First of all, I never stopped being the same age as these kids, except for the fact that as much time has passed since I was born as had passed for the clueless grandmother who chaperoned the party (what was even the point?) . Somehow I can find a movie like this entertaining. It won't win any awards except for how bad it is, but it's possible that these are realistic experiences for teens at the time this was made. I didn't have a typical high school experience but I've seen TV and movies.
With a title like "LOL" I immediately assumed a comedy where people communicate by text with abbreviations. That is actually what the movie is about. It's not always a comedy, but it's funny enough. And why did Lola say people called her "LOL" when they never did, not even in the many texts?
I actually liked "Hannah Montana" despite being way outside its target audience. I'm just sorry ABC couldn't bother to put more than one season on Saturday morning. I don't think Miley Cyrus is a bad actress and she has this great speaking voice. I would have been happier if she was happier, but she had to go through this range of emotions. Kind of a brat but likable enough. Maybe she deserved more punishment but ...
I have liked Demi Moore in a number of movies. I didn't recognize her but this was a mom in over her head. She couldn't seem to get through to her daughter half the time and just gave in when she should have stood firm. She couldn't resist the urge to get back with her ex-husband when she had needs. And yet somehow she was so loving. Maybe a little too loving. It didn't seem realistic for her to be so close to this girl in some scenes. A "Gilmore Girls" type relationship seems possible when there aren't any more kids, but in many of the scenes it wasn't like that. Oh, wait, I've seen this. It's called "Spencer Sisters". I can't really say whether Moore's acting was any good, but this is a flawed mom. Oh, yeah, and explain to me the nice apartment and "clients" when this woman isn't any more capable than this.
I don't know who Ashley Hinshaw is but she is pretty and quite likable, somehow familiar, and someone I'd like to see more of. Emily is basically a good girl but a little too adventurous. I enjoyed her various storylines, including an inappropriate attraction to her math teacher (more about that later) and another relationship which will be a surprise and cause a major conflict.
Adam Sevani was a nerd who hoped to be more.
All the other teens were typical and no one stood out in any way. I will say I liked Kyle (don't know Douglas Booth) and felt bad about his strict father, who was stereotypical and overdone but had a redeeming scene which didn't really make sense. A lot of things didn't make sense unless you are competing on Penn & Teller and the writers of this movie should get a trophy from them. Except they are entertained when they are fooled. Well, Penn is.
For the guys, there is the one locker room scene with girls in their underwear, and Miley in a towel at home and wearing shorts a lot of the time (indoors only in the winter).
Three other familiar names were in this movie, but the first looked familiar and I didn't know why. I finally realized it was Marlo Thomas. WHY? She doesn't belong here. She was sort of good, but in trying to be a cool grandma she messed up bad. Not just the character. The actress. Seems like at the party the actress could have looked a little more frustrated. I did like how she interacted with her own daughter, reminding her she was once like her daughter.
And Fisher Stevens, He's always good. Well, almost. He didn't get much use here. It's a shame.
Jay Hernandez I liked, but I didn't recognize him at first. Say what you want, but I liked him as Thomas Magnum on TV.
Nora Dunn looked familiar for some reason. A strict mother to Emily, which was what Lola needed.
One mom thought her daughter was nothing but good looks and that would get her far in life, but it was all she would have.
There is a trip to France, though at least for some characters, it seems doubtful. And this has some really funny scenes, such as the extremely old-fashioned house with strict manners and creepy decorations. And terrible food. My French class went to a French restaurant and ate escargot. I knew how those girls felt and don't know how anyone ever ate those things. We had the opportunity to go to France too but I didn't.
I mentioned the math teacher. The actor could have played one of the kids. Inappropriate relationship, but not on his end. He never did anything wrong. But they called him a trig teacher. I never once saw trigonometry on the blackboard. He solved a problem which didn't look like anything I ever saw in college, much less high school. Vectors? Was the kid being tutored taking some kind of AP course? I don't think the writers knew high school math.
Regarding the music, I was surprised I didn't really dislike it. I was once surprised at how much I liked a relatively new song by Ingrid Michaelson, and when I heard her in the movie I recognized her voice somehow. The credits proved I was right, even if it was another song. I don't really like the Rolling Stones, but in a teen movie something like that sounds great. The other music wasn't so bad either. Not what I call good, but not that bad. The band in the Battle of the Bands, though, got too loud. Is that style of guitar called grunge? Seemed overdone. If you have the same taste in music as teens in 2012, I guess the band was talented. Somehow the music in this movie seemed more "serious" than what teens usually like. While I don't care for Miley Cyrus as a singer, she has a wide variety of styles in her repertoire. She didn't sing here, which may have been a shame, but I have to believe she had some influence if there was more rock than "pop".
