A howler. It begins with Winona narrating..."Did you ever want to
steal when you had the money." Life imitating art?
It's like Cuckoo's Nest crossed with Breakfast Club and/or Persona for
teenyboppers.
Takes place in the 60s but the characters are secluded in a rather
plush nuthouse, protected from the real madness in the street. Pretty
much summarizes the mindset of most 60s movies such as The Graduate
which all but ignored the tumult in the street and focused only on
personal rebellion.
Winona Ryder is, as usual, beautiful and winning though the material
is or has been reduced mostly to melodramatic schlock. The much touted
performance by Angelica Jolie struck me as mannered and phony. And,
the crumbling of her hardassed facade at the end was as predictable as
train schedule in Japan.
Still, it mostly avoids simple good guy/bad guy formula; girls are not
better or all-knowing compared to the fuddy duddy professionals, it's
not all the parent's fault; Whoopie isn't a saint simply because she's
black.
And, at least one girl, the one who manages to leave the funnyfarm,
grows into a genuinely creepy and tragic character.
Still, you gotta admit any movie with Winona is worth watching just
for her. She's so amazing, so cute and beautiful and talented and
adorable.
I guess what the movie is saying is you don't have to be part of some
great movement or event--protests, war, counterculture, etc--to find
meaning and honestly confront yourself. It could be done in a mental
ward with a bunch of loons as long as you learn to reach out and feel
for others as you let others feel for you. I can do without such chick
flick message but there's still Winona. What a gal!
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