Awesome Movie

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I see this movie is getting a lot of mixed reviews, but I am happy I watched it.As my title says, I regard this movie as an uncut diamond. Sure it has flaws, some of them obvious and odd, but at its core it is still a very unique and genuine gem. It manages to touch on a part of modern social life that is very taboo and gets little attention, even though it likely is much more widespread than most of us think.It is not a high budget film, so I did not go in with a lot of expectations to the general acting, but the two main lead actresses really killed it. If I didn't know better I'd think they were together in real life too - which is a joy to watch. There are some quite intimate scenes, yet the girls never appear awkward around each other. The "antagonist" (if you can call him that) has little screen time and character build-up, but the actor does a good job portraying a middle aged man who appears to have all, yet is constantly battling his inner demons. Maybe turning a little too drastic towards the end (no spoilers), but it's not hard to imagine that crazy people exist out there.In regards to the whole cam girls aspect, I truly admire how well the movie portrays the potential casual attraction it has. It is easy to put it into a box with strippers, porn stars, hookers, etc. But the real fact is that it is much more approachable and casual, especially for teenage girls who might just look at the surface, but don't see the actions/consequences that lie behind. I bet most of us did some strange stuff in our teenage years, stuff that we look back at and think "what the hell were I doing?". Making money off being a cam girl is just that, or at least it has the potential to be so. It's easy money and you do just the amount you want, no pressure. Seems quite harmless at a glance, and that is what this movie portrays very well. How harmless and casual easy money can seem in young girls' eyes.As stated, this movie is great because of its display of genuine affection, and how it touches on a taboo subject that I have not yet seen on the big screen, and that alone deserves a watch.I'd definitely recommend it. Can't say everyone will love it, though I did. If you watch it with high expectations to direction, attention to details, etc, then you will likely be disappointed. This is a low budget film, and I am reviewing it based on that fact.

I try to give some independent films a chance, but 99% of the time they are just bad. This is no exception. The acting is bad. The writing is bad and the direction is bad.First, the actress playing the lead's mother is actually only 10 years older than the lead actress. What on earth were the director thinking? Actor playing the dad is 14 years older. Really? And the problem is, they look those ages and the director made zero attempt to age them in any way.Can we stop having 30 year old actresses play 16-18 year old? it is a frequent occurrence in too many films.Actors tend to overdo everything so it is up to the director to bring them down a few notches. There was no real initial reason for Annie's fascination with Jules. Seeing her dance for 5 seconds? Going to New York, why? Because the local waitress used to go to their high school...Stealing mints? What? Are there any films left based in reality? the money looked so fake and why do they have cash if it's online payments? Made ZERO sense.The writing is unimaginative and wooden. Didn't keep my interest for more than 40 minutes. It was painful. Please don't let the director make any more films...

An under the radar film that I'm sure many have not heard about, but hey, it was on Netflix. The premise sounded a little strange but like it could make for a fun time nonetheless. Didn't recognize the filmmaker or any of the main cast, besides Pat Healy. I dug him in Cheap Thrills but loved The Innkeepers, one of my favorite films from a little horror maker named Ti West. After watching Teenage Cocktail, I liked the portrayal between the two leads in the film but feel like major parts of the film were under-cooked.The film is about a lonely girl named Annie who one day meets and befriends a girl named Jules. Their relationship is complicated but for the most part they flirt with each other in capacity before they realize their relationship is real. Along the way the girls decide to make money off of being cam girls. The girls want to escape and run away together but problems in their life occur and they need cash. Feeling cash-strapped, the girls decide to offer themselves for money to a random stranger online. Interesting premise, but the ending is too wonky and really doesn't build on something that was good.The interactions between the lead actresses is great. You can feel the innocent but naughty connection between the two lovers. This relationship is at times portrayed very visually by great scenes of intimacy with close, personal camera shots and party themed fun and bright lights. The build-up to the film is oddly amusing. Its hard to figure where the film is headed as it makes itself seem to be a coming of age film, then a romance, then a thriller. Its all fine but I feel like Healy's character left more to be desired. The character has a lot going on but we don't really get to see a glimpse of his life before or after the ordeal.Thus, the end kind of just slaps you in the face. It seemed like the script had a good thing going but fumbled closing it out in a satisfying way. I feel like bits and pieces were cut out and that characters kind of turned 180 and you can't help but feel like the writing is off. It's still not a bad film, just far from perfect. I didn't really have any expectations and I can't say I'm overly annoyed by how things turned out. Its a bit of a mixed bag, but leaning more towards the positive side.6.5/10

Nichole Bloom and Fabianne Therese play two high school students who fall in love with each other and decide to run away to NYC to escape their extremely horrible lives (i.e. they live in nice houses in nice, safe neighborhoods; have parents who provide for them and care for them (for the most part); go to school where the only bad thing that is shown is a shoving match between Bloom and a bully; and they are given the freedom to go out and stay out late). Given these horrors that these two girls experience every day, it's no wonder they seek the comforts of a big city.Not being completely stupid, Bloom and Therese realize they need money to make their big escape come true. And that's where webcam sex comes in. The money comes in slow but steady, but not fast enough for the teens. So they decide to prostitute themselves for one really horny guy who can afford it. And that's where things go really bad really fast. **SPOILER ALERT**The surprising thing is — and kudos to the screenwriters on this one specific thing — it's mostly the girls' fault that their situation quickly spirals out of control.My most memorable, movie moment of "Teenage Cocktail" is the scene when the father of Bloom's character finds out that his daughter does webcam sex for money. He is shocked, of course; but when he has a chance to confront his daughter, he just shuts up and quietly goes out of his daughter's room. This dude needs to go out in the ocean and swim with the jellyfish, because he's as spineless as they are."Teenage Cocktail" has the basic elements that could have turned the movie into a very compelling commentary on some of the dangerous situations teens can get themselves in. But the script — which felt like it needed a few more drafts to get all the stupidity out — is the weak link of this project, bringing the movie down to the level of mediocrity.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments