In the 1980s, there were very popular films like "Endless Love" and "Blue Lagoon" (both starring Brooke Shields) featuring a teenage girl and her first experience with sex. With the way sexual mores have evolved since then, there were hardly any dramatic movies about losing virginity that ever reached that level of popularity any more. This new film seems to want to test the waters if this type of film will work its magic on the box-office again.
Tessa Young is a college freshman. She is a serious studious type, never had been in any sort of mischief in the past. Hardin Scott was the bad boy jock who believed that he could charm any girl into getting into bed with her. One night, they met at a party during an innocent game of truth or dare. After some initial resistance, Tessa and Hardin discovered they both loved literature, and eventually could not get enough of each other.
The 21-year old actress who played Tessa, Josephine Langford, was indeed very pretty. She reminded me of "Clueless"-era Alicia Silverstone. While watching the film, you will feel protective of her and feel sad for the unfortunate decisions she made. I identified with the concerns of her mother Carol (played by Selma Blair) about her roommates, who looked like bad news from Day 1. I would not have left my Tessa alone with those wanton-looking girls, no matter how much I trusted my daughter.
The 21-year old actor who played Hardin, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, went for the typical brooding bad boy posturing that worked before for Hollywood teen male movie idols from James Dean all the way to Robert Pattinson. I don't think he could achieve their level of success though. Director Jenny Gage decided not to explore Hardin's personality, nor Tessa's for that matter, as individuals. The film was more concerned about their relationship together, than each of them on their own.
The plot is very simple, straightforward and lazy plotting. There was absolutely nothing new about the story at all -- it was only based on a Wattpad novel after all. The climate for the depiction of sexuality in mainstream films these days is not anymore as bold as it was before. The sexual encounters depicted here stopped at being tame and suggestive, and nothing more. This was a film that merely depended on the attractiveness and chemistry of the two leads to sell it, and unfortunately, their combined chemistry and individual charisma were not exactly that strong. 3/10.
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