Dir. Sara Sugarman, 2004, USA, 97 mins
Cast:
Lindsay Lohan, Alison Pill, Megan Fox, Glenne Headly, Carol Kane, Adam Garcia, Eli Marienthal
As the title suggests, Lola Cep (Freaky Friday's Lohan) is a young teenage girl prone to fiery dramatics, glam makeup and extreme fashion statements. She happily lives with her artist single mother (Headly) in a stylized New York City, complete with rainbow coloured garbage bags. As the story opens we find Lola and her mother moving from her beloved New York City to the suburban nightmare of New Jersey. Lola's first day at a New Jersey high school is a minefield of cliques and personality clashes with fellow students & uber-bitch Carla Santini (Fox). Lola then meets Ella (Pill) a dowdy nerd who needs some spontaneity in her life and the two forge a close bond over their mutual love of the band 'Sidarthur' and the lead guitarist Stu Wolff (Garcia). When their favourite band decides to split, Lola and Ella plead with their respective parents for permission to travel to New York City to see 'Sidarthur' playing their final concert. Their parents relent and the pair head to the Big Apple where, after a series of mishaps, a few of the girls' teenage illusions are shattered and both Lola and Ella come to terms with some important life truths. Directed by Welsh filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Very Annie Mary, Mad Cows) and adapted from Dyan Sheldon's novel, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is essentially a 'tweenie' film aimed squarely at young teenage girls. Sugarman's visual flourishes add some zip to the proceedings (the film is beautifully photographed by veteran Cinematographer Stephen H Burum) and Lohan's energetic lead performance injects the film with a well-needed zest. No doubt young teenage girls will enjoy the film and although this humble reviewer is not really the target demographic, the film should be commended for having a lead character who desires to be different from the pack and who, at first thinks that trying to impress people is the best way to live before settling for just being happy with who she is. Jarrod Walker
|
