We first saw some scenes of this movie back in December 2014 when it was featured in the hit Metro Manila Filmfest entry "English Only Please." I felt that was unusual how scenes of a foreign movie would be part of a scene in a local movie. Even if it did not really look that promising then, I checked it out when it was shown in cinemas this week.
Doug Martin is a local boy who gets attracted to Lena, the beautiful young woman who lived next door. Problem is she is married to a much older wealthy man who was shrouded in an aura of danger. Of course, his teenage hormones got the better of Doug when Lena encouraged his interest. But then, where there is an illicit affair, a violent payback will not be far behind.
This story has been told many times before. An young guy is seduced by a sexy married woman. This type of film is usually told from the woman's point of view like the recent Jennifer Lopez film "The Boy Next Door", though the point of view is reversed in this one. It also brought back memories of "A Night in Heaven" and "Private Lessons" shown back in the early 1980s. IMDB lists down at least 40 films with this steamy plot, mostly trashy B-flicks. This just goes to show that films like this that deal with adolescent sexual temptation will always be there to appeal to the baser instincts of viewers.
Isabel Lucas seems too young to play the femme fatale Lena. She looks great to look at, a true seductress, that is, when she is not talking. When there are lines to deliver though, her limited acting skills show. It seems she has not really improved her craft since her similarly wooden big screen debut in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen".
Dermot Mulroney, an all-around good guy in most of his old films, plays against type as Lena's sinister husband. It was good to see Paul Sorvino as the local policeman. Too bad these two veteran actors were underused in their limited scenes.
This film is clearly a showcase for Nick Jonas to signal his foray into more mature film roles. Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, herself previously associated with teen-oriented films and TV shows like "Aquamarine" and "Gossip Girl", lovingly sets up her camera to capture her star Nick Jonas in his best angles, in various stages of undress for his teenage girl fans (old enough to watch R-rated films) to ogle at. To his credit, Jonas does register well on screen and he did do passably in the acting department.
Fresh from being slimed as emcee of the last Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Nick Jonas may find it hard to escape his teen idol image at first. Mark Wahlberg has proven that that curse could be overcome. As for Jonas though, that still remains to be seen. 4/10.
Oh yeah I've seen the trailer of this movie and it sounds interesting. I also thought about Mark Wahlberg in Nick Jonas, haha. Mark really proved himself, so I hope Nick Jonas can do the same. Right movie will do it, I hope that this is it for him.
ReplyDeleteI guess the storyline is too simple but what watchers feel excited about the movie is the seduction/steamy scenes. This is the kind of movie I'd watch just to chill and relieve stress.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, Nick Jonas is trying to just shout out that he's no longer JUST a JONAS..but still, his acting skills....meh
ReplyDeleteThis movie seems really conventional and ordinary to me. Typical love story with a slight twist. Again, I think they should've chosen a better as well as better actors. :O
ReplyDeleteIt's a common plot but it would be interesting to follow how this turns up. Followers of Nick would surely love this.
ReplyDeleteSo that's the story. I did saw this trailer before and it was interesting. I didn't know that the woman was his wife! She looks so young. Anyway, I'll still check out this movie even you rated it a 4. ;)
ReplyDelete