Pretty Persuasion

Teenage actress Evan Rachel Wood can certainly carry a movie. Her performance in Catherine Harwicke's "Thirteen" couldn't have been any stronger. As the once angelic but suddenly raged-filled adolescent, Wood whirled through a storm of emotions, conveying giddiness, ecstasy, anger, and despair. She got every one right. Unfortunately, the script of "Pretty Persuasion," a satire set in an elitist prep school in Beverly Hills, isn't worthy of Wood's enormous talent.

In Marcos Siega's "Pretty Persuasion," Wood plays fifteen-year-old Kimberly Joyce, an articulate nymphet with the face of an angel and the sex appeal of a porn star. Woods looks the part in her sexy school girl uniform: the tight pink shirt, pleated gray skirt, and knee high socks. She works her assets non-stop, manipulating droves of unsuspecting fools, including her new friend Middle Eastern friend Randa, numerous randy teenage boys, her teachers, and an ambitious lesbian newscaster (Jane Krakowski.) Unfortunately, the role of the rich, leggy, vengeful strumpet has become a stereotype: think "Mean Girls," "Heathers," and "Clueless." "Pretty Persuasion" has little to add to the genre.

Sad to say, but satires about mean teen girls have gotten predictable. Stale. The ubiquitous sexy, wise beyond her years female leader is both mocked and adored; in the end, she gets her comeuppance--either whacked (as in "Heathers") or reformed (Alicia Silverstone proves her depth in "Clueless.") Evil, manipulative Kimberly Joyce gets to live; in fact, she gets exactly what she wants: a role on a television show. A great deal of the film's action plays out in a court room-—rarely a good move. But Kimberly's necessary redemption is implied; the camera leaves us with the image of remorseful tears pooling in Wood's big eyes. (Or maybe the talented actress is feeling remorse over playacting the frequent giving and receiving of oral pleasure.)

It's important to note that "Pretty Persuasion" is excessively crude. The film hopes to comment on contemporary culture's obsession with celebrity, media and sex. We are treated to snippets of news reports about high school shooters and a steady stream of off color-jokes as well as strident anti-Arab and anti-Jewish racial slurs. Yet making a film politically incorrect doesn't automatically make it funny or ironic.