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"crazy/beautiful" had the potential to be a breakout film. It took on the grittier side of the standard "rich girl meets and falls in love with poor boy" storyline and added enough angst to create a new standard. Unfortunately, it just doesn't live up to its potential.

Kirsten Dunst gives an on-target performance as the rich, wasted, basketcase daughter of a politician. Nicole (Dunst) has gone down an increasingly self-destructive spiral since finding her mother dead when she was 12. She can't get her dad (played with a quiet dignity by Bruce Davison) to deal with her, believing that he thinks she is doomed to end up like her mother, and so she rebels. Drinking, showing a disregard for all things her father stands for, and at constant odds with her stepmother, Nicole's life is so out-of-control she is bound to wind up in a hospital, or worse, dead. Enter Carlos Nunez (Jay Hernandez). He's handsome, intelligent, and his plan to join the military and become a pilot is an important, and seemingly obtainable, goal. A chance meeting between Carlos and Nicole while Nicole is serving time doing community service leads to a tumultuous relationship. Nicole falls hard for Jay, while at the same time viewing his racial and economic background as a way of striking back at her father.

The standout performance in this film is the one given by newcomer, Jay Hernandez. Hernandez has a presence on screen that goes well beyond his good looks. The strength of character he is able to bring to what is at too many times a two-dimensional role, is amazing. Dunst breaks free from her usual cheerleader/peppy roles and moves on to a more mature, deeper character. Davison is never given enough screen time. As Nicole's father, he has the arduous task of trying to reign in her reckless behavior. Davison manages to convey his love, as well as his character's inability to deal with, and subsequent frustration at, his daughter's self-destructive ways. Taryn Manning (as Nicole's best friend, Maddy) delivers an outstanding, scene-stealing performance. Maddy is destructive, yet vulnerable.

If it weren't for the inconsistencies in the behavior of the characters, and if there was a little more substance and less music video-style scenes, this film could have reached a new level in teen romances. As it is, the performances are not enough to salvage the film's basic shortcomings.

"crazy/beautiful" was released on June 29, 2001 placing 9th at the box office, bringing in slightly more than $4.7 million.

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving teens, drug/alcohol content, sexuality and language.

Overall Grade: C

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Director: John Stockwell
Executive Producer: Guy Riedel
Screenplay: Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay
Cinematographer: Shane Hurlbut
Film Editor: Melissa Kent
Production Design: Maia Javan
Casting: Randi Hiller and Sarah Finn
Music Supervisor: Evyen Klean
Costume Design: Susan Matheson

Nicole Oakley - Kirsten Dunst
Carlos Nunez - Jay Hernandez
Tom Oakley - Bruce Davison
Courtney Oakley - Lucinda Jenney
Maddy - Taryn Manning
Hector Nunez - Rolando Molina