Review of Spring Breakers (2013) by Ola G — 03 Dec 2013

Brittany (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Faith (Selena Gomez) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) are all college students ready to get out of the campus environment and enjoy life. Brittany, Candy and Cotty spend their spare time smoking and partying, while Faith attends a local religious youth group, although she seems distant and uninterested. While discussing her plans for spring break, members of her church warn her about her friends and describe Brittany and Candy as particularly dangerous. As their classmates head to spring break, they are stuck behind due to a lack of money. Desperate to make the trip, Brittany and Candy, after getting high on cocaine, don ski masks and use hammers and realistic-looking squirt guns to commit armed robbery at a local restaurant. Cotty acts as the getaway driver in a stolen car (obtained from one of the girls' professors), which the girls later burn. Now able to make the trip to spring break in St. Petersburg, Florida, the girls attend wild beach parties and engage in reckless behavior. Shortly after, the three divulge the details of their crime to Faith, and she is clearly taken aback by the extreme nature of their actions. However, she chooses to overlook their crimes, as she feels that while it was wrong, it was done for a good reason. After a particularly wild party, all four are arrested, along with several party members. They spend the night in a holding cell, where Faith muses on the bad direction which the trip has suddenly taken. Facing another two nights in jail, they are suddenly bailed out by Alien (James Franco), a local rapper and gangster who saw them in court when bailing out some of his crowd. He questions them about themselves, and reveals to them details about his childhood, his wealth and his occupation as an illegal drug and firearm distributor. He takes them to a local gang club, where Faith becomes increasingly uncomfortable with his lifestyle. Despite his attempts to convince her to stay, she decides to leave and begs the others to come with her but they refuse, and she makes the trip home alone. The girls return to Alien's mansion, where he shows them the wealth from his illegal activities, describing his life as the "American Dream". During this demonstration he embraces Brit and Candy as his "soulmates". Taking them to a strip club owned by his local rival, Alien encounters a former friend and current rival gangster called Big Arch (Gucci Mane), who warns Alien to stop selling drugs in his territory and stick to robbing "Spring Breakers". Alien ignores him and continues his activities. Soon enough the girls really need to question themselves how far they are willing to go to experience a spring break they will never forget...

According to Harmony Korine, he wrote the film partially to make up for his own spring breaks, as he had been fully devoted to skateboarding, and therefore missed out on what he saw as opportunities for hedonistic pursuits. The original lineup of lead actresses was announced as Emma Roberts, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens. Roberts however dropped out in early 2012, reportedly after hearing she would need to gain body fat for her role. Director Korine had purposely collected a group of well-known young actresses with a similar reputation to Roberts in Hollywood. Ashley Benson was ultimately cast. The film was shot in March and April 2012 in and around St. Petersburg, Florida. Skrillex produced the score for the film. The film has generated debate and controversy amongst critics and bloggers, with some arguing that it should be considered a feminist or female-empowerment film, while others regarding the film as a male film director's indulgence in furthering the objectification and exploitation of attractive young women in popular media. On one hand, the women are not depicted as the film's victims, but arguably as antiheroes acting by their own power and agency. According to Rolling Stone, the film presents "a kind of girl-power camaraderie that could almost be called feminist", a result of the director's intent to "do the most radical work, but put it out in the most commercial way (...) to infiltrate the mainstream". On the other hand, The Guardian suggests that the film "reinforces rape culture" and "turns young women into sex objects". Other reviewers are of the opinion that it "pushes booze-and-bikini hedonism to the extreme", and that the "camera glides up, down and around these women's bodies like a giant tongue." Harmony Korine is a filmmaker going his own way and you never know what sort of dish he will serve you and how the plate he serves it on looks like. With a nihilistic twist he explore satire on many levels which leaves you uncertain whether to cry, laugh or stare in disbelief at his ways of filmmaking. I reckon I wasn´t sure what to expect with "Spring Breakers", but the somewhat unbalance between glitzy neon clad girl power and female exploitation/ sexualisation it does become something unique of its own for sure. It´s like one gigantic social commentary on the Sodom & Gomorra environment coming out of Spring Break every year, but also a commentary on the sexualisation of women in our society today. But, yes there´s doubt in this as well, as Korine is very focused on showing as much female body parts as possible. Emma Seligman of The Huffington Post described the film as "Scarface meets Britney Spears.", which is kind of spot on in a weird way. While Jamie Dunn of The Skinny gave it 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "If Michael Mann was to take a lot of hallucinogenics and shoot a Girls Gone Wild video, it might look something like this." It´s interesting to see the sweet looking teen queens Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens demolishing their Disney persona from all sorts of angles showing off some real layers as actresses. However, it´s Selena Gomez who steals the emotional layer from the others. And James Franco has never been more out of it and so perfectly out of it with a great mix of narcissism and insanity. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said "he's a cross between Bo Derek in 10 and Richard Kiel in Moonraker." :) Aesthetically, "Spring Breakers" is technically beautiful, like the opening sequence with the funky font choice. The cinematography is really great and the use of slow motion is as well something you will remember. I agree with one reviewer who said: "Spring Breakers" is about the marginalized kids who have been brought up on Disney princesses and MTV. The kids who grew up with role models like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. The film isn't meant to focus on girls losing their innocence but instead girls searching for something and realizing it isn't what they thought it was." However, I didn´t like the ending as I can´t see how ends meet when two 20 something college girls in bikinis manage to invade a mansion of thugs and kill all of them in an instant. It´s just too over the top for me at least. I just don´t think that part worked. But, "Spring Breakers" is a unique experience and you´ll never see anything like it again.