring it On" and a high school student in "Get Over It." Both are you average teenage movie. "Crazy/Beautiful" is a great movie. The acting is top-notch, both by Dunst as Nicole, the rich girl with a crazy streak, and by Jay Hernandez as Carlos, the poor kid trying to make himself better. Dunst's character has some severe problems. She has trememdous mood swings due to a tragic past, and severe family problems because of a step-mother who means well, but who is replacing a mother she's not ready to let go of. The viewers are able to see what life is like for this poor Latino, from the strong family ties to the 2-hour bus ride to a school in a better part of town. Carlos is trying hard to better himself, by studying hard and working toward graduation and college. This is definitely a great movie, and one to watch. If you're looking forward to another teenage movie starring the
Rating: 
Summary: make it a 3.5
Review: It's hard for me to rate this movie. For as slow as the movie was during it (I fell asleep two different times), towards the end-it ended quickly (IMO, not a good thing). With that being said and regardless of how slow the movie was, it gave a great message So-should one give it a 3 for the slowness and quick ending movie? Not to mention the story line itself wasn't anything we haven't seen before (just flip the roles). Or should I give it a 4 for the message? In the end, is this a run out and rent/buy movie? nah. And if you do, I suggest people to rent it first and than decide. I didn't mind spending the money to rent it, but I find it to slow to purchase it and/or watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL
Review: THIS HAS HAVE TO BE MY MOST FAVORITE OF ALL THE KIRSTEN DUNST MOVIES THAT I HAVE SEEN. ITS SO REAL AND EMOTIONAL AND IT REALLY SHOWS WHATS GOING ON IN TEEN LIFE RATHER THAN MAKING THEM AIRHEAD THAT JUST SAY NO (U KNOW WHAT I MEAN) JAY HERNANDEZ IS SO CUTE AND THIS MOVIE SHOWS HOW KIRSTEN DUNST HAS REALLY GROWN AS AN ACTRESS. SHE IS MY FAV ACTRESS. AND IF U ARE READING THIS TO CONSIDER IF U WANT TO BUY THIS MOVIE BUY IT. THATS UR ANSWER I SEEN IT LIKE 20 TIMES ALREADY AND I REALLY NEVER GET SICK OF IT AND IM SURE U WILL LOVE IT TOO. BUY IT ITS REALLY TOUCHING IT MADE ME CRY AND I REALLY ENJOYED THE REALNESS OF IT. I LOVE YOU KIRSTEN AND MWAAAAAAA!! TO JAY FERNANADEZ WHO IS SO SEXY
Rating:
Summary: Kirsten Dunst shines in an engaging character study
Review: I hesitated to see this film because having seen my share of Kristen Dunst movies, I wasn't sure I was ready for another teen sugar attack. However, this film turned out to be a pleasant departure from the perky candy coated parts Dunst has played in the past. In fact, this might be a watershed role for her, marking her transition from teen roles to adult roles. Dunst plays Nicole Oakley, a troubled teenager from a privileged family who falls in love with Carlos (Jay Hernandez), a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. The story is nothing new, but the presentation is remarkably good, with far greater maturity than one would expect from a high school flick. This film is exceptional considering its limited budget and the fact that most of the major players have very little experience at this level. For writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, this is their first feature film screenplay. For director John Stockwell, it is only his second feature film. Likewise for Jay Hernandez and Taryn Manning. Many of the Latino actors were cast from a local high school, so they are in their first film. By comparison, Kirsten Dunst is a jaded veteran. The use of so many ordinary (not professional actors) high school students in the film gives it a very genuine look and feel. Stockwell turns in an impressive directorial effort with a story that is much more complex than it seems at first blush. It starts out as your standard boy-meets-girl love story. They flirt, act silly, have sex, fall in love and create beautiful romantic images on the beach. Just when you think it is going to be a real yawner, things begin to get complicated. Stockwell slowly peels away the layers of the two main characters and their families to reveal subterranean shearing forces that will act to tear them apart. Nicole, who at first seems to be just a wild, rebellious brat, turns out to be far deeper and more emotionally unsettled than one would ever imagine. Carlos' humble roots and burning ambition bring the relationship to a breaking point when he has to decide between Nicole and his shot at Annapolis. Stockwell takes what could have been a trite teen romance and turns it into an engaging character study. While his pace is perhaps a bit too deliberate and inclusive, his sensitive treatment of the motivation of the characters and his style of unraveling their psyches slowly before our eyes makes for great drama. This film is full of "ahah" moments, where you find yourself re-evaluating the characters as some new piece of information is revealed. Kirsten Dunst has had an active career, appearing in over twenty films before the age of twenty (which age she will attain in April 2002). This is by far her best performance, helped by the fact that it is the most complex character she has ever played. There was a hint that her ability extended beyond the superficial teen characters she normally plays in the film "Virgin Suicides", where she played a sullen, bad girl with some serious problems. As Nicole in this film, she shows us that she has extraordinary range. She really cuts loose with the character, taking her to exhilarating and uninhibited highs as well as crashing, depression ridden lows. Though this is a minor film from a box office perspective, this performance should get the attention of casting directors and open the door for her to get bigger, more serious parts. Jay Hernandez shows promise, although he seems a little wooden in this film. His great strength (other than his obvious good looks) is his sincerity. He comes across as if he means every word he says. I was going crazy trying to figure out where I had seen Bruce Davidson (who played Tom Oakley) before. He played Willard in the film of the same name (1971) about a sociopathic kid who befriended rats and used them to attack his enemies. Davidson gives a good performance here as Nicole's congressman father, particularly in the touching scene at the end. Herman Osario, Miguel Castro and Tommy De La Cruz were all cast for their first film in open auditions from thousands of Latino high school students. They provide the film with some of its lighter moments as Carlos' friends, and they all give fantastic performances, basically being themselves. Taryn Manning rounds out the cast as Nicole's best friend and does a fine job of playing the wild thing. I liked this film more for the drama than the romance. I rated it an 8/10. Kirsten Dunst takes a quantum leap with this performance. It is not for impatient viewers or those who despise slushy romances. However, for those who like a good character study with emotionally charged content and complex characters it is well worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: waz like grsweayt!
