Part I: Bibliographic information
Title: LOL
Writer: Lisa Azuelos, Kamir Ainouz (screenplay)
Director: Lisa Azuelos
Producer(2): Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Tish Cyrus
Copyright Date: 2912
Studio: Lionsgate and Mandate Pictures
Type: Motion picture
Format: Film, DVD
Genre: Romantic comedy/coming-of-age
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13 - 22
Actors: Douglas Booth, Miley Cyrus, Ashley Greene, Demi Moore, Adam Sevani
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 1 hour 37 minutes
ASIN: B008HBEPZ0
Awards: 2012 Teen Choice Awards, Actress/romance to Miley Cyrus; 2012 Do Something Awards, Movie Star: Female to Miley Cyrus.
Part I: Plot Summary, Critical Evaluation, Reader’s Annotation
Reader’s Annotation -- A mother and daughter struggle to find the balance that keeps the popular high schooler from messing up her life while still feeling she’s free to live it. At school, the drama over a breakup starts her year off on the wrong foot though she’s quick to rebound with a hunky ‘friend’ who might just be her Mr. Right.
Plot Summary -- Lola comes back to a new year of high school to find out her boyfriend slept with another girl over the summer. She tells him that slept with someone else, too, so it’s no big deal to her but that’s a lie. Meanwhile her friend Emily tries to flirt with all the best looking guys in school -- one of whom is a hunky math teacher. The now ex-boyfriend gets rather nasty with Lola. She turns to her guy ‘friend’ Kyle, who comes to her rescue against Chad’s bullying. She starts having feeling for Kyle, however. But since she considers him a friend she decides to try hiding it. Kyle, a talented singer, is trying to win a battle of the bands contest at school. His father is disapproving and unsupportive, however -- and his strict ways are stifling his very creative son.
Lola’s divorced mom, Anne, is seeing her father again without anyone knowing except Lola figures it out and is sort of grossed out by it. Her mom happens to meet a good-looking detective who asks her out and they are dating in the backdrop. While she strives to keep Lola focused and disciplined, she’s not winning parent of the year and tends to overreact thus pushing Lola away and into secrecy. Lola decides to have a party when her mom is out of town and her permissive grandma is looking after her. Her friends ends trashing the house -- and she ends up messing around with Kyle. But a misunderstanding at school the next day leads to Lola thinking Kyle is seeing another girl even though he’s not. Lola splits with Kyle -- both as friends and boyfriend -- and wants revenge. But she finally figures out it was not Kyle but Emily and another boy she has been secretly seeing who were the two she saw messing around. She tries to make good with Kyle but he’s grounded and communication is hard.
A trip to Paris changes things for everyone. Lola’s mom Anne almost does not let her go but is convinced by Lola’s father and her new cop boyfriend to ease up. The class ends up saying 20 minutes outside of Paris in a rather ordinary if not strange family settings. On the flight over, Kyle and Lola find a way to straighten the romantic mess out and later they hook up in the castle home -- which is Lola’s first time. This is juxtaposed with her mom hooking up with the detective back home -- which is her first since the divorce. The trip ends on a positive note and Lola is in full love mode for Kyle. They return to Chicago and Kyle has to focus on the band contest. But Anne’s mom finds her journal and finds out all the secrets, including the losing her virginity part -- and when Lola finds out her mom has read her journal she leaves for her fathers. It takes some time and patience for the two of them to see eye to eye about their changing lives. But the ending brings them closer -- and is made more dramatic with an great performance by Kyle’s band at the contest -- and his father even shows up to see it.
Critical Evaluation -- This movie is a remake of a French film also directed by Azuelos and released in 2008 that got lousy reviews but won several teen choice awards. This is a very Americanized version, and the girls are fairly stereotypical high schoolers without a ton of depth of character with the exception of Lola (played by teen pop star Miley Cyrus). The acting saves the day as the line up is cute and entertaining even when you don’t buy into their dramas fully. In fact, there’s a fun almost sweet sentiment to their romantic confusion that’s at least mildly engaging and quite humorous at times. The relationships with parents -- Lola’s in particular -- distinguish this from other high school flicks that tend to have the parents as props. The mother-daughter complexities and ultimately the better understanding they come to is uplifting and strikes one as true to life at least for some girls. Kyle ends up finding a way to perform in the Battle of the Band. Some of the reviewers found the music to be the best part of the film, sadly. But it certainly adds to the appeal for the young adult set in particular. I give this film a head nod for decent entertainment and certainly for the young adult crowd it fits the bill for a relevant and hip storyline with good music and lots of teen eye candy. While it failed to make money at the box office, it has a spot on my teen flicks list for a recent and decent high school movie.
Part III: Artist Info
Lisa Azuelos, the writer/director of this film, is French born -- and she was responsible for the 2008 French version of this movie, according to Amazon. However, there’s not a lot of information about her in the IMDb database except that she’s French, born in 1965 and the daughter of 1960's actress/supermodel Marie Laforet.
Miley Cyrus, who plays the lead of Lola in this film, is a singer-songwriter and daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, a country music star. Her major screen debut was on the Hannah Montana television/film series, as the star Miley Stewart, a young country starlette. Her associated debut album lead to over 3 million in sales. She’s from Nashville, Tennessee, and records for RCA Records.
Part IV: Curriculum Ties, Diversity, Booktalk Ideas, Challenge Issues
Curriculum Ties, if any -- n/a
Diversity of Cultures -- There’s not a ton though their visit to Paris exposes them to a new culture but by and large it’s made fun of.
Booktalking Ideas -- This movie is really about teens and their relationship with parents who struggle between wanted to protect their child and realizing they need to let go at some point. A good discussion might emerge by asking, “At what age are teens ready to start making their own decisions?”
Challenge Issues -- Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content involving teen sexuality and drug and alcohol use, and for language. There’s some scenes involving pot smoking but also a lecture on it’s negative effects later in the film.
Part V: Reasons chosen
High school movies come in many shapes and sizes. But they remain popular because for many of us its a time of major change and lots of conflict. This movie offers a touching portrayal of a young woman on the verge of adulthood whose trying to figure out how her loving but panicky mom fits into the picture of her growing up. So the story adds to the typical dramas about teen romance the element of how the parents fit into the picture. There’s some sexual conduct as well as some drinking and pot smoking -- by both the teens and the parents. I think this shows a reality that is too frequently overlooked in movies and media. Also, these involvement do not end up ruining anyone’s life. Note: it’s pointed out that marijuana damages the brain in one scene. In short, this film is more about teens trying to fit their budding interest in indulging life’s complexities into the vision and expectations that their parents have for them. My take is that any film that deals with important teen conundrums -- like to ‘do it’ or not and when and with whom -- with honesty and some requisite humor is worth its weight in celloid no matter what the critics decide.
Part VI: Citations
LOL. (n.d.) Amazon.com [website]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/LOL/dp/B008HBEPZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1368844913&sr=1-1&keywords=lol
LOL (2012 film). (n.d.) Wikipedia.org [website]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOL_(2012_film)
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