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Cast: Juno Temple , Milla Jovovich , William H. Macy , Dwight Yoakam , Jeremy Dozier
Dirty Girl is the story of Danielle (Juno Temple), the dirty girl of Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, circa 1987. Her reputation takes an unexpected hit when her misbehavior gets her banished to a remedial class, where she is paired on a parenting project with Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), an innocent closet-case with no friends. When her mother (Milla Jovovich) announces her engagement to her family-minded boyfriend (William H. Macy), mortified Danielle vows to get to California to find the father she's never met! Clarke is desperate to escape being sent to military school by his homophobic dad (Dwight Yoakam) and repressed mom (Mary Steenburgen), prompting the two mismatched misfits to make their getaway: on a cross-country road trip that leads to an unexpected and serendipitous friendship.
Danielle doesn't have the perfect home life and never had a father around so she has a wild nature about her. After another episode at school she is sent to the "special" classroom and it's there she meets Clarke, a young man whose life at home is not much better and what makes matters worse is that he is struggling with his own sexuality. There couldn't be two people any different than Danielle and Clarke but they some how forge a friendship that takes them on a road trip in a quest to find Danielle's father whom she has never met.
Going by the title only you would think "Dirty Girl" was just another one of those Teen comedies we have seen so many times before so going into this I wasn't expecting very much from it but I have to say by the time the credits began to roll I was sure glad I had the chance to see this little gem. The first 10 minutes or so of the film is pretty predictable and it looks like it's going to be just another raunchy comedy like we've so many times before but then the story really kicks in and what you get is a roller coaster ride of emotions that grabs a hold of you and doesn't let you go till the very end.
Director, Abe Sylvia is not afraid to deal with a few tough subject matters either here and while their handled with a bit of humor at times there's also moments of drama that will certainly leave you thinking long after the film is over. Talking about plot details too much here will only ruin the experience and that's what "Dirty Girl" is all about so what's written above is enough to know going into the film.
With any good film you need a good cast and I don't think they could of picked a better ensemble cast, Juno Temple is simply amazing as Danielle and Jeremy Dozier matches her as Clarke in every scene their together in. These are two of the brightest young talents in Hollywood and I look forward to see both of them again very soon. The supporting cast are all terrific as well including, Milla Jovovich as Temple's mother, William Macy as Jovovich's fiance and Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam as Dozier's conflicted parents. What a great cast playing some complex characters, Hollywood needs to make more films like this one that entertains but at the same time it engages the audience and makes you think. The general story may not be all that original but the characters and situations are what makes "Dirty Girl" so special, every the first 10 minutes you get a story that's is so unpredictable that you can't wait to see what happens next.
If the film has one weak spot in might be it's title, I understand where it comes from and all but a lot of people might think this is just another sex comedy and that would be sad indeed, so I am happy I had the opportunity to see the film and pass the word on that this is one of the best comedies to come along in some time.
Available on DVD, the disc comes with Special Features that include:
Commentary with Writer/Diretor Abe Sylvia
Deleted and Extended Scenes
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
**** Out Of *****