If no one but teens can like this movie, no one younger than that should see it. Even cleaned up for TV, it pushes the limits. I suppose teens are like this, but they shouldn't be.
And I will say if you are a teenager or never stopped being one, maybe this will be fun.
With a title like "LOL" I immediately assumed a comedy where people communicate by text with abbreviations. That is actually what the movie is about. It's not always a comedy, but it's funny enough. And why did Lola say people called her "LOL" when they never did, not even in the many texts?
I actually liked "Hannah Montana" despite being way outside its target audience. I'm just sorry ABC couldn't bother to put more than one season on Saturday morning. I don't think Miley Cyrus is a bad actress and she has this great speaking voice. I would have been happier if she was happier, but she had to go through this range of emotions. Kind of a brat but likable enough. Maybe she deserved more punishment but ...
I have liked Demi Moore in a number of movies. I didn't recognize her but this was a mom in over her head. She couldn't seem to get through to her daughter half the time and just gave in when she should have stood firm. She couldn't resist the urge to get back with her ex-husband when she had needs. And yet somehow she was so loving. Maybe a little too loving. It didn't seem realistic for her to be so close to this girl in some scenes. A "Gilmore Girls" type relationship seems possible when there aren't any more kids, but in many of the scenes it wasn't like that. Oh, wait, I've seen this. It's called "Spencer Sisters". I can't really say whether Moore's acting was any good, but this is a flawed mom. Oh, yeah, and explain to me the nice apartment and "clients" when this woman isn't any more capable than this.
I don't know who Ashley Hinshaw is but she is pretty and quite likable, somehow familiar, and someone I'd like to see more of. Emily is basically a good girl but a little too adventurous. I enjoyed her various storylines, including an inappropriate attraction to her math teacher (more about that later) and another relationship which will be a surprise and cause a major conflict.
Adam Sevani was a nerd who hoped to be more.
All the other teens were typical and no one stood out in any way. I will say I liked Kyle (don't know Douglas Booth) and felt bad about his strict father, who was stereotypical and overdone but had a redeeming scene which didn't really make sense. A lot of things didn't make sense unless you are competing on Penn & Teller and the writers of this movie should get a trophy from them. Except they are entertained when they are fooled. Well, Penn is.
For the guys, there is the one locker room scene with girls in their underwear, and Miley in a towel at home and wearing shorts a lot of the time (indoors only in the winter).
Three other familiar names were in this movie, but the first looked familiar and I didn't know why. I finally realized it was Marlo Thomas. WHY? She doesn't belong here. She was sort of good, but in trying to be a cool grandma she messed up bad. Not just the character. The actress. Seems like at the party the actress could have looked a little more frustrated. I did like how she interacted with her own daughter, reminding her she was once like her daughter.
And Fisher Stevens, He's always good. Well, almost. He didn't get much use here. It's a shame.
Jay Hernandez I liked, but I didn't recognize him at first. Say what you want, but I liked him as Thomas Magnum on TV.
Nora Dunn looked familiar for some reason. A strict mother to Emily, which was what Lola needed.
One mom thought her daughter was nothing but good looks and that would get her far in life, but it was all she would have.
There is a trip to France, though at least for some characters, it seems doubtful. And this has some really funny scenes, such as the extremely old-fashioned house with strict manners and creepy decorations. And terrible food. My French class went to a French restaurant and ate escargot. I knew how those girls felt and don't know how anyone ever ate those things. We had the opportunity to go to France too but I didn't.
I mentioned the math teacher. The actor could have played one of the kids. Inappropriate relationship, but not on his end. He never did anything wrong. But they called him a trig teacher. I never once saw trigonometry on the blackboard. He solved a problem which didn't look like anything I ever saw in college, much less high school. Vectors? Was the kid being tutored taking some kind of AP course? I don't think the writers knew high school math.
Regarding the music, I was surprised I didn't really dislike it. I was once surprised at how much I liked a relatively new song by Ingrid Michaelson, and when I heard her in the movie I recognized her voice somehow. The credits proved I was right, even if it was another song. I don't really like the Rolling Stones, but in a teen movie something like that sounds great. The other music wasn't so bad either. Not what I call good, but not that bad. The band in the Battle of the Bands, though, got too loud. Is that style of guitar called grunge? Seemed overdone. If you have the same taste in music as teens in 2012, I guess the band was talented. Somehow the music in this movie seemed more "serious" than what teens usually like. While I don't care for Miley Cyrus as a singer, she has a wide variety of styles in her repertoire. She didn't sing here, which may have been a shame, but I have to believe she had some influence if there was more rock than "pop".
If no one but teens can like this movie, no one younger than that should see it. Even cleaned up for TV, it pushes the limits. I suppose teens are like this, but they shouldn't be.
And I will say if you are a teenager or never stopped being one, maybe this will be fun.