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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 25610
Released: December 13, 2005 |
| Our Price: $2.90 |
| Used Price: $1.07 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) is an insanely intelligent, wildly funny, shockingly cruel and sexy-beyond-her-years Beverly Hills teenager who will stop at nothing to become famous, including accusing her drama teacher (Ron Livingston) of sexual harrassment. Believing the world is an orchestra and she is the conductor, Kimberly masterfully manipulates all those around her. She convinces her two best friends to join her in a campaign against their befuddled teacher. Kimberly entangles the entire Beverly Hills community in her carefully woven web of seduction and deceit in this clever comedy.
Description of Pretty Persuasion:
Unsettling but frequently funny, Pretty Persuasion stars Evan Rachel Wood as a 15-year-old with a talent for manipulation that could easily rival the most corrupt characters in Dangerous Liaisons. Wood plays Kimberly, an aspiring actress and student at an exclusive high school. Her best friend, Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois), has made off with Kimberly's boyfriend and been awarded the coveted lead role of Anne Frank in a school production--a part that was originally offered to Kimberly, but then withdrawn by authorities. Meanwhile, life at home is no picnic: Kimberly's father (James Woods) is a babbling anti-Semite, and her estranged mom calls infrequently. There's a lot of time for the teen to conjure elaborate revenge schemes, one of which catches a teacher (Ron Livingston) and naive Muslim girl (Adi Schnall) in a sexual harrassment trial. The sharp cast (including an excellent Jane Krakowski as a corrupt, televison news reporter) and director Marcos Siega's arch tone are the best things about the film, which veers successfully between loopy comedy and dark, psychological drama. Skander Halim's literate script finds intelligent purpose even in the most banal situations. --Tom Keogh
Pretty Persuasion Reviews:
Othello has never been this sexy, and rarely as smart! 
2009-08-10 - Pretty Persuasion is a movie that will create very intense feelings among supporters and detractors. Evan Wood plays Kimberly Joyce, a modern day Iago, but set during the fast times of Beverly Hills. Possessing charisma, a cute body, and no moral restraints whatsoever, she undertakes a career of cloak and dagger throughout her privileged California high school. Her scheming compares very well to the iconic plotters of yesteryear: the Usual Suspects' Keyser Soze, the Dark Knight's Joker, and Night of the Hunter's Harry Powell.
This is a story both very funny, but very tragic. Unlike past works of Othello, the focus here is on the villain, and the circumstances which make her into what she becomes. It's a very sad, but realistic (if exaggerated for comic relief) human portrayal of what went wrong to make a person fly off the tracks of human decency, leaving a train wreck in her wake. In terms of tone, the movie's first half reminds me of 40 Year Old Virgin, with unrestrained sexual jest after sexual jest. The second half morphs into a morality play, highlighting a variety of modern issues, ranging from parental neglect to the power sex holds in our culture. This is the major shortcoming of Pretty Persuasion. How many people want their comedy to change into a Lifetime movie halfway through? I had no problem with it, but I imagine many people will.
If you like raunchy jokes, but want to hear a woman talk dirty this time around, try out Pretty Persuasion. You will laugh (besides Evan Wood's character, James Woods is absolutely hilarious), and maybe, find something here that makes you into a better person to your fellow human beings. No matter what wrong you feel someone has inflicted upon you, personal relationships hold more value than revenge.
If you can't handle irony, don't watch.
2009-04-12 - I thought this film was brilliant in every way: the dialogue is witty and penetrating, the jabs at family dysfunction are right on target, and the irony is tragically perfect. Everyone in it falls victim to false values and selfishness--except for the Arab girl, whose victimization at the hands of her friends and her parents is tragic. This movie presents a portrait of the Upper Middle Class American Family at its worst; Evan Rachael Wood is nothing less than perfect--a sociopathic spawn of the devil. I loved this film.
TEEN COMEDY meets DARK THRILLER - This films does not know what to be... 
2009-03-08 - A very interesting film...
It starts as a great teen comedy about this rich, beautiful and shallow teen (who dreams of becoming a movie star). She befriends a rich Muslim girl (who knows nothing about anything) and the jokes start immediately as the contrast between them is obvious. The comedy tone is further enhanced by the fact that most other characters are caricatures and stereotypes (like her father who is a racist/tough businessman, her mother who only calls her for a few minutes and boys who only want sex).
The comedy tone goes on for some 25 minutes and all we see is the funny interactions between the girls. Until they decide to accuse their English teacher of sexual harassment.
Then, the film starts to switch its mood entirely and goes into the thriller territory as it goes darker and darker through the manipulating schemes devised by the protagonist - with tragic consequences and an ending like Dangerous Liaisons.
This is not necessarily a bad film... the story is well told... but it is obvious that the film does not know exactly what it is (and who its audience is). It is strange because from a certain point on, the comedy loses its laughs and the audience is lost for 20 minutes until the new tone firmly sets in (around 50-60 minutes into the film). Then, even after it's gone darker and darker... some characters obviously still act like a comedy - while the story has already gone for thriller.
I'm sure the distributor felt the difficulty of marketing a film that actually is like two films mixed together. It is obvious to me that they thought it was a safer bet to try to pass it for a plain comedy. The result is that many viewers felt ripped off because they were expecting one thing and got another instead.
If this film would have stayed just on the comedy side OR just on the thriller side, it could have been a killer comedy OR a killer thriller!
As it is, it's an unrewarding movie.
I bought it with a gift card and still think I got ripped off 
2007-08-31 - I paid $3.00 for this 110 minutes of brain cell destroying material. This has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. Horrible script that has not a single likable character. I really don't know what to say about this movie. I would not recommend it, I hope parents don't let their kids watch it and I am sorry I watched it. Now, if you want a free copy just find the dumpster that I am about to deposit it in.
ugh
2007-08-29 - I watched about 10 minutes of this and then decided this was the worst movie ever made. I lost all respect for the writers, producers and actors, particularly Evan Rachel Wood, for being associated with this tasteless piece of trash. Run screaming from any showing. It seeks to shock with pornographic and racist dialogue, but all you can feel is dumbfounded that the "creators" -- and that's giving them more credit than they're due -- apparently believed that obscenity without any redeeming social value becomes satire if it is extreme enough.
This film had as much intelligence as three-year-olds seeking shock value with potty mouthed rantings. Boring, crude, and insulting to anyone of even minimal intelligence -- in fact, I think the dog in the movie was the only one who came out of this production with any integrity. And that's because it was the only one who had no choice about in being involved in it.
Watching anything else -- bread rise, dust gather, paint dry -- would be a better use of your time than giving this even ten minutes