Review: ixz love kirtsen dinsut...she'snso beautiful juyst like the title of the moebvvie dssayas. oi thinkshe's lieke one of the beste actrors around today making flicks. and when she does great flivks like this and get ovre it she proves thatr shes the best. this has goovde good directing too and a really good storyu that has a twist to it that we aren';t usre to seeing lot lateie. opne great flick!.......word out!
Rating:
Summary: excellent moive; unsatisfactory DVD
Review: This was one of my favorite movies of 2001. I saw it in a movie theater this summer. As for the DVD, I didn't like the full screen aspect ratio. I felt like I was watching a VHS tape. There were many scenes in which I saw only partial heads, heads that were cropped to fit the full screen aspect. On the other hand, the deleted scenes were in widescreen. Why is that? I also wanted to see more "deleted" scenes. I think this movie must have cut a lot more scenes than you'll see on this DVD. I'd only buy the DVD if and when a better DVD is available.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable all the way through
Review: This is a great movie. Yes, it's meant to be a chick flick, but this film has such a high level of truth and reality, it can be enjoyed by anyone who takes the time to watch it. It follows the story of young Nicole, a troubled teenager who has all the money in the world, but naturally, that can't buy happiness and Nicole certainly doesn't have much of that in her life. Her mother died when she was little and her father is very kind, but the woman he is marrying does not like Nicole and is urging her soon to be husband to "cut her loose." Nicole is a party girl; she has many emotional problems and is always getting into trouble. She's heading down a bad path, and gets herself in with bad people. Then she meets Carlos, and things change. Carlos is down-to-earth, hard-working, and determined to make something of himself. At a glance, it seems like he and Nicole are way too different to have a relationship with each other, but that's not true. There's something about Nicole that attracts Carlos, and they begin a close bond. Then Nicole's father gets involved, trouble erupts, and a dark cloud threatens to plunge Nicole back into the darkness she experienced before she met Carlos. But love definitely finds its way through the hard stuff in this satisfying film on trust and forgiveness. Kirsten Dunst plays her role as Nicole with obvious strength and ability. We're used to seeing Dunst with the long blonde hair and the movie roles where she portrays a sweet and generally good teenager. Her performance in "Crazy/Beautiful" proves that she can take any role and pull it off beautifully. It shows what a great actress she is. Jay Hernandez also performs extremely well as Carlos. Yes, this movie is very dramatic all the way through, but it's a good one. I'd definitely recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Overly cliche
Review: I do agree that it is a total rewrite of Save the Last Dance, with worse acting and shallower plot. It is definately a chick flick that guys will be dragged along to see. Guys, take a Walkman and tissues for your girlfriend. she'll cry cause she thinks its emotional ( rich kid and poor kid in lov. hmm, how many movies with THAT plot?), you'll cry cause youre bored.
Rating:
Summary: It starts with excellent writing and only gets better
Review: If you start off with a script which does not contain a single cliche or a single Hollywood plot device, you are already on such virgin, pristine territory that sheer originality can only unfold. Such is the case here about two high school seniors, she rich, he poor, she WASP, he ethnic, that I found myself marvelling during every minute of it. She's also got some major emotional problems that he does not and that forms much of the conflict and tension for the story. I thought her father, a US Congressman, was going to descend into stereotype level towards the end but was pleasantly surprised he did not. I thought at one point that the leads were going joy riding with total Hollywood road tripping. I was wrong again. Thoughtful, insightful, romantic; everything I could want in a movie and more. A huge hit? Make it one on DVD, folks.
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