Close Call

In Los Angeles, the young Jenny (Kaye Lu) has a nice childhood with her Korean parents Joanne (Christina Ma) and David Kim (Philip Moon). However, after the divorce of her parents, the judge gives her custody to her selfish mother that neglects Jenny while the disappointed David returns to Seoul. Six years later, Jenny (Annie Lee) is a troubled and reckless teenager expelled from the public school that has easy sex and uses drugs and booze, and her best friend is the orphan drug dealer Becky (Faleena Hopkins). The lawyer Elliot Krasner (Jeff Fahey) decides to call his former friend David to tell him about the self-destructive behavior of Jenny, and David returns to Los Angeles. He brings Jenny to live with him and support her, but the lack of emotional structure of Jenny imposes tough difficulties for their relationship.

"Close Call" is a dramatic coming-to-age story of a girl completely lost with a broken family after a divorce process. The plot is not so deep like, for example, "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo" or "Engel & Joe", and in some corny moments it seems to be a soap-opera with optimistic conclusion. However, the gorgeous and sexy Annie Lee has a magnificent performance in her debut, making this movie worthwhile. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "No Limite" ("In the Limit")