Curiously, Dirty Girl is a gay drama disguised as a teen sex comedy. Why they advertise it using a slinkily-dressed Juno Temple is beyond me, unless it's an intentional bait-and-switch, in which case, a lot of straight guys may be lured into watching this movie only to be disappointed by its subject matter. That having been said, if you're not a homophobe, it's still an entertaining movie, with a good balance of fun and emotional drama. And, Juno Temple is still smoking hot, portraying Danielle, the class whore at an Oklahoma high school in 1987 (although it looks an awful lot like the '70s). Despite her best wishes, she gets paired up with Clarke, an overweight, barely-closeted gay guy (a very likable Jeremy Dozier) for a school project simulating the challenges of parenthood (you know, the kind of project where the kids in class pair up and pretend to be married, and take care of a bag of flour and pretend it's their baby).
But, as I said, there is as much drama in this movie as comedy. Danielle doesn't like her Mormon soon-to-be-stepdad, and Clarke is on the verge of being outed to his very unsympathetic (and abusive) father. So, they both run away from home and head to California, where Danielle hopes to track down the father she never met. I think that ultimately the movie works better as a drama than a comedy, but you do really get to like the two main leads, and you feel sympathetic toward their mothers' struggles, as well. Interestingly, considering its subject matter, the movie doesn't really have any positive male role models. And, in the end, after being lured into believing that maybe this would be a movie celebrating promiscuous teen sexuality, it seems to settle on a rather more conservative moral stance - that Danielle has been acting out sexually because of her daddy issues. It's a sexy film, but I wouldn't quite describe it as a sex-positive film. At least it doesn't beat you over the head with it, though. At any rate, it's a fun movie, and it's worth a watch.
Glad to see your review of this. It's been on my que for years but I always shied away from it since the gay lead sounds like a very stereotypical role -- not that I object to it on political grounds (I know people IRL who fit that archetype, it's not like it's impossible), just that it's very been there, done that for me. After watching so many gay films you really crave to see more unique and nuanced characters in these roles.
ReplyDeleteSame applies to the film (also on Netflix, or it was) called The Wise Kids. It got great reviews and the premise intrigues me: three teenagers from a strict baptist community begin to question their faith as they come of age. But, of course, the two girls' effeminate male sidekick is the gay one and I'm just like... eh, seen it.
Come to think of it, I'd like to see an effeminate male character who's straight for a change.
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