About Cherry

I think this is the most shallow film I have ever seen. "About Cherry" is about a bunch of one dimensional people dealing with the most artificial, superficial problems imaginable. Angelina runs away from an alcoholic mom and dad to become...a porno star, yawn. The entire cast is soap opera beautiful, and the performances are mostly soap opera quality, with the exception of Dev Patel, who's talents are wasted in this bomb. How did he even wind up in this thing? James Franco, (who I greatly admire) will do anything for a laugh or a paycheck obviously. Here he plays a dope addict in lust with the porn actress, yawn. "About Cherry" is an indie film, gone horribly wrong. Obviously directed by a horny, younger man, judging by the amount of cheap nudity and (un)erotic lesbian story lines. There is not one moment of this film that feels real, and not one character that is remotely interesting or believable. But Cherry is hot and shows her boobs..a lot.

This is a movie that is trying to pick a more realistic approach with its drama and characters, with as a problem though that neither the drama or characters feel involving or realistic in any way.

I'm still a bit confused where the movie thought it was supposed to get its drama from. The premise of the movie does indeed let it sound like a heavy drama, in which an innocent young girl gets stuck into the world of drugs and porn but the problem with the movie is that none of the drama feels desperate in anyway. I don't even know why the girl got into porn in the first place. It was not like she had abusive parents, or was extremely poor and had no other prospects in life. In other words, there was just nothing miserable or hopeless about her life at all, so why does she decided to make such a drastic life changing decision? The movie is never really clear on it and lets stuff just happen, without letting it have an emotional impact neither.

So maybe her life starts spiraling down once she gets into porn? No, on the contrary actually. She has more money and friends than ever before, so what is the movie actually trying to do or say? Bottomline is that it's trying to be dramatic, without letting anything on the screen come across as dramatic. What a weird and terribly ineffective approach for a drama to take.

It's as if the movie itself also realized that it's drama and main character weren't really working out, since it decides to throw in a bunch of more characters, with each their own things going on. Some of it feels out of place, while some of it does indeed work out more interestingly. It gives the movie at least some variety.

So no, I actually didn't completely hated watching this movie but it still made me constantly go; what's the point of all of it and why am I watching this in the first place?

And the ending...well, it wraps things up but it doesn't ever reach a satisfying conclusion with anything. The movie just ends, without making it feel like everything is done with as well. The movie does indeed leave more questions than answers but on the other hand, you won't care enough about this movie or any of the characters to truly want to see all of the questions getting answered.

A mostly failed independent drama, that you real easily could do without.

5/10

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18 year old Angelina (Ashley Grace) sells naked pictures of herself to raise money to run away to San Francisco with her best friend Andrew (Dev Patel). She comes from a dysfunctional family and he's secretly in love with her. She gets involved with drug-addicted lawyer Frances (James Franco). Lesbian former porn actress Margaret (Heather Graham) recruits her to be in her film.

Ashley Hinshaw is a fashion model, and she has the acting skills to prove it. Overall the movie had no joy, no pace, no tension, no drama. There is one good scene with Dev Patel, but that's not enough to recommend this film.

Most movies about the business of pornography are moralistic films, showing the exploitation that grinds its participants down and steals their souls (to mix a metaphor).

This is not one of those.

As a movie, it's not sure whether the title character is being ruthlessly exploited, or joyously empowered. She's one or the other both or neither.

A lot of peripheral characters and subplots are drawn in, but all are handled perfunctorily. A lot of star power -- Heather Graham, James Franco, Dev Patel -- is wasted in cardboard roles.

Ashley Hinshaw, playing Cherry, is a beautiful actress, and looks a lot like a younger Heather Graham (no coincidence, I'm sure, in terms of their characters). She doesn't display much range here, and her character is not given a chance to grow (which could be the director's fault).

In the end, it's not bad, but there's nothing there. Despite showing the porn industry, it lacks sleaze; and yet you couldn't call it tasteful. Just dull.

The eighteen year-old Angeline (Ashley Hinshaw) raises money with a session of naked pictures and leaves her alcoholic and dysfunctional parents fleeing to San Francisco with her friend Andrew (Dev Patel). They rent a room in the apartment of the gay Paco (Vincent Palo) and Angeline finds a job in a strip club and Andrew in a bookstore. Soon Angeline has a love affair with the drug-addicted lawyer Frances (James Franco) and joins the adult industry making porn. Meanwhile the lesbian director Margaret (Heather Graham) becomes obsessed on her.

"About Cherry" is a movie with a pointless story of a shallow teenager without moral principles that leaves her alcoholic parents to become a porn-star. The characters are poorly developed and most of them are unlikable. Angeline is actually a bisexual teenager without any moral principle and maybe nymphomaniac. The situations are also shallow and the movie is neither a drama or romance nor a soft-porn. The only thing that worths is the beauty of the lead actress. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Doce Tentação"