Review of Spring Breakers (2013) by Dirigiblepulp — 20 May 2017

Or What Would Happen If Spring Break Really Did Last Forever? I don't know what this movie is. I'm not sure it's about anything but if it is I suppose it's about the glamorous depravity we give to the rite of passage bacchanals that have been ritualized by the culture at large - this is how you come of age now. This movie takes that insanity and then ups it to an absurd degree while playing it completely straight to the point of nightmare delirium so beyond the limits of reality it exists only as a fully realized fantasy of eternal youth - constantly coming of age, spring break forever.

James Franco's performance as Alien is both a despondently campy eye-roll and scene chewing character perfection. He kills a scene in which he literally just describes random things lying around his bedroom. There's a lot of neon in this and it's all very pretty but I think the final sequence with the boardwalk lit up pink and green as they hop off a boat is the best. It's stunning.