| Product: |
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (DVD) |
| Date: |
18/02/08 (143 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good cinematography and some excellent acting.
Disadvantages: Shame about the plot.
If you decide that it's too cold or wet to go to the cinema, if you choose to stay in and miss one mediocre slasher flick with no proper ending this winter - make it " All The Boys Love Mandy Lane".
The film opens with our first glimpse of Mandy Lane (Amber Heard); a classic 'All American' high school princess. Within moments, not only is she beautiful, but the film implies a caring side when she accepts an invitation to a popular party only on the basis that her best friend, the geeky Emmet can come with her. And what should happen at that party? An event which will impact on the lives of all of those present and cast Emmet out into the wilderness.
A clever opening, with a fast pace and more dramatic impact than expected, the beginning of the film is loaded with promise which makes the dull twist ending and several two dimensional characters a massive disappointment. From the outset, this film with its grim twist on American High School stereotypes draws on killings such as the Columbine shooting and rather than putting that gritty edge into the context of a story, it plays it out with little meaning.
Our second glimpse of Mandy is nine months later as she enjoys not only impressive sporting ability, but new found popularity with a crowd of friends (my, she really has it all). We see Red, one of these new friends and admirers stood high on the bleachers in the sun, introducing the legend of Mandy to an assembly of boys. "Since the dawn of Junior year, men have tried to possess her. Some have even died in reckless pursuit of this 16 year-old Texas angel" From here, the cracks begin to show.
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Invited to an isolated ranch with her new friends, they set off for a weekend of fun that rapidly turns to horror. If you've seen one of these pointless killing films, you really have seen them all. With little psychological build up, the hapless teenage stereotypes are dispatched one by one. An overload of gore and bad language justifies the rating, the killer is identified early on and there are no real surprises.
So, what about all the boys loving Mandy Lane? Three boys and three girls make it obvious that they plan to pair off once at the ranch. From the lingering shots of Mandy's face, cleavage and bottom, the viewer is expressly directed to identify Mandy as the sought after prize despite the blank retarded smile that plays on her face and the languid floppiness of her limbs and hair. The fault lies however, with the script and character rather than the acting.
In all honesty, Mandy is simply attracting the boys firstly by her lack of interest (or indeed any interesting personality) and secondly by being the least frightening of the three girls. The also-rans are Chloe, an anorexic coke-head with neurotic panic attacks and low self-image and Marlin, who is famously promiscuous. Anyone with half a brain would gravitate towards Mandy.
The problem lies with the audience's ability to connect with this fat cardboard Barbie. Set up on her pedestal of perfection, there is nothing genuinely likeable about the girl. She is dull to the core, has nothing to say for herself and goes jogging alone while the rest of the party swim in a nearby lake. Standoffish, we only once see her behave in a sisterly way to another girl, oblivious to cries for help and jibes about boys.
In a hollow way, she knows the power of her own plump, peroxide blonde beauty, using it to make the boys chase around after her and then giving them the brush off. And they're not that persistent; there's every reason to believe that they see little reason to try too hard. As for her place within the party; there is no indication of why she is friends with a group who enjoy drink and drugs so much. She sniffily sits on the sidelines sipping from a plastic cup and looks bored for most of the film while the other teens argue and laugh. This ill-fitting friendship makes you wonder whatever happened to peer pressure, it would have improved the film no end.
Pushing the character of Mandy into sharp contrast, Chloe is fascinatingly deep and loveable. Anxious and animated, we see Chloe range through some spectacular emotions; anger, jealousy, self consciousness, happiness. With a full range of brilliant acting skills Whitney Able is far and away the shining light of this film and with impeccable comic timing and cutting bitchiness, Chloe gives the film some of its few laughs.
Of the male characters, only Garth, the ranch hand stands out. Partly because he is the only adult and partly because we hear a back story to explain his brooding behaviour, Garth appeals to the characters in the film and brings both a chill and a spark of interest. The boys are just that - generic high school boys.
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The storyline leaves a lot to be desired and doubtless, the end will leave anyone thinking "I saw that coming, but why?" If you want teen horror, films such as 'The Hole' flatten this into the dust.
Only slightly better than Scream and Roadkill, this is elevated by the acting of the supporting cast, some excellent cinematography and the impression of a reasonable budget. I realised after watching this that I didn't hate the film, just the disappointing and abrupt ending. Too many unanswered questions and too little thought topple this from a must watch movie to a B-list drudge. For my £13.80 and my patience in sitting through this, I wanted more.
Summary: Trust me, you'll be sat there hoping something happens to Mandy.
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