Review by Marcie Gainer
Well, Harmony Korine is at again only this time he’s moved
from one cinematic extreme to another. In contrast to the brash, VHS filming of
TRASH HUMPERS, SPRING BREAKERS is a tour-de-force of vibrancy and hyper-stylized cinematography.
The dreamy narration and constant non-linear editing seems a throwback to his GUMMO days – only the raw grit and dirtiness
is replaced with saturated colors and beautiful people; both films being
equally repulsive and compelling.
Four college girls from a small Southern town, Faith (Selena
Gomez), Brit (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens) and Cotty (Rachel Korine),
have dreams of going to Florida for spring break. Lack of cash forces Brit,
Candy and Cotty to rob a restaurant. Everything goes off without a hitch and
the four girls head to Florida. Gyrating, beer soaked, coked up bodies abound
and the girls find themselves having the time of their lives. That is, until
they get arrested for their excessive partying and drug use.
This is where Alien (James Franco), a drug-lord of
(self-imposed?) superstar status steps in. He bails the girls out of jail and,
as he had hoped, they become mesmerized with his money and status. Together
they rob other spring breakers and live the high life. Eventually things hit
the fan when Alien’s rival/former best friend decides to play hardball.
I can imagine that SPRING
BREAKERS, like all of Korine’s films, is going to polarize audiences. It’s
pretty obvious that his choice of former Disney stars – Gomez and Hudgens - was
no mistake. So, what exactly is he trying to say with this film? The
satirization of spring break and those who partake in such intense partying was
obvious, but the racial undercurrent compounded matters. The cardboard
caricatures of drug-lords, gangsters, and partying college kids place the film
in an interesting discussion of race, gender, youth and drug culture.
I always find Korine to be somewhat of a cynic, portraying
subcultures in a nihilistic light. His characters try to give meaning to their
lives but Korine ultimately proves that these forced interpretations are
arbitrary. The same can be said of SPRING
BREAKERS. The girls are trying “to find themselves,” to see and experience
something new. They do but it ultimately leads to a disappointing and
unsatisfying end.
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