This review may contain spoilers
Lazy Hazy Crazy, ennui that pretty much sums up Alice Chloe Tracy.
Lazy Hazy Crazy was a movie with a lot of missed potential that derailed in the second half. However, it wasn't bad as overall, I enjoyed the film, and I think it's worth a watch. I especially loved the main actresses, how it was shot, and some of the lines were iconic.For starters, I can't help but notice how it's tagged as a "female-centered plot." Sure, the main characters are all girls and navigate through sexuality, virginity, and life together, but can you truly call it a female-centered plot when the major conflict between the three girls centers around one boy who is honestly irrelevant in the first half of the film? Okay, maybe it is at its core, a female-centered plot, but one can only handle so many all-three-girls-like-one-boy-who-rarely-shows-up-and-they-almost-lose-their-friendship-because-of-him before one sighs in a "not this again" manner.
As for the film's potential, it had a great setup to explore the relationship of three best friends as well as discovering a blooming sexuality through the relationship between Alice and Chloe. Instead, it fell flat on properly doing both of these things. I wish the movie had fleshed out the three girls as characters more and explored their struggles in depth with their family, school, and personal lives. I also needed to see more of Alice and Chloe's feelings for one another. There were moments of emotion where their friendships shattered and where they reconciled, but it felt rushed. Honestly, if the film left the Andrew plot and solely focused on the girls navigating through each of their tough situations thoroughly, it would have told a much more compelling and cohesive story that I would have probably bawled my eyes out for.
What struck me about the film was how casually vulgar these girls were (especially since I wasn't sure of their ages until the end which left me uncomfortable for much of the movie). For example, when Alice told the other two about how she lost her virginity to her friend's dad when she was 14 and wasn't met with horror and shock like I was feeling, I truly grasped how much ennui they were feeling. No, the film itself is filled with ennui. It doesn't bat an eye at what the girls are doing or what they have been through. Barely anyone in the film is worried for them, not even they are. Each of them is met with indifference, malice, or lust, and the film doesn't give us the answer to what to feel. The girls' ennui seeps into the seams of the film, and it's up to us to feel for them-It's up to us to decide what's right and what's wrong.
*Please note I watched this with subtitles, so I may not have grasped some aspects of the film fully.
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This review may contain spoilers
A good movie if you're interested in the topics it explores
I see some critisicm about this movie, particularly regarding how the actual rapist got off without any punishment or they were focus on, Wang Ke-Chien, who set it up. However, I think this is a good aspect to the movie.What I mean by that is, it's horribly realistic which is what I think is good (and it's heartbreaking and infuriating). Obviously, I'd love for the perp to be punished, but drunk rape cases are incredibly difficult to prosecute. In addition, I believe it is realistic for Wang Ke-Chien to have her life ruined while the man gets out free. They both arguably did horrible things, but because of society and misogyny, she'll get blamed for all of it and her life will be ruined, while the systems protect men, even when men commit horrible acts. It reminds me of Law and Order SVU season 2 episode 10, where even in the court room, the girls who orchestrated a rape by drugging the victim were punished while the rapists walked free.
With that being said, my main problems with the movie is the shallowness of the characters and their relationships. I think the movie needed more time to properly flesh out the characters and develop relationships.
My biggest problem though is Wu Yun-Heng. I would have liked to either see her face the consequences of her past actions (by losing Ren Li-Chia as a friend) or see her show genuine remorse and apologize for the bullying she partook in at her old school. Because how is she any different from Wang Ke-Chien, and why does she deserve friendship with Ren Li-Chia in the end after what she's done? Maybe the movie is telling us that people who do bad things, really don't face consequenses. Also, why in the world would Wang Ke-Chien want her boyfriend to take advantage of another girl? That is bizarre to me.
Either way, I believe this is a quick and good movie to watch if you're interested in any of the topics it explores.
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